Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2026 May 22 • Friday

Mickey Spillane's first Mike Hammer novel, I, the Jury (great title), changed the landscape of crime fiction in much the same way that the first "hardboiled" detective writers (Dashiell Hammett, Carroll John Daly, Paul Cain) had done decades earlier.

The book was a hit. Mike Hammer isn't around so much these days but he was a pretty big deal in the mid-twentieth century. And so of course there were movies and TV shows and so on.

But the really big deal is the very first movie, 1953's I the Jury, based on the first Mike Hammer.

Hammer's old friend and war buddy, who only has one arm, is murdered and Hammer is going to make whoever did it pay for it, regardless of how much sex and violence it entails.

I haven't read this book in a really long time but the movie seemed to follow it pretty closely, although some scenes are, predictably, toned down.

But why bother? Who cares?

BECAUSE—it was shot by John Alton, one of the greatest cinematographers who ever lived and perhaps THE greatest film noir photographer of all time! AND the Bradbury building in Los Angeles is used as a location!

AND!!! It's in 3-D!!! John Alton in 3-D!!!.

Watching it is a truly incredible experience. The images would be astounding in regular 2-D but seeing them in 3-D is just mindblowing.

Biff Elliot, in his first movie as the screen's first Mike Hammer, is almost perfect. He looks great and he acts great and he moves great but his voice is wrong for the character.

Still, it's absolutely essential. John Alton in 3-D!