Smile Jenny, You're Dead

Was never a fan of David Janssen, but now I am. He is delightful as Harry Orwell, funny, grumpy, old(er), emotional, good-hearted, heartbreaking - especially in this of 2 pilots ! also the series is wonderful, despite the changes of his playground (from San Diego to Los Angeles), the lack of a true continuing concept (like in The Fugitive). But it is HE, David Janssen, who carries the series. We want HIM to observe, how HE plays & forms the character of this because of a non-removal bullitt in is back retired police officer, who is forced to earn some extra money as an private investigator ! How he travels by bus, because his old Austin Healy is constantly in repair, how he "battleling" with his former police collegues or would he finished his boat "The Answer" (what a name for a boat) - I wish I could see more. A shame & a pity, that the series was cancelled after 2 seasons , because of the awful "Charlie's Angels". (this is how I stopped watching US TV series in the 70s !) A great waste of a great talent ! I must say this, like many others in this forum ! "Smile Jenny, You're Dead" - is a great film, not only for the TV format. Catchy story (about stalking), catchy performances of all actors, esp. Janssen and Andrea Marcovicci (wasn' she the partner of Anthony Newley in his "Chaplin" musical ??) "Smile Jenny, You're dead" is private detective film in his best noirish way, with a dropout, cynical detective who silently and tenderly falls in love with a beautiful mysterious woman (Marcovicci). Marvelous voice overs: "I kept hoping I'd reach her. I kept hoping I wouldn't reach her...I had better days," Even this almost unbelievable relationship is so believable acted with a hitting end ! I recommend this film very much ! With every watching you discover more of a great, so terrible underrated actor - David Janssen at his best !!!

Rare Movie From Dirty Harry O Series

It is great to see this long lost made for TV movie finally make it to DVD. Now us die hard David Janssen and Harry O fans can finally have all of the Harry O show on disc. The picture and sound quality is stellar. It is a great transfer from a great print I do not think this show looked that good when I saw it on TV in 1974. I loved it! It is your typical made for TV movie but is a good story and really gives you insight into the Harry O character that he will portray in the series. I would say this is a must for anyone planning on watching the whole series on DVD. I would start with the first two pilots. This one and the other one that comes in the season one DVD set. It is true there are no bonus's and it just comes in a standard DVD case but who needs extras it is the movie you really want to watch. As for the price it is fair for an on demand product that is made for a very limited audience that probably is also the reason there are no extras. I would give an A+ to Warner Bros TV for finally dusting off this long lost TV movie and making it available for us to enjoy again! It is will worth the price of admission.

There were two pilots done for Harry O. One comes in the Season One DVD set, "Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On" and this one which you have to buy separately, which was disappointing after paying a lot for the series sets -- but I am glad I purchased it. The acting is well done and it is a thriller because there is a serial killer out there and Harry is trying to prevent the main character from being one of the victims while he is investigating to find out WHO it is and why. All are done in DVD-R: the seasons and this pilot. The transfers are great, we watched the movie and part of season one on a 50" HD Plasma TV. The audio is Dolby Digital English Only Mono, the aspect ratio is 1.37:1 and is 4x3. The show is c 1974, renewed 2002 and the DVD-R is copyright 2011 Warner Bros Enterprises, Inc., Distributed by Warner Home Video. It runs 90 minutes. The TV movie includes the following actors: Starring David Janssen, Guest Starring: John Anderson, Howard Da Silva, Martin Gabel, Clu Gulater, Zalman King, Tim McIntire, Andrea Marcovicci, co-star Jodie Foster. This movie is worth purchasing and is a good addition to the season 1 and 2 sets.

I always liked the David Jansen show Harry O. This is the second pilot movie that launched the series. Jansen is great! I like him in this series more than The Fugitive. If you like detective stories of the "hard boiled" kind, I would recommend it.

I was very excited once Smile Jenny You're Dead was available on DVD and bought it immediately. And now Harry O Season 1, six disks twenty-two episodes plus the original pilot, is now available on DVD. It currently is only available made-to-order through the WBShop.com, but on that page it mentions it will soon also be available for purchase through Amazon and other entities. I've already ordered, and if the quality is as I hope it will be, I will be ordering more for family members. So everyone rejoice, buy early and buy often... I will. We want to make sure they make Season 2 available too.

David Janssen is one of my favorite actors and Harry Orwell is his best character. This is more movie than tv show pilot, but it introduces Harry Orwell character. There were so many tv detectives, but Harry Orwell was different than most. He was older, had a bad back and was grumpy most of the time. This is not so much grumpy, but still does have the overall feel of the character and the series. We enjoyed seeing it again.

item is strictly for nostalgia reasons - someone who remembers Harry O. But shipped promptly and exactly as promised.