Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

1958
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

Seasons & Episodes

  • 2
  • 1

EP1 Baubles, Bangles and Blood Jan 02, 1959

Mike is hired by an ex-con who now runs an amusement park in New Jersey. The former con-artist has received blackmail notes demanding $25,000 or else he reveal that the old man lied about his identity on his business license applications.

EP2 Accentuate the Negative Jan 09, 1959

When an innocent man is accused of murder, Mike is hired to find the real killer of a photographer who ran a phony modelling school and dabbled in blackmail on the side.

EP3 I Ain't Talkin' Jan 16, 1959

An old friend asks Mike to reason with a young man who refuses to identify the murderers of a drugstore owner in his old neighborhood. Mike is no more successful than his sister or the police in persuading the youth to talk, but when the witness is found murdered the next day, Mike decides to bring in the killers on his own.

EP4 The Big Drop Jan 23, 1959

A woman hires Mike to find the man who murdered who father, an experienced steeplejack and window-washer who fell 20 floors to his death. Mike's investigation shows that the murdered man lost a $10,000 investment with a crooked stockbroker who seems to have disappeared, leaving a hulking henchman behind to protect his interests.

EP5 Aces and Eights Jan 30, 1959

Hammer is providing security for a jewelry store and catches a woman stealing a piece. Her husband is a gambler deeply in debt and Hammer takes pity and decides to help her. Hammer poses as her cousin and discovers that the poker game her husband plays in is crooked.

EP6 Requiem for a Sucker Feb 06, 1959

Mike helps out an old friend when her husband is accused of murdering a loan shark. His investigation revealed that a number of people were interested in taking over the mobster's racket, but the crucial bit of evidence is the scent of cheap perfume Mike smells in the murdered man's apartment.

EP7 Husbands Are Bad Luck Feb 13, 1959

Sonya Miles, a pretty secretary, engaged to marry her wealthy boss's son, is threatened with blackmail by her sleazy ex-husband, a rodeo performer. She hires Mike to keep her former spouse in line. Mike reasons with the cowboy - using both of his fists - and thinks the situation is in hand, but the ex-husband forces Sonya to break into the office safe at night. When the cowboy is discovered murdered in the office, the money gone and Sonya's purse is found at the scene of the crime, only Mike believes in her innocence.

EP8 Jury of One Feb 20, 1959

Mike's old friend Patricia Tyler calls him for help when neighborhood hoodlums vandalize her father's grocery store. Mike sides with the hoodlums since her father was the vote that hung a jury in the murder trial of Mike's nemesis, Sam Mayo, a gangster who Mike believes killed a friend of his. When the assistant District Attorney decides to drop the case because several witnesses develop amnesia, Mike starts his own investigation - with surprising results.

EP9 Another Man's Poisson Feb 27, 1959

Vic Fontainee, a blind fish monger, hires Mike to find out if the man claiming to be his long-lost brother is really on the level. Mike discovers that not only is the man an impostor trying to falsely inherit $20,000 from the Fontanee family trust, but the fraud is also having an affair with his wife, Maria. What Mike doesn't discover, until it's too late, is Maria's plan to kill her husband.

EP10 According to Luke Mar 06, 1959

Luke Lund is being blackmailed. He is a racketeer now posing as a legitimate land developer in Shale City. He lures Mike Hammer from New York and with the help of a crooked cop frames him for the murder of the blackmailer.

EP11 Coney Island Baby Mar 13, 1959

Mike has thirty minutes to solve a murder when his lost gun is used to kill a jealous husband who had beaten him senseless the day before.

EP12 Save Me in San Salvador Mar 20, 1959

Hammer gets involved in political intrigue with a Colonel and two gorgeous women.

EP13 Park the Body Apr 02, 1959

Mike receives an anonymous letter with a $300 retainer hiring him to investigate the disappearance of a parking lot attendant. Mike learns that the man was defrauding the owner by marking wrong arrival times on parking tickets and pocketing the proceeds. When the man was found murdered, he traces the killer back to the company's headquarters.

EP14 Tattoo Bruté Apr 09, 1959

A beautiful Chinese woman asks Mike to find the man who robbed an illegal poker game held in the back of a Chinese restaurant. One of them who lost heavily has threatened her father, the restaurant owner, with bodily harm unless the money is returned within 24 hours. Mike's only clue is the masked gunman had the number "8" tattooed on the back of his left hand.

EP15 When I Am Dead, My Darling... Apr 16, 1959

Mike, vacationing in France, is asked to help a pretty American widow who is traveling on the ocean liner "Isle de France". The woman claims to see her dead husband everywhere, but the ships' officers think she is slowing going insane with grief. Mike agrees with their diagnosis until he sees the "ghost" try to throw the widow overboard; he then races against time to capture the all-to-real spirit before he can finish the job.

