S01/E09: IMAGE OF SALLY

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Capri makes her second appearance of the series!

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Recently released from prison, Si Robbin casually strolls along a sidewalk when he spots some uniformed police officers in the area. After hesitating, he continues past them trying not to draw attention. One of the officers using a police box telephone hangs up and gets in the passenger seat of the patrol unit. The driver then follows Si Robbin who quickly turns right at the corner while speeding up his pace. Robbin ducks into a building as the two officers in their car appear to be looking for him. Robbin takes off running when he believes he’s not seen and enters a caged cargo area in the rear of a warehouse. That’s when gangster hit man, Louie Dorson, appears from behind some crates where he was hiding and begins to point a gun at Robbin to shoot, but Robbin quickly grabs the shooter’s arm and a struggle ensues. During the scuffle, the gun goes off, killing the attacker Louie Dorson. The police, possibly hearing the gunshot, stop the car and shine a light toward Si Robbin who is standing looking confused with a gun in his hand. He drops the gun and puts his hands up at police. (ONE: Si Robbin was a free man who served his time and hadn’t done anything wrong since released from prison that we know of. Why was he trying to avoid police? TWO: Why were police following him? Also not clear, unless it was because Robbin acted suspicious at the sight of police officers. THREE: Robbin, in trying to distance himself from the cops, appeared to make several random turns throughout city streets and found himself in a secluded outdoor cargo area for a warehouse, Yet the hit man knew to wait for him at that spot?!!!)

At Lt. Jacoby’s office at the police station, Gunn and Jacoby discuss the death of "professional assassin" Louie Dorson (a name well known to Gunn) and that Si Robbin (whom Gunn doesn’t know) has been arrested and wants to meet with Gunn. Lt. Jacoby explains that Robbin had been convicted for a company payroll robbery (it sounded like Jacoby said “the Half payroll job”—Half?). The take was two-hundred thousand dollars. (Note: $200,000 in 1958 is equivalent to about $1,774,318 now, in 2020). Jacoby tells Gunn that investigators know Robbin hadn’t acted alone, but that he refused to name others when he was convicted. “We don’t know who his associates were,” Jacoby says. “And the money has never been recovered. (This might explain why police were watching Robbin and why Robbin was worried about police on his tail). As Gunn leaves the office to go see Si Robbin, Jacoby calls out to him, “Pete?”, but when Gunn turns and asks, “Yeah?”, Jacoby replies, “Never mind.” (What was that about?! Ugh!)

In a secured room for jail inmate’s visitors, Gunn meets with Si Robbin. There is a uniformed cop standing at the door watching on. (It appears since Gunn is not an attorney, there's no entitlement to privacy). Gunn begins asking questions about the shooting, but Robbin says he didn’t call Gunn there to interrogate him. When Gunn asks, “Why did you call me here,” Robbin explains he wants Gunn to find "his girl", Sally Hall, who he hadn’t seen in four years, but she will know how to get him out of the trouble he’s currently in. Gunn says it will cost Robbin a thousand dollars. Robbin says if he finds Sally he’ll make it two thousand.

Gunn heads over to Wilbur’s beatnik joint where Wilbur is sculpting a bust from clay of what he tells Gunn is his girlfriend Capri, who is seated beside the sculpture modeling for it. (The sculpture actually appears as some sort of monstrous creature from another planet, making the entire scene appear to be a joke of some kind, but Wilbur seems serious). The club is packed with patrons, most snapping their fingers to a flute player and jazz band or bobbing their heads to the music. When Gunn tells Wilbur that he’s looking for someone named Sally Hall, Wilbur explains that she belongs “to a cat named Nord”, a dangerous mobster named Joe Nord, who Gunn is familiar with. Wilbur instructs Gunn to head over to the Classic Book Shop and once inside to ask for a first edition of “Through the Looking Glass” (obviously a password for access to something).

At the bookshop, the clerk is up high on a latter organizing books on the shelf when Gunn walks in asking for the first edition of “Through the Looking Glass”. The clerk tells him to go to the first aisle, last section. As Gunn heads over there, the clerk, still on the ladder, reaches over to a button right beside him and pushes it. (Really?! What if the clerk had been in a different section of the store when Gunn got there? Is he going back to that spot and climb up the ladder to push that button? What a coincidence of having been at the right spot at the right time when Gunn walked in!). After pushing the button, an entire wall case of books opens mechanically revealing access to an illegal backroom gambling club and bar. Gunn and the club’s host immediately recognize each other. Gunn asks for Joe Nord, but the host says he’s not there. Gunn then asks for Sally Hall and the host says she’s at the roulette table.

Peter Gunn and the very attractive Sally Hall move over to a table where they can talk privately. Gunn tells Sally he’s there to discuss Si Robbin. She tells him that she wants nothing to do with Si. When one of Joe Nord’s hoods shows up at the club, Sally quickly gets away from Gunn and very loudly says, “It was nice seeing you; say hi to everyone back home for me!” A ruse for the hood to think that Gunn is just an old friend.

