The one great adaptation of Mickey Spillane, Robert Aldrich's 1955 film noir classic Kiss Me Deadly, subverted the author's hardboiled universe and left its gleefully brutal star, private detective Mike Hammer, to an uncertain but probably unpleasant fate. Most other iterations lacked such ambition. Perhaps the most charming of the lot debuted on network television in 1958 and ran for 78 episodes. “Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Complete Series” will be out Sept. 20 on DVD.
Darren McGavin starred as Hammer and brought unwarranted humanity to the role. His Hammer was a tough guy and a nice guy, fast with his fists and forward with the dames. Of course, the strictures of network TV in those days insisted on softening the bluntness of Spillane's jackhammer prose, and yet, the series remained unusually violent in its depictions and, more so, its implications. McGavin delivered a staccato “Dragnet” style narration, accompanied by a jazz noir score, as he stares down cops and crooks alike. His Hammer is always on the good side, even if he seldom plays by the book.
The compact, half-hour dramas provide many opportunities to spot the future stars. Everyone from Lorne Greene to DeForest Kelly and Angie Dickinson made an appearance