EP16 Swing Low, Sweet Harriet Apr 23, 1959

Mike is hired to dissuade a pretty blonde from blackmailing his client with a tape recording of his extra-marital indiscretions. Mike finds the woman hanging from the ceiling in her apartment and, after his client is arrested for murder, investigates other parties who had reason to want the young woman dead.

EP17 The Last Aloha Apr 30, 1959

Mike is in Hawaii on a business trip and winds up searching for gold instead.

EP18 Shoot Before You Look May 01, 1959

Mike investigates a $50,000 jewelry heist and double-murder for the insurance company. He gets a tip that the thief and murderer is hiding in a nearby hotel and kills the crook in a gunfight. When Mike learns that the dead man was a known jewel thief who never carried a gun, he suspects that he was tricked into shooting a man by his double-crossing partner and sets out to bring the other gunsel to justice.

EP19 Evidence on the Record May 08, 1959

When several of Johnny Sixty's juke box machines and his ace mechanic murdered, the police focus on Sixty's business rival, Wallets Mack. Mack insists he's innocent and hires Mike to prove it. Mike's investigation turns up blackmail, an invalid wife and a pretty singer with dreams of the big time.

EP20 The Commodore May 15, 1959

A homeless man tells Mike that he's the victim of a double cross and a nice old man confesses to a murder.

EP21 Curtains for an Angel May 22, 1959

Mike investigates a murder and confidence game involving a New York theater group.

EP22 A Haze on the Lake May 29, 1959

Mike is hired to discretely investigate a series of attempts on the life of Carl Kunard, a successful building contractor, the most recent of which took place at the man's vacation lodge in upstate New York. Mike's suspects include Kunard's unhappy business partner, his trophy wife and his resentful son. Hammer's efforts are hindered by a fraternity pledge held in the lodge to escape the prying eyes of the university authorities.

EP23 See No Evil Jun 04, 1959

Hammer is hired by a gypsy to clear her boyfriend Carl as an accomplice in robbery. Carl's brother Van is a monkey grinder and after Hammer questions him is murdered. The monkey (Banjo) saves Hammer's life as he solves the crime and clears Carl.

EP24 Dixie Is Dead Jun 11, 1959

Mike's hired by a nightclub owner when thugs bust up his Dixieland joint. He's sure they were sent by the club across the street because he stole their headliner, Dixie Dee. Dixie's a woman who twists men around her finger and uses them for her own gain, so when she's murdered, the list of remorseless male suspects is long.

EP25 Bride and Doom Jun 18, 1959

Showgirl Ruby Duvall is roughed up by her future sister-in-law, arrogant society snob Joyce Conroy, and offered $5000 not to marry Philip and soil the family name. It seems an open-and-shut when Ruby is found dead in her dressing room after a visit from Joyce. It's all too obvious for Mike after learning of another backstage visitor that night: Ruby's violent ex-con ex-boyfriend who refused to let Ruby go.

EP26 M Is for Mother Jun 25, 1959

A college girl comes to Mike saying her mother, an attractive widow, is involved with a man trying to con her out of money. Hammer confirms there are a couple of scams going on. One is being played on him by the daughter; the other involves betting on horses with the seemingly innocent characters doing the cheating.

EP27 Pen Pals Jul 10, 1959

A young man suddenly turns into a coward at the unexpected appearance of two strangers. Distraught, his wife turns to Mike Hammer for aid.

EP28 Now Die in It Jul 17, 1959

Mikes hired by a husband and wife to investigate the murder of a family member.

EP29 Slay Upon Delivery Jul 17, 1959

After getting in debt to a couple running an upscale dice game, Paul Redmond is roughed up by their collections thug Murphy before disappearing. Murphy's a renegade private eye who lost his license and is now muscling in on the gambling racket. The wife of the missing Redmond hires Mike to find her husband.

EP30 Groomed To Kill Jul 17, 1959

A blackmailing showgirl is found murdered and one of Hammer's friends is the number one suspect.

EP31 Doll Trouble Jul 31, 1959

Mike's vacation at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels is interrupted by a case. Wealthy Wilma Puttnam asks Hammer to investigate the people claiming to have the daughter of her late sister who died in the Nazi concentration camps. Mrs. Puttnam wants to be sure it's really Anna/Derna before paying the $5000 they're asking for.

EP32 Stocks and Blondes Aug 07, 1959

Tom O'Rough is severely beaten en route to Mike's office. He's concern that Si Loomis, a small-time crook, has won the heart of his employer, Edie Sanford, and she's about to lose her money and her company to the grifter. When Mike can't force the crook to back off and can't convince the Edie that she's fallen for a criminal, he tries to use Loomis' pretty young secretary to get enough evidence to break up the romance.

