- A Murphy game blackmailing trio target lonely male bowlers from out-of-town, murdering an uncooperative one with a bowling ball. After his own tryst in the blackmailers' Poke Street love nest, bowling conclave organizer Woolrich (Jackie Coogan, Uncle Fester of "The Addams Family") hires Peter Gunn to nab the perps on the down-low. Gunn goes way undercover at Shelly's Manne-Hole, grooving to cool sounds by Shelly Manne & His Men. Drummer Manne's LP riffing on Henry Mancini's music from "Peter Gunn" hit the racks simultaneously with this episode. As a bow-tied hayseed from Springfield, Illinois, Gunn's ripe for picking by the female blackmailer (Mara Corday, a 1958 Playmate of the Month).—David Stevens
- Season 1 Episode 26 Keep Smiling Prologue: Emily greets Sam Wallace in an empty bowling establishment, as Sam goes through his paperwork, she says she has been waiting for him, Sam thinks it would be a good idea if they didn't each other again, Sam asks who these approaching guys are, Emily says they are friends, the guys produce a picture of Sam and Emily. Blackmail isn't going to work with Sam, he punches Frank, and grabs Phil. Frank reaches for a bowling ball, strikes Sam with it, killing him, and rolls the murder weapon down the lane. Jacoby appears looking to identify the man they found at the waterfront, wearing a pin signifying he was a member associated with this conclave and he found a matchbook from the Bamboo Club. Pete is there listening to Jacoby, who iterates these conclaves of people from out of town usually bring the troublemakers out, no I have "only 4,000 suspects." Pete is there to see possible client, the chairman of this bowling group, Eric Woolrich. Eric tells Pete of an encounter with a lady, calling herself Francis, and two guys with a camera and tape recorder. Eric wants Pete to recover the tape and the pictures, he "doesn't want this blackmail to go on." Pete visits the apartment Eric gave of the lady, the landlady says she "rented the apartment last week, but the renter never came back." Eric has information for the police, wherein Jacoby shows a Mr. Peterson a picture of Wallace, they were out the night before, but Peterson was not at the Bamboo Club. Pete and Jacoby have the scheme figured out where it's an old-fashioned blackmail scam. The game played with a bimbo for bait and a couple of sharks as the blackmail partners. Wallace was an ex-boxer and was not going to tolerate any foul play and if the stranger wasn't going to pay up, he was killed. Pete states these "strangers in town, lonely, are sitting ducks." Pete tells the press the police are baffled in order for them to think they can try again tonight with Pete as the bait. Jacoby agrees to it. Pete checks out the Bamboo Club, he is with Jacoby and Woolrich is aside looking to identify the woman. After two or more hours at the bar, she finally walks in and Eric indicates it is her. Pete plays the visiting fellow, "show me the town, please," and she invites him to her place, on his way out the club, he tells an undercover cop where he is headed. Frank, the shark, snaps a picture of Pete kissing the woman, they start their blackmail speech, then Frank identifies and slugs Pete, and the woman says "you wasted everybody's evening, it's going to cost you." Pete proposes a deal for the tapes and negatives, knocking the gun to the floor, Phil points his gun at Pete when Jacoby comes in blasting, shoots Phil. Jacoby gets a confession from a wounded Phil, including the location of the missing evidence. Frank helps Phil out the door accompanied by a cop, the woman asks "what'll they do to me" and is told by Pete "isn't life fantastic," escorted out by the lieutenant, gun still drawn.
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