I, the Jury (1953)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Harry Essex

Writers:

Harry Essex (writer)
Mickey Spillane (novel)

Release Date:

14 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

MICKEY SPILLANE'S Kind of Fury, Savagery, Temptation and Man-Woman Violence in 3-D !

Plot:

It's nearly Christmas, but Mike Hammer is on the vengeance trail when Jack, his wartime buddy, is murdered...

Plot Keywords:

Mike Hammer | Beautiful Woman | 3 Dimensional | Murder | Based On Novel

Cast

Biff Elliot	...	Mike Hammer
Preston Foster	...	Capt. Pat Chambers
Peggie Castle	...	Charlotte Manning
Margaret Sheridan	...	Velda
Alan Reed	...	George Kalecki
Mary Anderson	...	Eileen Vickers
Tom Powers	...	Milt Miller
Frances Osborne	...	Myrna Devlin
Bob Cunningham	...	Hal Kines (as Robert Cunningham)
Tani Guthrie	...	Mary Bellamy (as Tani Seitz)
Dran Seitz	...	Esther Bellamy
Joe Besser	...	Pete, Elevator Operator
Paul Dubov	...	Marty
John Qualen	...	Dr. R.H. Vickers, Veterinarian
Nestor Paiva	...	Manuel

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1954) | USA:Approved (PCA #16555) | Sweden:15

Company:

Parklane Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

Originally filmed in 3D.

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Girl Hunters (1963)

A Rare Experience

I got the chance to see this film today in a movie theater in its original 3-D glory. And WOW- not NEARLY as mediocre as you've heard. The audience LOVED it- what WAS bad dialogue is now hysterically camp. Biff Elliot (the screen's first Mike Hammer) was in attendence, full of vigor at age 80. A charming man, some wonderful anecdotes about his Hollywood experiences, but in his first film, he doesn't cut it. However, the supporting cast is wonderful- Peggy Castle is not only beautiful, but does a wonderful film noir dame. And my almost-Mother-In-Law Margaret Sheridan turns in outstanding support as Mike's secretary Velda...sexy & wise-crackingly smart(she retired in the early 60's to be a housewife and mother to two daughters- unfortunately, she passed away from cancer in 1981). A lot of "B" stars show up, like Elisha Cook Jr. and Joe Besser(the great tie-in to Joe was the 3-D Three Stooges short PARDON MY BACKFIRE which was also shown). And, as for the 3-D, it was rarely shown in that format, and the print shown was definately worn by time, but while there was no mandatory "throw it in your face" shots, the 3-D emminently added to the film's mood, with some wonderful photography, especially in L.A.'s Bradbury Building. I will definately check this one out again, albeit in it's "flat" version!