EP33 Wedding Mourning Aug 13, 1959

Mike finally meets the love of his life and proposes to attractive Kathy Dean. They never make it down the aisle; he and Pat Chambers find her shot to death just before the wedding. Learning from Gita that a bookie was offering 100 to 1 odds the wedding would never happen, Hammer goes on a violent rampage until he gets to the man behind the murder.

EP34 Merchant of Menace Aug 20, 1959

Am ex-con he'd help send to prison makes a death threat against Mike. Believing its just a sick joke, Hammer decides to meet with the man.

EP35 I Remember Sally Aug 27, 1959

A dying man comes to New York and hires Mike to find the attractive young woman he remembers from 15 years earlier. Mike tracks down Sally Bryant to the fleabag Central Hotel and discovers she's hardly beauty the old man remembers. She's slovenly, hard-edged, and married to a greedy husband with a stripper girlfriend.

EP36 A Mugging Evening Sep 03, 1959

A married out-of-towner is set up for a mugging in Central Park by a sexy young woman he'd only met that day. Wanting his stolen briefcase back and his name out of the newspapers, the cheating husband comes to Mike for help. Ellen Robbins, who's still on probation, is running the mugging scam with her boyfriend and another thug. Matters turn deadly when she returns the briefcase for $1000 bucks and doesn't cut her cohorts in on the extra money.

EP37 Slab Happy Sep 11, 1959

Punch-drunk former boxer Kid Dakota still carries a torch for gold-digging his ex-wife Julie. The Kid got into a fight with Julie's current husband at their restaurant (which used to be his) and vowed to kill him. When the husband turns up dead a few hours later, the police have an open and shut case. Mike, however, thinks Kid's been framed by someone else who wanted the current husband dead.

EP38 Siamese Twinge Sep 18, 1959

An Asian nightclub singer is offered $5000 by her boyfriend's snooty society mother to just disappear. She turns it down until her husband, a Merchant Marine she escaped from long ago, shows up demanding cash to go away. She shoots him in self defense, but doesn't kill him. Mike believes her story and works to clear her of a murder charge.

EP39 Goodbye, Al Sep 25, 1959

Mike's slippery friend Al Sparks skips town because of a gambling debt. He turns up in Forge River charged with murdering the female owner of the diner where he worked. Hammer discovers everyone fears Todd Stryker, the man who runs his wife's huge lumber company and wields all the power in town. Stryker's relationship with the dead woman is a secret he wants to keep.
8| 0h30m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 January 1958 Ended
Producted By:
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer. The gritty, crime fighting detective—created by American crime author Mickey Spillane—has also inspired several feature films and made-for-TV movies.

