New Face in Hell

This Private Eye drama, set mostly in New York City in 1968, is an above-average film which is largely (and unfortunately) passed over by both network television and the movie rental industry. The low-key acting by Mr. Peppard is superb; indeed, he is probably at his best in this gritty PI flick which takes one from the dark subway stations of 1968 New York, to the glamour of a Carribean island, and back again. All the while, there is fantastic music, from the opening score to the recurring theme of "P.J." Raymond Burr is interesting and convincing as William Orbison, a rich, arrogant, scheming tycoon who hires P.J. Detweiler (Peppard) to protect his mistress Maureen Preble (Gayle Hunnicutt), but whom we always suspect of having other, darker motives. Coleen Grey, in a somewhat lesser role, is excellent as Orbison's bitter, scornful wife. Overall a very good, well acted drama, with plot twists, catchy music, and of course, a bit of Peppard's trademark dry humour.