JOHNNY MIDNIGHT starring Edmond O'Brien
JOHNNY MIDNIGHT was the name and title character of an early sixties syndicated TV show about an actor turned New York private eye. His cases frequently brought him to the vicinity of Times Square and Broadway's theatre district, the same area where he had enjoyed many of the thespain triumphs of his former career.
Former film noir icon (The Killers, D.O.A.) Edmond O'Brien (and was the first to play radio's long-running insurance investigator Johnny Dollar), sporting a few more pounds (and years) than most fans were probably used to seeing on him, played Midnight.
But a few extra pounds or not, Midnight had it good. He lived in a swank Manhattan penthouse complete with a "stunning view of the city" and a wise-cracking Japanese houseboy, called Aki. Oriental houseboys were once a staple of detective novels and films, but were almost extinct by the sixties.
not that Aki was the only throwback -- O'Brien narrated his cases in the clipped, terse style that Bogart made famous years earlier, and a moody, haunting version off "The Lullabye of Broadway" from the 1935 film "Gold Diggers of Broadway" served as a quite effective theme song.
TRIVIA
Supposedly, during the casting of the series, the producers were concerned about O'Brien's weight and insisted he go on a crash vegetarian diet.
The show was produced by Revue (later Universal Studios), who were also responsible for M Squad with Lee Marvin, Johnny Staccato with John Cassavetes, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer with Darren McGavin, Markham with Ray Milland, Shotgun Slade with Scott Brady and Coronado 9 with Rod Cameron, all crime or detective shows built around the charm and talent of their styrong male leadslead actor.
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EPISODE TITLES:
PILOT
VOICE OF THE DUMMY
VILLAIN OF THE PIECE
LEADING LADY
ONCE AGAIN
A TASTE OF CURRY
MOTHERS BOY
AWARD FOR MURDER
THE IMPRESARIO
BEYOND INFAMY
AN OLD FASHION FRAME
THE NINTH DOLL
PHANTOM BRIBE
THE TOKYO DOLL
TROUBLE ON THE ROAD
REGESTERED MAIL
SOMEBODY LOVES YOU
THE EMERALD STAR
TOKEN OF LOVE
SCHATZI
SWEET TOOTH MURDER
RING OF TRUTH
HER SISTERS KEEPER
THE SINGLE
DARK TROPHY
INSIDE MAN
DING A LING
THE SWITHBACK MURDER
PAY OFF TO DEATH
ROMEO AND JULIE
HOT TIGHT A WEB
THE WAMMY

- Item #: 0629082