3 Star

Mike Hammer’s First Case.

I, the Jury is the first film adaptation of Mickey Spillane‘s (Kiss Me Deadly, My Gun Is Quick) private eye Mike Hammer. Written for the screen by Harry Essex (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon), and Cinematographer John Alton (Twelve Women, Girls of the Big House) gives it that gritty Film-Noir look. The First Mike Hammer film comes to you on Blu-ray.

It is late at night in a festive New York City, and Jack Williams sits in his room looking at a photo of John Hanson, the Chairman of the Psychology Club. As he ponders the photo, his door opens a crack, and a 45 points and fires, hitting Jack fatally. The next morning, Mike Hammer is running up the stairs to his dead friend’s apartment. Mike already has a reputation with Police Captain Pat Chambers (Preston Foster, The Last Days of Pompeii, The Man from Galveston), and he can understand Mike’s anger at his old army buddy being slain.

Mike swears he will find Jack’s killer, and he will deal out his justice, even if it means his licence and prosecution.

He’s a one-man Police Department.

Mike takes out his frustration on a newspaperman, and after Mike has left, Pat tells the reporter to run a story on Mike, saying he knows who the killer is.

Mike goes to see Jacks partner Myrna (Frances Osborne, Murder by Contract, Man Crazy) who is so in shock she can’t tell Mike anything other than they were going to get married next week.

Pat also helps out Mike, as when he goes to his office, his secretary and sweetheart Velda (Margaret Sheridan, The Thing from Another World, The Diamond) hands him a list of all the party goers the night of the murder. It includes George Kalecki (Alan Reed, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Flintstones (TV Series)), Charlotte Manning (Peggie Castle, Invasion, U.S.A., Two-Gun Lady), twin sisters Esther (Tani Guthrie, Greenwich Village Story, Daughters of Satan) and Mary Bellamy (Dran Hamilton, Space Patrol (TV Series), Dirty Little Billy).

First Mike visits fight promoter George Kalecki who introduces him to his live-in friend, Hal Kines (Bob Cunningham, The Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV Series)), who both give each other an alibi, so Mike leaves, but as he leaves he looks through a window and sees the pair arguing. Something is not right here, so Mike has a case on his hands. Can Mike smoke out the killer before he takes a slug in the back?

With dark and moody camera work, this gives the feel of a real Noir film, as Mike Hammer goes about his business with fists and revolver out.

A great way to start a Mike Hammer collection on Blu-ray.

I, The Jury is available on Blu-ray