Johnny Staccato (TV Series) Night of Jeopardy (1960) User Reviews

An impressive noir essay

[pfrank-4 · 9/10 · 10 January 2013]

This is maybe the best episode of Johnny Staccato, the Jazz Detective. A tremendously dark story line about recovering a package before the criminals execute innocent people. It's all filmed in almost total darkness, and the action moves forward relentlessly. Johnny is caught up, innocently of course, in a counterfeit scheme and the thugs are after him. Every shot of this movie is milked for the most expressive content possible, with close-ups, shadows, clever compositions, and fast editing in a snappy, jargon-laden script. Jazz becomes both the rhythm of the tension and the refuge for the hunted. The series up to now was becoming a bit of a snoozer, but this one had me on the edge of my seat. Very advanced cinematography for its time on TV. Cassavetes himself directed it (which is far from a coincidence). I wonder if this show was too much for TV audiences of the day; such intensity could explain the show's cancellation after just one season. Compared with its forebear, Peter Gunn, which this show imitates, this episode transcends its model to an unprecedented degree.

A Must-See Staccato Episode

[mackjay2 · 9/10 · 2 October 2006]

If you can only see one episode of the legendary one-season drama JOHNNY STACCATO, make it "Night of Jeopardy". Violent, grim, darkly claustrophobic, a teleplay that must have shocked or repelled many viewers in 1959.

This great show really took some chances with its dark story lines and ultra-tough, jive-talking characters. In "Night of Jeapardy" all the best elements of STACCATO come together and add up to a 24-minute Film Noir of tension, danger and darkness.

No spoilers here. Just watch, and marvel at the potential TV had so long ago.