Book Points by Laura Wagner

(Originally published in the November, 2013 issue of Classic Images, www.classicimages.com)

Crime writer Mickey Spillane (1918-2006), best known for creating the popular detective Mike Hammer, has always been one of my favorite writers. He began writing professionally for comic books in the 1940s. In need of extra cash after the war, Spillane wrote his first novel, I, The Jury, in nineteen days in 1947. The book, which was a huge success, introduced the character of Mike Hammer.

I, The Jury was also the first movie adapted from a Spillane novel. The 1953 film starred Biff Elliot as the hard-boiled detective. Elliott, however, was no match for Ralph Meeker’s portrayal of Hammer in the classic Kiss Me, Deadly (1955). Other actors who played Mike Hammer include Robert Bray (My Gun Is Quick), Kevin Dobson (Margin For Murder), and Armand Assante (1982’s I, The Jury). Darren McGavin was the first actor to play Hammer on TV, in the 1950s. In recent years, Stacy Keach has become most identified in the role due to a series of television movies and the TV series The New Mike Hammer.

According to The Washington Times, Mickey Spillane “was a quintessential Cold War writer, an unconditional believer in good and evil and a rare political conservative in the book world. Communists were villains in his work and liberals took some hits as well. In a manner similar to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, Hammer was a cynical loner contemptuous of the ‘tedious process’ of trials, choosing instead to enforce the law on his own terms.” (Hammer says in One Lonely Night, “I lived only to kill the scum and the lice that wanted to kill themselves. I lived to kill so that others could live. I lived to kill because my soul was a hardened thing that reveled in the thought of taking the blood of the bastards who made murder their business.”)

Spillane was a celebrity in his own right, often appearing on television as himself. As an actor, he appeared in Ring Of Fear (1954), which was co-produced by John Wayne; Spillane also co-wrote the film without credit. Save for the dreary Clyde Beatty circus footage, Ring Of Fear was a pretty good murder-mystery, boasting an excellent performance from Sean McClory as a silky-smooth psychotic and a fascinating Spillane as himself, a writer-detective investigating freak accidents at the circus. He would play his creation, Mike Hammer, in The Girl Hunters (1963), which was filmed in England. Spillane also appeared in Miller Lite beer commercials in the 1970s and ‘80s.

As a writer Spillane was often criticized for his heated prose, his “artless plots, his reliance on unlikely coincidence and a simplistic understanding of the law” (New York Times), while others had difficulty with the extreme violence and sexual content. Even Ogden Nash got into the act when he wrote, “The Marquis de Sade/Wasn’t always mad/What addled his brain/Was Mickey Spillane.” Spillane, himself, called his own writing “the chewing gum of American literature.” He dismissed his critics, remarking, “I’m not writing for the critics. I’m writing for the public.” He described himself as a “money writer,” in that “I write when I need money. I have no fans. You know what I got? Customers. And customers are your friends.” And there was no denying that he was a very popular, influential, and hard-hitting writer.

Spillane died at the age of 88. After his death, his friend and literary executor Max Allan Collins edited and completed several of Spillane’s unpublished typescripts.

“I snapped the side of the rod across his jaw and laid the flesh open to the bone,” Spillane wrote in The Big Kill. “I pounded his teeth back into his mouth with the end of the barrel … and I took my own damn time about kicking him in the face. He smashed into the door and lay there bubbling. So I kicked him again and he stopped bubbling.” How can you not love that? Whew.

The aforementioned Max Allan Collins and James L. Traylor have written a terrific new book called Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film Adaptations (McFarland softcover, $45). We get chapters on:

Spillane At The Movies: I, the Jury (1953), The Long Wait (1954), Ring of Fear (1954), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), My Gun Is Quick (1957), The Girl Hunters (1963), The Delta Factor (1970), I, the Jury (1982).

Spillane On TV: Mike Hammer TV Pilot (1954), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1958-59), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer in Margin for Murder (1981), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: Murder Me, Murder You (1983), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: More Than Murder (1984), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1984-85) CBS-TV, Return of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1986), The New Mike Hammer (1986-87) CBS-TV, Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (1989), Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer Mystery (1994), Tomorrow I Die (Fallen Angels, 1995), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997-98).

Appendices: A. The Hammer (Film) Code, B. The Girl Hunt Ballet (The Band Wagon, 1953), C. Who’s Who of Spillane on Film, D. Stars of the Hammer Film Universe, E. Mickey Spillane in His Own Words.

Each movie gets a thorough analysis, a detailed plot summary (with pertinent dialogue and comments), historical background, trivia, and the authors’ opinion of how Spillane’s works are adapted, how the characters are handled, opinions on performances, etc. The commentary is fair and balanced, and in a few instances very funny. I was especially tickled by the chapter on Come Die with Me, a simply dreadful sounding “updating” of Mike Hammer starring Rob Estes and Pamela Anderson. The plot recapping is simply mind-boggling, just amazing sounding, and the author’s insertion of humor is welcome. This was a pilot made with absolutely no understanding of the Hammer character, especially when they had the tough private eye get on a skateboard. I laughed out loud when they wrote, “It has come to this: Mike Hammer on a skateboard.” The whole thing is just so surreal.

It has been acknowledged that the quintessential Mike Hammer has always been Ralph Meeker in the classic Kiss Me Deadly—and rightly so. But, the authors make strong cases for Biff Elliot, Armand Assante, and, of course, Spillane himself as portrayers of Mike Hammer.

I have a personal liking for the 1953 version of I, The Jury, a brutal, very underappreciated film noir. I always thought poor Biff Eliot has been given raw deal, by fans and critics alike. He’s been knocked for his short stature, for his suits with padded shoulders, and for his overall look and speaking voice, but I enjoyed his performance very much. Biff was hot-tempered, quick with his fists, and had an edge to him, which I thought perfect for the role—critics, be damned. I’m glad that Collins and Traylor feel as strongly as I do that Biff should be better remembered. The movie is not shown often, but it’s worth seeing. Another reassessment comes for the ’80s’ I, the Jury with Armand Assante. The authors make it sound like a must-see, and I must confess that before this I hadn’t wanted to see this, but I do now. I judged before seeing this, something you should never do with movies. Assante seems an odd choice for Hammer, but if the authors say he does a good job, then he should be given a chance. This is another film not in circulation.

The separate Mike Hammer television series starring Darren McGavin and Stacy Keach have neatly organized chapters. It isn’t feasible to talk about every episode, naturally, but by concentrating on select episodes and summing up others, and discussing recurring themes, etc., they give us an excellent flavor of the series’ runs. This is harder than it looks, but the authors make it seem effortless. Good writing, all around. Complete episode guides are included.

Their very persuasive write-ups pinpoint all of the films’ strengths and weaknesses with good analyses and some clever wording. I was very glad, since we are talking about some film noirs within, that the authors did not resort to phony “noir writing.” You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all read books about noirs where the authors think they have to write “tough,” in the so-called style of noir. It only comes across as irritating. Thankfully, that is missing here, and we instead get good, solid writing.

You love Spillane? This is the book to get. A better discussion of the films adapted from his work you will not find. Nor are there authors more knowledgeable than Collins and Traylor. Plus, there’s an interesting Q&A with Spillane conducted by co-author Collins at the book’s conclusion.

Photos are terrific, with some behind-the-scenes shots that were new to me.