Burke’s Law: Season One Volume Two (DVD, 1964) ** FREE SHIPPING **

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‘Burke’s Law’ was a hit prime-time TV series that aired on ABC in 1963 and ran until 1966. It starred Gene Barry in the title role (for which he won a Golden Globe Best TV Actor Award in 1965) of an LA chief of detectives, who also happened to be a millionaire! Each episode featured unusual plot twists, glamorous settings and a fabulous list of guest stars. So good it was brought back for a brief run in 1994!

“One of these days,” remarks rumpled veteran Los Angeles police sergeant Les Hart (Regis Toomey), “we’ll find ourselves with a nice, easy case.” But open and shut cases are no fun, and for Burke’s Law, one of the most offbeat and still entertaining cop shows ever, the more bizarre and baffling the case, the better, as witness these 16 star-studded episodes that complete Season One. Millionaire playboy Amos Burke (Gene Barry in his Golden Globe-winning role) has his hands full, not just juggling the unending parade of afternoon delights who demand his attention (the randy Burke “swings like a circus trapeze”), but also with the tryst-interrupting phone calls summoning him to a crime scene. This is murder, Southern California-style: A pop artist impaled on one of his own paintings, a fashion house owner found dead in an elevator full of mannequins, and an “ordinary” suburban housewife strangled in her shower. Produced by Aaron Spelling, Burke’s Law anticipates his The Love Boat with its eclectic roster of guest stars who portray colorful characters and shady suspects. Each episode is brimming with show business legends in the twilights of their careers (Betty Hutton, Buster Keaton, Jayne Mansfield, Spike Jones), indelible character actors (Jim Backus, Gena Rowlands, John Cassavettes), future stars (Barbara Eden, William Shatner, Elizabeth Montgomery) and cult faves (Tura Satana from Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!). But Amos Burke is the real character and the real deal. “A good civil servant doesn’t rest until the job is done,” is just one of his aphorisms that comprise “Burke’s Law.” Barry gets able support from Gary Conway as Det. Tim Tilson, Burke’s hunky, hotshot protégé, and Leon Lontoc as Henry, who chauffeurs Burke’s Rolls Royce. Burke’s Law is stylish, sexy, and smart. Harlan Ellison peppers his witty script for “Who Killed Andy Zygmunt” with clever wordplay (when asked his opinion on pop art, Burke replies, tongue in cheek, “He’s a nice enough old fellow”), literary and pop culture references, and sly digs at the art world and children’s television. For more retro fun, each of this set’s four discs contains as a bonus vintage commercials for Crest, Green Mint mouthwash, (the “clean taste of confidence”), L&M Cigarettes, Schick Stainless Steel blades and more. But Burke’s Law is no ’60s relic. Today’s prime time cops should be so cool. –Donald Liebenson