An older man
impersonating a priest and holding a Bible is led by a prison guard to the cell
of convicted robber, Joe Taber, who also participated in the killing of a guard during the payroll
heist of an armored car. Once inside the cell, the fake priest opens the Bible’s
front cover, revealing that the book is hollow and contains a revolver. Taber
quickly takes the gun and the fake priest grabs a metal drinking cup on the
sink to rap onto the cell’s bars, letting the prison guard know that he’s ready
to leave. (The priest was in that cell for only 23 seconds, yet the guard that
left him there and returned for him didn’t seem a bit surprised about the
extremely short amount of time that had passed.) A short time later, Joe Taber swipes the same
metal cup against the cell’s bars and the guard returns once again. Taber points
a gun at the guard, forcing him to use a key to open the cell. (There is no
dialogue whatsoever in this pre-title opening sequence, giving the impression
that everyone is mute. However, no-dialogue scenes in episode openings were common
for the Peter Gunn series.) The guard is led into the cell by Taber, who then
strikes him in the back of the head (or neck) with the gun, causing the guard
to fall unconscious. Taber then begins to remove the guard’s uniform from his
body.
Taber, now wearing the
uniform (meaning he left the guard he knocked unconscious nearly naked back in
the jail cell) approaches a gate where another guard is seated on the other
side reading a newspaper. Taber points his gun and the guard hands him a large
key ring with a single long key. Taber then strikes that guard on the back of
the head causing him to fall unconscious. He opens the gate and flees as prison
sirens signaling an escape begin wailing. (Who set off the sirens? There was
nobody else there.)
Peter Gunn arrives at
an apartment where he was called to meet with a man in a wheelchair and whose
head and face is completely wrapped in bandages. There are openings in the
bandages for just his eyes and mouth. What Gunn doesn’t know (and viewers don’t
know at this point) is that the man is the prison escapee, Joe Taber. Taber
says he was in a car wreck on the interstate last weekend. He tells Gunn he
needs his brother located; that they had lost contact with each other “a few
years ago.” Taber gives his brother’s name as Frank Norbert (who is not a
brother; he was Taber’s partner in the armored car heist and had kept all the
money after Taber was arrested. We later learn that Taber suspects Norbert of
having double-crossed him and “ratted” him out to authorities in order to keep
all of the stolen loot). Joe Taber pulls out a wad of cash from an envelope and
asks Gunn if it will be enough to cover his fee. Gunn says $2000 is a lot of
money for just finding an address. (How was Gunn able to count all the loose
bills held in Taber’s hand as exactly $2000? Also, the man never gave his name
to Gunn and Gunn never asked; that seems very unusual.)
Gunn arrives at the
police station where Sergeant Rainey appears to be in charge while Jacoby is in
the Captain’s office. The Captain is very upset over the “prison break”. Gunn
asks Rainey if he had the information he’d asked about regarding a bad car
wreck on the interstate. Rainey says State Highway Patrol informed him there
were no collisions on the interstate last weekend. Peter Gunn then hands over
the envelope containing $2000 to Rainey and tells him to give it to Jacoby,
saying if his “hunch is right” that Jacoby will wind up confiscating it anyway.
Obviously, Gunn suspects the money was obtained by his client illegally. Gunn
then asks Rainey what he knows about a Frank Norbert. Rainey tells Gunn that
Norbert has a good lawyer (making him difficult to prosecute) and owns a barber
shop, but it’s a front for illegal activity, however, he’s not sure what the
activity is.
Gunn enters the
barber shop where a barber is standing in front of a mirror shaving himself. In
a very raspy voice, he tells Gunn they are closed; it’s after 6:00PM. When Gunn
asks for Frank Norbert, the barber appears to get angry and holds his shaving
blade to Gunn’s neck. A hood behind Gunn asks if he’s through asking questions,
a hint for Gunn to leave.