Back at Mother’s, Gunn arrives to the band playing and later Edie taking the stage to sing. Gunn is able to gather some information from Mother regarding the individuals he’s involved with on this case. “What do you know about a trio by the name of Robbin, Hall, and Nord?” Gunn asks. Immediately, Mother replies, “First names Si, Sally, and Joe?” (WOW! Mother is sharp!). Mother explains that Si Robbin took the blame for Joe Nord, but if he keeps his mouth shut and serves his time he will get $100,000 as promised by Joe Nord. (Mother must be in touch with the region’s underworld of mobsters and associates to possess that sort of information).

While Edie is singing, Gunn heads out to the club’s rear deck overlooking the river to smoke a cigarette. Gunn hears someone behind him and he’s immediately sucker punched by Nord’s hood. Joe Nord holds a gun to Gunn and tells him he doesn’t like anyone getting into his business. The hood punches Gunn two more times causing Gunn to drop to the floor. After Nord and the hood leave, Edie comes out on the deck and runs over to Gunn laid out and asks him if she should call a doctor, but he says he’s okay. Edie tells Gunn he should get into a career less dangerous, such as wrestling alligators or testing parachute rejects.

Back at Jacoby’s office Gunn tells Jacoby that Si Robbin must be planning on paying his fee for hiring him with a portion of the robbery heist after Si gets it from Joe Nord. Jacoby explains that if that’s where the money comes from, Jacoby would have to confiscate it (meaning that Peter Gunn won’t be paid for this case, but he doesn’t seem to care. Now he just wants to get Nord). Jacoby wants to bring in Nord and recover the two-hundred thousand dollars stolen four years earlier. (None of it has been spent? None of it is gone over a four year period?) Gunn wants to set a trap and convinces a hesitant and worried Jacoby to release Si Robbin from jail to use him as bait. (Wouldn’t that be the decision of a district attorney?)

Gunn, Jacoby, and a technician with recording equipment are staked out in what appears to be a basement. They have Sally Hall’s apartment “bugged” with a microphone and, as expected by Gunn, Si Robbin arrives to see her. Si Robbin tries to cozy up to Sally, but she brushes him off, explaining how four years have passed and that she’s with Joe Nord now. When Jacoby learns that Joe Nord has entered the building, knowing that could be dangerous for Si Robbin, he and Gunn head over to Sally Hall’s apartment. Joe Nord enters the apartment. Si Robbin tells Nord that he waited for him at the warehouse. (This now explains that Robbin intentionally arrived at that location in the beginning of the episode where he and Joe Nord planned to meet and Nord was to hand him his money, but had sent a hit man instead). Joe Nord tells Si Robbin, “I guess I owe you a hundred-thousand dollars,” but Robbin says he doesn’t owe him anything and punches Nord, knocking him to the ground. Robbin, no longer having Sally, doesn't want the money anymore and will to go to the police. Joe Nord gets up from the floor and runs out into the stairwell. He shoots Robbin dead. Jacoby and Gunn appear at the bottom of the stairs and Nord takes a shot at them, but Jacoby fires back killing Nord. Sally Hall is at the doorway sobbing (for which death is not clear). 

QUOTES:

Outside at the rear of Mother's after Gunn was badly beaten by one of Nord’s hoods...

Edie: “Any time you get beat up I ache all over.”

Gunn: “You ache?”

At Jacoby’s office after Gunn convinces Jacoby to release Si Robbin at the risk of losing his job with the police department…

Jacoby: “Listen, my friend, if this thing doesn’t work out I’m moving in with you. You’re going to have a charity case on your hands for the next 50 years.”

Gunn: “If you keep getting excited like this you won’t last another week.”

NOTES:

Sally Hall was played by actress/singer Monica Lewis (1922-2015). In her 2011 memoir “Hollywood Through My Eyes”, Monica Lewis stated that actor (and future President of the United States) Ronald Reagan had proposed marriage, but she declined.

So was the $200,000 ever found? 

Lola Albright sings "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", a song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics added by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 Broadway musical “Too Many Girls”. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" has been recorded by numerous artists over the years, including as recently as 2017 by Barbra Streisand for her album “The Music...The Mem'ries...The Magic!”

See Lola Albright sing "I Didn't Know What Time It Was"

DECEASED: Hit man Louie Dorson, hired by Joe Nord, is shot and killed when wrestling for the gun with Si Robbin. - Joe Nord shoots Si Robbin. - Lt. Jacoby shoots Joe Nord.

Total Gunn Kills: 0 - Series Total: 3 

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NEXT BLOG: S01/E10: “THE MAN WITH THE SCAR”

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