Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE Season 1

Janssen as the urbane Richard Diamond
RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE Season 1. 1957.

In this popular series which lasted four seasons, David Janssen plays a New York City private detective, a former cop, who's a lot more polished and urbane [if somewhat less interesting]  than Mike Hammer. While one can't imagine Hammer fitting in at a society party, that's not the case with Diamond. The first season only had twelve episodes, but they were interesting enough to make the public want more. The best of these episodes were "The Peter Rocco Case" [with Charles Bronson], in which a woman wants Diamond to find her son, an escaped convict who is gunning for Diamond; and "The Venus of Park Avenue," in which a young woman claims that a valuable ancient statue is actually of more recent vintage. The first had very good twists, and the second was very suspenseful. Most of the other episodes, while not as good, were at least a "B' in quality. Regis Toomey plays a police detective in most of the episodes. Diamond was created by Blake Edwards. The theme music is notable, especially the music that plays over the closing credits. Janssen's rather large ears are sometimes a distraction, but he's good in the role.

Verdict: This has possibilities. **1/2.

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