At Mother’s, Gunn
takes a seat at a table and Mother walks over to greet him. Gunn asks Mother
about Frank Norbert. She tells him that word around town is that Norbert has gone
underground for the winter, but she’ll make some calls and let him know what
she finds out. Edie then takes the stage and sings a song called “How About You?”
Afterward, Edie and Gunn meet on the boat deck in back of the club for some
intimate kissing and Edie complaining about how he doesn’t come around (or stay
around) often enough. Mother then appears at the door, interrupting Gunn and
Edie. They try to ignore her as they continue smooching, but Mother tells Gunn
she has information on Frank Norbert. Mother tells Gunn that Norbert has a father
who owns a deli in town.
Outside Mother’s,
Gunn spots a hood seated in the driver’s seat of a car parked behind his. He
ignores it and is about to get in his car when another hood inside points a gun
at him, removes Gunn’s revolver, and then forces him into the other car.
Gunn is taken back to
the barber shop where Frank Norbert is waiting. Norbert wants to know why Gunn
was looking for him and Gunn explains that a client wants to know his location.
(At this point, why doesn’t Gunn simply say that Norbert’s brother is the
client?) When Norbert asks who the client is, Gunn says he doesn’t want to be
identified. Norbert says it must be Joe Taber. When Gunn refuses to agree, he
gets punched in the gut and back of neck by one of the hoods still holding a
revolver at him. Finally, Gunn says Joe Taber wants his share of the $300,000
take (even though Taber never discussed that with Gunn). Norbert wants Gunn to
take him to Taber, but Gunn says it’s best if he just gives him the money and he’ll
take it to Taber. As they get ready to lead Gunn out the door, he quickly flips
the hood with the revolver to the ground, causing the other hood behind him to
also fall over. Gunn then takes cover behind a barber’s chair. Norbert pulls
out a pistol and takes shots at Gunn, but misses and strikes the mirror. Gunn
tosses a barber’s item from the counter at the lamp above, causing the shop to
go dark. Gunn then finds a container of talcum powder and tosses it into Norbert’s face as he approached with the pistol, blinding him. Gunn then runs
out the front door.
Peter Gunn enters his
apartment looking worn out from the battle at the barber shop. His phone was
ringing as he entered. Sergeant Rainey tells Gunn that Jacoby wanted to talk to
him. Gunn tells Rainey what transpired at the barber shop and that he’s on his
way to a café owned by Frank Norbert’s father. Rainey says Jacoby will likely want
to meet him there.
Gunn parks his car
near a place called Jan’s Café, but before going inside he spots someone on the
corner of the block (or spotted a shadow, since the person was behind a wall).
He walks over and finds Jacoby. Gunn and Jacoby enter Jan’s Café where they
meet a kindly old man with a European accent. The owner becomes troubled when
Gunn says he knows him to be Frank Norbert’s father. The old man says he had a
boy named Frank “once” (as if the son is now dead). Jacoby tells the old man
that Frank is wanted on suspicion of a robbery and a man was killed. The old
man appears more upset that Frank is using the last name Norbert instead of
Norbinski like him and his father before him. Jan Norbinski tells Jacoby that
he doesn’t see Frank much unless “something is wrong”, then stays there at
the café in a back room (set up like a bedroom). Norbinski shows Jacoby and
Gunn the room. Norbinski says Frank was there during the afternoon and had said he
would return “tonight”. Jan Norbinsky also says that all Frank ever has with him is a small
steel box. Jacoby says the payroll heist money must be in that box. Gunn warns Norbinski that a man will come by the café looking for Frank
Norbert and he shouldn’t try to stop him.
Peter Gunn calls Joe
Taber and gives him the address for Frank Norbert; the café address. (Joe Taber
and Frank Norbert were partners, yet Taber knows nothing of Frank Norbert’s
father and the café?)
Lt. Jacoby and Peter
Gunn, along with some uniformed cops in an unmarked car, stake out Jan’s Café. Two
other detectives in suits also arrive. Soon after, Joe Taber arrives
accompanied by his henchman, the man who impersonated a minister at the start
of episode (and is listed in credits as “Minister”). They enter the café.
