L'homme à la Rolls

The earliest shows I remember watching were kiddie shows or things my parents liked. I was about age 10 when "Burke's Law" came on and it was the first show I decided I really liked after I began to form my own tastes. It was a light but sophisticated murder mystery show that was more comedy than drama. It was the first of the "all-star" cast whodunits and lead to the later "Murder She Wrote", "Matlock" and "Diagnosis Murder", which were created by some of the people responsible for "Burke's Law". Levinson and Link, the creators of "Columbo", also wrote may of the scripts for "Burke's Law". The show was Aaron Spelling's first big hit, so it has quite a pedigree.

What really made it interesting was the eccentric characters who made up the suspects. They were played by an eclectic group of character actors taken from the usual TV "repertory" group, the stars of other shows, former and even current movie stars, silent movie stars and even people from the independent film movement and the British theater and films, who were happy at the American TV exposure and quick paycheck they got for performing a few scenes on the show. You can see oddities like Basil Rathbone listening in pain to John Cassavetes doing a "beatnik Hamlet", Sterling Holloway trying to blackmail Cassavetes, William Demarest running a hotel for ex-Vaudvillians where an acrobatic act earns their keep by cleaning the chandeliers, a convention of police chiefs, each one modeled on a famous fictional detective, (it anticipates Neil Simon's "Murder by Death"), a fake Russian aristocrat who really isn't fake but figures that no one will believe him anyway so he pretends to be a fake, etc, etc.

Gene Barry, one of several Cary Grant imitators on TV at the time, (see Craig Stevens in "Peter Gunn", John Vivien in "Mr Lucky"), is perfect for the lead role, better than Dick Powell in the pilot, which was made two years before as part of Powell's anthology series. Powell would have played the lead in the show but died of cancer before he could undertake the role. They say acting is reacting and Barry is the greatest reactor in TV history, the perfect guy to play off of all the eccentrics. Gary Conway, who should have become a much bigger star, (he was later in "Land of the Giants"), Regis Toomey, the gorgeous Eileen O'Neill and Leon Lontoc offered excellent support.

Unfortunately, somebody, (Spelling? The network?), decided to junk the show by turning it into an under-financed, back-projected spy show. Burke suddenly abandoned LA and is mansion and Rolls-Royce to become a James Bond style agent who traveled the world for a secret government organization headed by someone called "The Man". It was a tepid version of "The Man From Uncle" and was placed opposite what turned out to be the greatest of all spy shows," I Spy", which was in color and filmed in actual locations around the world. The local ABC affiliate in Syracuse declined to even show "Amos Burke Secret Agent" and from what I saw of the episode in syndication, I can't blame them.

Amazingly, the program had a third incarnation and the by now fabulously successful Aaron Spelling brought it back in 1994. Burke was back in LA chasing crooks in his Rolls, but with a son to help him. they dusted off the old scripts for the new shows. Only occasionally did we see the old spark of creativity, such as a victim freezing to death on the hottest day of the year, an ambulance chasing lawyer getting run over by an ambulance, Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. as a greedy tycoon practicing his golf drive from the rook of his building, (who cares who it falls on?), and Brian Keith as an ex-marine turned romance novelist who puts on a dress to get in the mood to write. Still is was a lot better than the other new murder mystery which followed it, "Diagnosis Murder" with Dick Van Dyke. Unfortunately, the network kept the wrong one, (I doubt they cried about it, as it went on for years).

Without the original "Burke's Law", there would have been no "Diagnosis Murder". The original remains the best whodunit in TV history and one of the most entertaining shows of all time.

The 64 black and white hour-long episodes of "Burke's Law" were originally broadcast from 1963-65 on ABC. The show then morphed into "Amos Burke, Secret Agent" for another 17 episodes during the 1965-66 season. And one episode "Who Killed the Jackpot" served as the introduction of the "Honey West" characters played by Anne Francis and John Ericson. Gene Barry played police captain Amos Burke, who headed up homicide while maintaining a lavish lifestyle; not because he was on the take but because he was already extremely rich and was just working for whatever intrinsic value the job provided. This was the main hook or novelty of the show, which was a weekly showcase of his lavish lifestyle (chauffeured limo with fully stocked bar, mansion, and a host of gorgeous women clamoring for his affections).

