Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Lawbolisted Powerful

Prolabas Deeper than the descriptions

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

thestarkfist My wife and I have been binge watching the old Charlie Chan films from the '30s and '40s. They are charmingly corny and seem to have laid the groundwork for every Scooby Doo story line that they ever did. There's been a murder in the Wax Museum and we're going to have to creep around in there at night searching for clues!! Scaaaarrryyy! As you might imagine a steady diet of this sort of film starts to leave you hungering for something a little more gritty and down-to-earth. At least that was the case with me. So I decided to watch "I, The Jury", just for kicks, baby. Now I have been aware of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer for some time, although I have never read a single novel nor watched a Mike Hammer flick before, so I was a little curious to see what a Mike Hammer movie was like. I did a little research on the film before I downloaded it and read that it was the first attempt to bring the two-fisted Hammer to the silver screen. Great, I thought. Usually Hollywood's first attempts are always closest to the source material. I was somewhat familiar with who the character was supposed to be; a hard-boiled loner who'd been around the track more than a couple of times and seen plenty. I was picturing him as being portrayed by a middle-aged actor with a few lines in his face, maybe a scar on his cheek, y'know, having a face that would speak of tough choices and brutal encounters. The IMDb write up listed the actor who plays Mike in this flick as being one Biff Elliot. Never heard of him and who would take a Batman sound effect as his stage name anyway? When the movie started I couldn't have been more surprised. Biff looks like a baby, all smooth faced and cherubic. He looked like he should have been appearing next to Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in some wacky high school musical! I'll give Biff credit; he tries with all his might to fill the character's shoes but, in the end, he is this movie's biggest flaw. And what a character Mike Hammer is! He's a slightly psychotic rogue with a hair-triggered temper. We're made aware of this fact in the opening scene where a reporter makes a flip remark to Mike as he's leaving the scene of the crime and he smashes him into the china cabinet. Here's the setup: it's Christmas time in the Big Apple and Mike's best friend catches a couple of slugs from a 45 as he's making out his Christmas cards. Mike shows up a short while later, having been summoned by the cops, and has a melt-down over the murder. The victim was a one-armed, former policeman who served with Hammer in WWII. He took the bayonet that was meant for Mike in the arm, which is why he only had one left. Anyway, Mike is furious and announces to the head detective that he's going to find his buddy's killer and put a 45 round in his rotten stinkin guts! Gee, Mike, maybe announcing to the police that you intend to commit murder isn't the best way to start a case! Knee jerk violence isn't Hammer's only character trait. Seems the dames can't resist him. Every babe in this flick, and there a plenty, wants Mike like your dog wants that Slim Jim that's slipped behind the couch pillows. There's Mike's smokin' hot secretary. There's a twisted couple of blonde twins who throw themselves at Mike whenever he shows up to ask them a few questions. And then there's the lady psychiatrist, who seems to have been treating every one of the suspects, as well as Mike's pal, for various complaints that are never elaborated on. She's the most smokin' and sultry of them all. Naturally Mike falls for her in a big way! As the movie rolls along Hammer gets to suck plenty of face but they never seem to take it any farther. This is 1957, after all, and there's not so much as a smidgen of bared flesh to be seen. There's a scene where Hammer is awoken from his bed by urgent knocking at his apartment door. He rises still wearing a shirt and tie! Whatta classy guy! As the story unfolds we are treated to quite a lurid tale indeed. The numbers racket, drug addiction and prostitution all figure prominently in the scheme of things. Mike gets to beat some guys up and takes a couple of beatings himself. (The next day there's nary a scratch on his baby face, natch!) In the end Hammer pumps that slug into the gut of the rotten stinkin' murderer, just like he said he would. The movie ends with Mike calling the police to report his act of murder while you run to the shower to wash this movie off of you! Charlie Chan and Mike Hammer inhabit two separate universes. In Charlie's world most people are basically honest and decent while Charlie himself is a tower of virtue. In Charlie's world criminals are and aberration. In Hammer's world most people are treacherous scoundrels and Hammer is none too clean and pure himself. In Hammer's world good guys, like his murdered buddy, who spent his days trying to help others, get gunned down in cold blood by the scum that they're forced to share the planet with. Both universes are laughable cartoons of reality, but that's where the fun comes from.

