Love and the Private Eye

"Love and the Private Eye" is a segment in an episode of Love, American Style season three, with the intention of being a back-door pilot to an adult spy comedy that failed to become fully realized. It aired on January 28, 1972 on ABC. It was written by Ray Allen and Harvey Bullock, produced Alan Rafkin, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and directed by Hanna and Barbera, the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions. Hanna-Barbera didn't forget the idea of a private investigator, which may have morphed into the tamer Inch High, Private Eye, which began a year later.

Private investigator and master of disguise Melvin Danger looks into the murder of his recent client.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Melvin Danger
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Richard Dawson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Williams
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Leonard Weinrib
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Peggy Mason
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Cynthia Adler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| George Hammond
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Robert Holt
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Garbage man #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Garbage man #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Tangerine Glick
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Mitzi McCall
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Police captain
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mrs. Hammond
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mike Riker
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Carl Best
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mrs. Hammond
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mike Riker
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Carl Best
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson

Organizations

 * Hammond Industries
 * Danger Incorporated
 * Tri-Cities Insurance (mentioned)

Locations

 * Earth
 * United States
 * Hammond Industries HQ
 * Melvin Danger's offices
 * Mrs. Hammond's residence
 * Riverside Avenue
 * Peggy Mason's residence

Objects

 * Nothing of importance

Vehicles

 * Melvin's car

Filming
It was copyrighted in 1971.

Music
The score was composed by Hoyt Curtin. It was edited by Pat Foley.

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: January 28, 1972 on ABC

Behind the scenes

 * Melvin and Williams's voices are styled after actors, Humphrey Bogart and Terry Thomas, respectively.
 * The names outside of the hotel Melvin rents an office are called Casablanca Street and Sierra named after the films Casablanca and either The Treasure of the Sierra or High Sierra, films that Bogart starred in.
 * Like other Hanna-Barbera series at the time, it also had its own laugh track.
 * This was the first of two pilots Hanna-Barbera tested through Love, American Style, but whereas this failed, the second one entitled "Love and the Old-Fashioned Father", led to the fully realized series Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, which lasted three seasons.

Errors

 * The captain calls Frank an officer, when he looks more like a detective.