In the back room,
Frank Norbert removes his tie and begins to get comfortable when Taber and
Minister walk in. Taber points a gun at Norbert and demands his share of the
“payroll job”. Norbert says he’d always intended to give it to him, but Taber
got “nabbed”. Taber implies that he got nabbed “too quick”, as if someone had
tipped off the cops. Taber says he wants his 150 grand. Norbert says sure and
retrieves a small metal box. (That box is much smaller than an average sized shoe
box, yet he has $300,000 in cash stashed in there? Impossible. Even if they
were all 1000 bills, it is doubtful that Taber’s share, $150,000, would fit in
there.) Norbert opens the box. (We can now see that it contains stacks of $500
bills and $100 bills; definitely a goof-up here. And the money appears fake!) Joe
Taber becomes engrossed at the sight of the money and lowers his gun hand.
Frank Norbert reaches for a gun hidden under the pillow and shoots Taber.
Jacoby and Gunn dash into the room as Norbert escapes out a window with the
cash box in his hand.
Outside, two officers
chase Norbert. Gunn is at a second floor window and takes a shot at Norbert running away
down the block, but misses. (Would Gunn really shoot someone in the back?)
Norbert then turns to shoot, but it was lower to the ground, possibly at the
cops chasing him. (Once again an actor
who appears to be doing a ballet dance while shooting; the hip movement was an absolutely
ridiculous-looking sight.) The two detectives and the two uniformed cops take
shots at Norbert and finally Norbert goes down. The money box opens and bills splatter
all over the ground and blows all over the place with the breeze.
Mr. Jan Norbinski
dashes out of the café. Joe Taber, nursing a non-fatal bullet injury to his
upper body, and Minister are led out of the café by Jacoby and handed over to police
officers. Mr. Norbinski kneels down beside his dead son and while crying says,
“Norbinsky; Francis Norbinsky.” He then gets up and quietly walks down the
sidewalk back toward the café, looking completely dejected.
QUOTES:
When Gunn arrives at a barber shop that’s closed and the
barber wants him to leave…
Gunn: “I’m not looking for a haircut.”
Barber: “You came to the right place.” (In other
words: you’re not getting a haircut here,
so leave.)
At Mother’s where Gunn tells Mother he’s looking for
Frank Norbert…
Gunn: “I dropped by his barber shop.” (Where the barber held a
shaving blade close to Gunn’s neck.)
Mother: “Oh, don’t get shaved there.”
Gunn: “I almost did.”
NOTES:
Film/editing goof-up:
When Edie completes singing a song on stage at Mother’s, many patrons are seen
seated at tables. Applause is heard from throughout the club, but NOBODY is
clapping their hands!
Film/editing goof-up:
At the barber shop where Gunn gets into a battle with Frank Norbert and some
hoods; Norbert is seen removing a pistol from his waist and pointing it at
Gunn. In the next scene the pistol is back on his waist and he removes it a
second time to point it at Gunn and take some shots.
Lola Albright sings “How
About You?” a song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was
first heard in the 1941 movie Babes on
Broadway when sung by Judy Garland, with Mickey Rooney joining in for some
of the lyrics. One difference between the song sung by Judy Garland and that of
Lola Albright was how Garland had used the name “Frank Roosevelt” (who was
president at the time) in the song and Lola Albright named “Eisenhower”, who
was president when this episode of Peter Gunn first aired. How about you? was
also sung by Frank Sinatra and it appears on his 1956 album “Songs for Swingin'
Lovers”.
See
Lola Albright sing “How About You?”
DECEASED: An armored car guard killed by Frank Norbert and/or Joe Taber in an
event that transpired before start of episode. Frank Norbert shot by police
while trying to escape.
Total Gunn Kills: 0 -
Series Total: 7
Comment
below your thoughts on this episode and this blog
NEXT BLOG: S01/E28: “PAY
NOW, KILL LATER”
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