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

Trailers & Images

Reviews

rcj5365 A lot of great actors have played Mickey Spillane's bad boy detective. From the list of Hollywood heavyweights from Anthony Quinn to Robert Bray,Biff Elliott,Ralph Meeker,Robert Mitchum,Stacey Keach and even Mickey Spillane himself. Perhaps from the range of actors that were convincing,nobody did it better with style and class better than Darren McGavin. His portrayal of gumshoe tough guy Mike Hammer was not only laid back but was a class act. Mickey Spillane's character was basically the first title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private investigator Mike Hammer. This was the first of the two television series featuring the gritty,crime fighting detective. The first from the mid-1950's starred Darren McGavin while the other from the early-1980's starred Stacey Keach."Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer",with Darren McGavin in the title role,was the first syndicated television series based on Spillane's title character,the adventures of a tough gumshoe hard-boiled private detective. The series was itself one extremely violent,sexist series that was one of the coolest detective shows of its day. The series produced 78 episodes and it ran two seasons in syndication from 1956 to 1959. The series was produced by Revue Productions/MCA-TV Universal Studios. Filmed in Hollywood of course,with the opening and closing credits of the show using that scenery of New York as its theme. The black and white filming of the series enhances the film noir atmosphere. The entire premise of the show is that the world is an evil and violent place(the setting is New York),and the strong and upright must be as tough and quick as the baddies to set things right.In the space of a half-hour,Darren McGavin normally escapes assassination attempts on his life,beats at least one man to a bloody pulp while continuously flirts with one or more beautiful women,fires of some 50's tough guy slang while solving a murder and a mystery. The pace of this show is very fast and once you watch it you may want to keep up with what happens next. Darren McGavin's character of Mike Hammer was a tough gumshoe private eye while regularly played judge,jury and executioner to an assortment of bad guys and crooked lowlifes each week. All within a 30 minute time slot. In the final analysis when Hammer solves the mysteries and brings the baddies to justice he may have to go beyond or stoop down to the level to take a case ,but you knew he was on the right side. His crusade against crime,while bravely protects the weak,despite taking a regular share of abuse in just about every episode,takes risk to himself by going great lengths to protect his clients' innocent. He is strong,cynical and have to be extremely violent to do what he has to do. Mike Hammer was the epitome of 50's cool and Darren McGavin was a brilliant to watch here.Darren McGavin,after Mike Hammer was canceled in 1959 McGavin switched gears starring in the short-lived western series "Riverboat"(which was also produced by Revue Studios), and would return to played another hardboiled detective in the short-lived 1965 series called "The Outsider",and later on would go on to greater fame as Carl Kolchak in the classic supernatural-detective show of the early 1970's "Kolchak:The Night Stalker" Bart Burns played the role of Hammer's trustworthy ally in the police department Captain Pat Chambers. Burns who go on to guest star in several television series including "Dragnet","Columbo","Ironside",and "The Rockford Files".Speaking of the guest star roster for this classic series from the 1950's,you had stars that were coming up,but made a name for themselves during this time....from Barbara Bain,Robert Vaughn,John Forsythe,to Loren Greene,and even Carl Betz...the list goes on and on. What a show!
James Lawrence Actor Darren McGavin plays private detective Mike Hammer. In the space of 30 minutes, he normally escapes a couple assassination attempts, beats at least one man to a pulp, flirts with one or more beautiful women, fires off some 50s tough-guy slang, and solves a perplexing mystery. The pace is very fast.The premise of the show is that the world is an evil, violent place, and the strong and upright must be as tough as the bad guys to set things right. But that doesn't mean they can't have a little fun along the way, enjoying broads, booze, or other masculine entertainments as circumstances present themselves. I do not know that I have ever seen a TV character so quick to use his fists or a gun when trouble arises. And, when Mike Hammer beats you, he does not just knock you down or knock you out. He continues beating you as the blood spurts out and you beg for mercy, then he beats you some more. Even innocent witnesses are pushed around until they give up their information. That he is not imprisoned for his frequent violent assaults is a miracle. He does frequently fall afoul of the police, receiving threats, being questioned, and sometimes being locked up, but only temporarily.In the world of Mike Hammer, there is no such thing as a flat-chested or overweight woman, except for the occasional wife or grandmother. The show is populated by beautiful, large-breasted women with well-coiffed hair, wearing tight dresses that show off their curves, and push-up bras that are so stiff and lift breasts so high they threaten to poke out your eyes. Mike flirts with and openly leers at these women in a way that would surely make viewers uncomfortable today. With only 30 minutes to play with, the characters are often one-dimensional. Women, except when evil sluts, are weaklings dominated by men. They are either helpless victims, or madly attracted to Mike, or incidental holders of information he needs, or mere eye-candy populating his world. Sometimes they are the tool of a bad guy, used to lure Mike into a trap, then sent on their way. Men are not treated much better. The line between good and evil is starkly drawn, and the most complex a character (other than Mike) usually gets is when someone thought to be good turns out to be evil. There are many pluses. A lot happens. The evil plots are often complex and ingenious. The show employs a great deal of humor and tries not to take itself too seriously. In the final analysis, Mike Hammer is on the right side. He fights against crime, and bravely protects the weak, despite the risk to himself. If you had trouble, and were in the right, there is no one better you could have on your side. He is strong, violent, cynical and testosterone-fueled, the epitome of 50s cool. Despite the shortcomings of the show, it is entertaining, and the fast pace ensures you will not get bored.
austinink I really like the show and the virile "manliness" and cool humor exhibited by Darren Gavin. I'm sorry he has passed on. Some feminists might find the humor demeaning, but we have to remember it was mid-60s. My only criticism is that it was mainly filmed in Hollywood except for a very few exterior shots of New York. It is very Californiaish, particularly in some outdoors shots which are definitely not New York countryside. That's a failing if you really want authenticity about a New York detective, particularly when you compare it to "Naked City" which was filmed on the streets of the city. Luckily some of the episodes are now on DVD. (I wish there would be more of these classic series on TV.)
roehrer If TV had a "film-noir", McGavin's Mike Hammer would be it-the cool character on the coolest show on black and white TV in my prepubescent TV world; he seemed so worldly yet down to earth and always had the lady's eye (there was always some eye candy in the show, even if it was the 1950's)..guys were still guys..and all detective magazines had the formula "skirt" in the plot. This show was ahead of its time in some respects.. You might even arguably boast that he (McGavin) paved the way and even foreshadowed Mr Bond..a good 6 years before "Dr. No" hit the drive-in movies in the summer of '62. And then completely switching character to play the riverboat captain in my father's favorite show a few years later on "Riverboat".I hope TVLand can bring him back so my sons can enjoy. (My boys love Gunsmoke and McGyver and Maverick and Sandford (RedFoxx), etc). McGavin is right up there with my other TV idol, Robert Conrad-of "WildWildWest" and "Baa Baa BlackSheep" (Boyington)fame.