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Written by: Mickey Spillane (novel "Kiss Me, Deadly"), A.I. Bezzerides (screenplay)
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Maxine Cooper
Rated: Approved [PG]
Watch the trailer
Plot
A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
Verdict
While it's mostly a standard detective movie, with Mike Hammer chasing down clues trying to figure out what has so many people agitated, this is much modern than contemporary movies of the time. A big factor is the object, a macguffin, that drives the story and that reveal is wild. This is a conclusion that makes the rest of the movie better, just because it's so unexpected. That's accentuated because the movie is seventy years old. We don't learn what's in the box, but we know it's mighty powerful. I like the mystery and the danger. We don't know the contents, but we see it can kill.
Watch It.
Review
Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picks up a distressed woman on the side of the road. It turns out she escaped from a psychiatric hospital, but the cops aren't the only ones looking for her. We don't see it, but they detain Mike and Christina (Cloris Leachman) before trying to kill them. What's going on?
The cops question Mike about Christina after he's released from the hospital, but he does know anything. While he's a private investigator, it was just a coincidence he met her. The cops aren't so sure. When Mike gets home, he's being surveilled. Is is the thugs that tried to kill him or the cops?
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| Ralph Meeker plays Mike Hammer |
Mike's assistant and romantic partner Velda (Maxine Cooper) gets him a lead, well Diker leaves a message about Christina. Mike wants to know why this woman generated so much interest. She must be part of something big, and Mike wants to know more. Diker sends Mike to Christina's last address which leads him to her roommate. The clues lead Mike to the local crime boss, Evello. Mike's on this quest to find what's at the heart of the matter, as he states, "the great whatsit."
All of this running around only proves that people are interested. Mike's warned off the case, but we knew he wasn't going to stop. Everyone is after something, but what? Mike's even kidnapped, but he escapes. If Mike had gone to the coroner first, that would have saved him a lot of trouble. The coroner found a key during his examination.
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| Gaby Rodgers plays Lily |
Mike finds this box that's warm to the touch. He cracks it open and a blinding light escapes. At that point he doesn't try to see what's in the box. He knows enough, and leaves it there. I've never seen an older movie introduce something so fantastical. It's not dissimilar from Pulp Fiction (1994), where the characters are after a suitcase, but we never see what's in it. The antagonists, having followed Mike, take the box. The only character that dares to look inside the box catches fire as crazy sounds and a bright light emits.
This isn't the same old detective movie. The macguffin makes it feel very modern. All of the violence and backstabbing, and we never know what people are after. We can only assume, based on off-handed remarks, that it could be something radioactive. Mike manages to escape, but he's none the wiser.
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