Although technically a mystery-adventure series there was a significant comedy element generated by the reactions of his detectives and his superior to Burke's displays of wealth and indulgence.

Barry was perfectly cast as the suave and sophisticated working playboy. Unfortunately the supporting cast was quite marginal and the writers never developed these secondary characters beyond the most superficial level. But this did allow room to showcase a multitude of guest stars and like "The Wild Wild West" many of these were Hollywood's hottest starlets. Especially memorable was former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley whose unexpected chemistry with Barry led to multiple appearances during the course of the series.

Unlike "Columbo", the series withheld the identity of the killer from viewers until the end although it was not disclosed in the standard "Murder She Wrote" moment of revelation. The huge popularity of "James Bond" and "The Man From UNCLE" caused producer Aaron Spelling to introduce a secret agent formula into the final season. Unfortunately what had been a unique cop show became just another silly spy series and it expired after just half a season.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I was born in the 1960s and had never heard of this gem until I found it online recently. And I have to say that I'm very pleasantly surprised. It's about a Millionaire homicide Chief (inheritance from his father). Each episode takes us through a new killing where the Chief and his trusty chauffer and sidekicks solve a murder. There are so many of the old TV stars here. I've seen Sammy Davis Jr., Zsa Zsa Gabor, William Shatner, Annette Funicello, James MacArthur, and many others that I can't quite recall their names. It's a great watch for anyone who appreciated these classic series.

I never heard of this until 9 years ago and saw an episode posted on the Internet Archive and it was described as being the episode bumped to the following week because it was to air the night of the Kennedy assassination. It was interesting enough but I forgot the show and didnt think much of it until I started seeing old movies and Gene Berry started turning up in alot of them in varying roles, The Houston Story (sympathetic bad guy), Naked Alibi (sociopath) and the most memorable for me was the overlooked Samuel Fuller movie, China Gate where he plays an antihero mercenary (also Nat King Cole acted great and its the best thing I ever saw Angie Dickinson do).

This show has a really great first two seasons. Amos Burke is a suave and wealthy LA homicide detective. Someone with a sharp eye and quick wit. A welcome change from some of the villains Berry has played in those Noir movies. The stories are interesting with good twists and all had titles begining with "Who killed...."

I loved the format but I guess the ratings were luke warm hence the complete change in storyline to capitalize on the mid 60s secret agent craze. Those episodes lost the charm the first two seasons had. Instead it was lightweight Americanized made for TV James Bond type entertainment. Maybe the writing was still good but the format isn't to my liking. Thpse shows were too common and they were like westerns in the 1950s. On everywhere.

With the benefit of not having nostalgia for this show, I can see it in a modern way and I notice these types of cop shows were fairly unique then and still so now. If they thought to set Burkes Law in Hawaii, there may never have been a Steve McGarratt or Hawaii Five-O or Amos Burke-Secret Agent.

I actually laugh out loud watching this tongue-in-cheek cop show. It never took itself seriously and the guest stars loved hamming it up. A long list of Silver Age screen stars and future T.V. stars kept things moving at a brisk pace. Many you'll recognize just before they became TV', most famous stars. William Shatner, Elizabeth Montgomery, and many others. It even took pot-shots at it's own formula. For example in one episode the culprit makes a dash for the stairs to escape and is admonished by Amos Burke as 'Not that old cliché" or lines like "You've been watching too many cop shows on TV." A revival was attempted in 1984 but didn't hit all the right notes. Sexist by today's standards in the way Burke treated his lady friends, but it was a product of it's time. But of course if Burke ever became serious that would take away from his duties which Burke took very seriously. They couldn't make the show today without taking away it's dated charm. Don't forget Captain Amos Burke (Gene Barry) could SING too.