I, the Jury

Eu, o Júri estreava há 70 anos em New York. Gente, esse Mike Hammer é muito ruim, acho que nunca vi esse ator antes, mas ele é muito ruim. Sempre lembrando que considero Kiss me Deadly o suprassumo do filme noir e que ali sim tínhamos em Ralph Meeker um grande Mike Hammer. Box Versátil Filme Noir: Femme Fatale Volume 2.

This is a prototypical noir. Hardboiled dialogue, seductive femme fatale and a detective always one step behind. I suppose Hammer is supposed to be a bit of lunkhead so I shouldn't criticize the performance too much, it's perfectly adequate, but a better lead could have made this special. The supporting cast is mixed, but the main ones are very good, particularly Peggie Castle. If I didn't like noir I might rate this lower, but it hits all the right spots so it's easy to overlook the flaws

Alton is the cinematographer, so there are a number of glorious shots. Likewise, the Waxman score is pretty good. The film is quite lurid, and I enjoyed the operatic melodrama of the finale. But there are problems. The first is that I don't like Mike Hammer. This problem is compounded by Elliott, a lousy actor with very little screen presence. And the movie is rather dull, and I wasn't invested at all. So it's a rough and tumble film with some intriguing elements, but fails to satisfy.