Leonard Thomason I, the Jury (1953), the first flick to feature Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, is a substandard Film Noir, but it has a Lot of Heart with Great Dialogue, an Engrossing Plot and requisite Bevy of Beautiful Dames.Having Biff Elliot in the starring role of Mike Hammer is its most obvious flaw. You're immediate alarmed by the character's appearance, akin to a battered punch-drunk ex-boxer. One wonders if his appearance is due to post-traumatic stress, a victim of 'Shell Shock' from exposure to the horrors & brutality of war in the South Pacific. We get an idea of the savagery when he laments at the passing of his friend Jack Williams, a guy who literally gave his right arm for a friend when he caught a Japanese Bayonet that was meant for Hammer.The blind loyalty displayed by Margaret Sheridan's characterization of Hammer's Assistant 'Velda' can be reasoned again by what happened to him in the South Pacific, feeling indebted to him for his sacrifice.Is it the private hell he went through the reason the chemistry between Hammer and femme fatale Psychoanalyst Charlotte Manning (Peggie Castle) doesn't ever feel right? Whatever the reason, whenever she appears on screen Hammer isn't the only one being mesmerized by her!There's a truckload of great moments from character actors practicing their craft. While each scene is not without random flaws, it's not the fault of the actors as they endeavor to showcase their performance range. This is particularly true of Alan Reed. As his second entry into the Noir World, he performs the role of George Kalecki aka 'Mister Big'. In his case, direction of the camera never seems to be framed properly. However, Mr. Big's Emotional Relationship with his mobster lieutenant Hal Kines (Robert Cunningham) is decades ahead of its time! Previously in 1946, Reed got the tar beaten out of him by John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice. He would return to the Noir Genre again with Humphrey Bogart in 1955's Desperate Hours.Other notable character performances include: Preston Foster - Captain Pat Chambers, Elisha Cook, Jr. – Bobo, Nestor Paiva - Bartender Manuel, John Qualen - Veterinary Doctor R.H. VickersThe film's Cinematographer, John Alton, worked on a dozen Noir Films of varying quality during 1947 to 1955, the most celebrated are those made with acclaimed Director Anthony Mann: T-Men (1947), Raw Deal (1948), He Walked by Night (1948) & Border Incident (1949).There's a showdown of fisticuffs where Hammer is out-numbered and out-gunned, while Velda's life is held in the balance. The scene is set on a marble staircase of the interior court inside the legendary Bradbury Building containing Hammer's Office. Renowned for its unique architecture, the Bradbury has been featured for decades in motion pictures, television and music videos from as early as 1944. Its most famous use includes the films D.O.A (1950), Marlowe (1969), Chinatown (1974), as well as the Television Series 77 Sunset Strip, City of Angels and Banyon.Those critical of this film should keep in mind that judging by the high quality of the promotional posters accompanying the film, it was being made for the lucrative Drive-In Market. It bears the similar qualities and short cuts utilized by Roger Corman during his turn at making movies for Drive-Ins during the 1950's.To his credit, Biff Elliot does a good job at portraying the Private Investigator as brawny, physically tough with his fists and never shying away from violence. His performance displays the traits fans associate with Mickey Spillane's anti-hero: machismo, misogynist, sexist, unapologetic and politically incorrect. He's a solitary hard-boiled sleuth, who's impatient with the legal system and willing to avenge victims as Judge, Jury and Executioner.The visual finale baring the physicality of Peggie Castle doesn't disappoint! But if you're expecting the suave sophistication of Sam Spade, you'll be sadly disappointed; instead you'll get a metaphor of a brutal garbage man who's come to take out the trash!!!

david david I love this film. The noir imagery combined with Spillane's no nonsense character Mike Hammer works marvellously to create a mood and feel seldom found in low budget detective films of the early fifties. It may not be 'The Maltese Falcon' but this film makes it's own solid contribution to the genre. Spillane is often criticised for alleged misogyny etc, but his 'dames' are way above their male counterparts in terms of cunning and intelligence. Poor old Mike Hammer, as effectively played by Biff Elliott, is blinded by the beauty of the mysterious psychiatrist whom he meets when investigating the death of an army buddy. When the penny finally drops his face is a picture. Good to see that 50s censorship did not force the film makers to omit the famous last line. A bona fide low budget classic.

jeezelbeezel I consider this film to be the best one about Mike Hammer, with Biff Elliott's performance the definitive Mike Hammer. Harry Essex's script is excellent and contains many improvements on Mickey Spillane's novel. His direction is strong and imaginative, and he makes fine use of light and shadow. The camera work by John Alton is top-notch, as is the score by Franz Waxman. The cast includes many veteran players, as well as Peggie Castle in her memorable performance as Charlotte Manning. All in all, this is one of the finest private eye films ever made. Biff Elliott and Haary Essex should have received more opportunities. I have always treasured this film.