cult film freak: gumshoe

Showing posts with label gumshoe. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 4/15/2026 / No comments / 3D , action , biff elliot , elijah cook jr. , fifties , film noir or melodrama , gumshoe , mary anderson , mickey spillane , mike hammer , peggie castle , preston foster

BIFF ELLIOT ORIGINALLY HAMMERS PEGGIE CASTLE 'I, THE JURY'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIL7HRkA-TrCJVtXN8yRbT7OoPTWKh_rZT_Z6ha-Ug7ZLcmhQ1Ozm2w3iRXx9TLeicSWFYrJz_Ajnbd8fJxegknLKKueawMiA_WHVQzQoQYcyxkcwQUTD5DQkfX8ULUpgogjq6k6vLhJWZSvoJ355mVi9XtE5gwEKaAl5l5Hqcr_poRBetWcDDxb3saOe/s1716/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-19%20at%203.35.05%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1716" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIL7HRkA-TrCJVtXN8yRbT7OoPTWKh_rZT_Z6ha-Ug7ZLcmhQ1Ozm2w3iRXx9TLeicSWFYrJz_Ajnbd8fJxegknLKKueawMiA_WHVQzQoQYcyxkcwQUTD5DQkfX8ULUpgogjq6k6vLhJWZSvoJ355mVi9XtE5gwEKaAl5l5Hqcr_poRBetWcDDxb3saOe/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-19%20at%203.35.05%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Peggie Castle and Biff Elliot in I, THE JURY Year: 1953 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The first Mike Hammer film was in 3D, and so the first Mike Hammer actor, Biff Elliot, had to practically burst through the screen... in every single scene, in fact, traipsing from location to location in the usual gumshoe fashion, questioning suspects from wealthy bookies to random hoods to a pair of gorgeous sisters to an eventual twist-ending gun-moll who needed more screen-time for that inevitable (and somewhat predictable) transition to matter...<br><br>Said to be inspired by the pretty psychologist fatale in NIGHTMARE ALLEY, future 99 RIVER STREET bad-girl blonde starlet Peggie Castle still visually shines next to Elliot's scrappy, duck-tailed Hammer whenever he doubles-back to her lavish home... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

3D, action, biff elliot, elijah cook jr., fifties, film noir or melodrama, gumshoe, mary anderson, mickey spillane, mike hammer, peggie castle, preston foster

BIFF ELLIOT ORIGINALLY HAMMERS PEGGIE CASTLE 'I, THE JURY'

Peggie Castle and Biff Elliot in I, THE JURY Year: 1953 Rating: ***1/2 The first Mike Hammer film was in 3D, and so the first Mike Hammer ac...

RALPH MEEKER HAMMERS ROBERT ALDRICH'S 'KISS ME DEADLY'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08pO4qc5MbAoDeqi7Gs1-mYufr0mg4QOavoNUgEz7pTVCrLhnbPhjCSm1bVn5L5WxpmLMJ9RGys4laeryoZQbhHtjm5Ukln2fqy6LSUErWjwO5MH17WO4ay8C2JB5d6NemC-SEQdNa3UmZ7KBXFQtfyTJ717QzGXXkkbWK1l68tV1noQwuMQfyIehMOxe/s2570/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-09%20at%2011.45.51%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="2570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08pO4qc5MbAoDeqi7Gs1-mYufr0mg4QOavoNUgEz7pTVCrLhnbPhjCSm1bVn5L5WxpmLMJ9RGys4laeryoZQbhHtjm5Ukln2fqy6LSUErWjwO5MH17WO4ay8C2JB5d6NemC-SEQdNa3UmZ7KBXFQtfyTJ717QzGXXkkbWK1l68tV1noQwuMQfyIehMOxe/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-09%20at%2011.45.51%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Wesley Addy & Ralph Meeker in KISS ME DEADLY Year: 1955 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>When
 hitchhiking damsel-in-distress Cloris Leachman is picked up by 
convertible driving private-eye rogue Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's noir classic 
KISS ME DEADLY, actor Ralph Meeker epitomizes the role without 
uttering a single word... <br></p><p></p><p>After she asks if he likes poetry, his manly/glib shrug speaks volumes in what's a gumshoe thriller that plays out like a tapestry of vignettes... thrust into a cautionary tale
involving the most important of three ingenues that Meeker's Hammer uses 
to figure out what/who killed first-girl Leachman, and why... </p><p><span></span></p>

albert dekker, cloris leachman, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gumshoe, jack elam, jack lambert, leigh snowden, marian carr, maxine cooper, paul stewart, ralph meeker, robert aldrich, wesley addy

RALPH MEEKER HAMMERS ROBERT ALDRICH'S 'KISS ME DEADLY'

Wesley Addy & Ralph Meeker in KISS ME DEADLY Year: 1955 Rating: ***** When hitchhiking damsel-in-distress Cloris Leachman is picked up ...

ROBERT DOWNEY JR WITH VAL KILMER IN 'KISS KISS BANG BANG'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTj5QgmC1f71xgyKkF0lcZiIl1qKi7hBW0KNvl06PgXD04-mamsq10Y2JMAxEkIlLb03I86x2sTX8rRudWdE3dK3izMCVcxAKxGR-92jvJ5VQ-io-r7G6iTdXlkjE6aEBHIHvBJmtQ9FcB9bJLG_ioQmt87uiG_u7OS2vMqdc5lHctsHNS0u3tfGwocmjX/s2394/Screen%20Shot%202025-04-04%20at%2011.12.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="2394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTj5QgmC1f71xgyKkF0lcZiIl1qKi7hBW0KNvl06PgXD04-mamsq10Y2JMAxEkIlLb03I86x2sTX8rRudWdE3dK3izMCVcxAKxGR-92jvJ5VQ-io-r7G6iTdXlkjE6aEBHIHvBJmtQ9FcB9bJLG_ioQmt87uiG_u7OS2vMqdc5lHctsHNS0u3tfGwocmjX/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-04-04%20at%2011.12.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michelle Monaghan in KISS KISS BANG BANG Year: 2005 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Famous for writing the original LETHAL WEAPON, thus receiving story credit for the entire hit-and-miss franchise, Shane Black energetically attempts to trade mainstream action for a Quentin Tarantino style wheelhouse of humorously neurotic criminals who still do violent, desperate, horrible things... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And instead of outright ripping off the PULP FICTION auteur, Black goes back even further, basing the adapted KISS KISS BANG BANG on his love of Pulp Fiction itself: detective novels that inspired everything in the 1940's/1950's Noir lexicon, making this a mile-a-minute Neo Noir that runs itself ragged before the first fifteen minutes...</p><p><span></span></p>

ariel winter, buddy, comedy, crime, dark comedy, genre tarantino, gumshoe, michelle monaghan, neo noir, robert downey jr., shane black, shannyn sossamon, stephanie pearson, val kilmer, zeroes

ROBERT DOWNEY JR WITH VAL KILMER IN 'KISS KISS BANG BANG'

Michelle Monaghan in KISS KISS BANG BANG Year: 2005 Rating: **** Famous for writing the original LETHAL WEAPON, thus receiving story credit ...

FRANK SINATRA RETURNING AS TONY ROME IN 'LADY IN CEMENT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIYtJRllfexjYwxcmIhV8B8K6DY0zGtijnWCOfW8KIkueUYY7agnvU4en-oWRaG3uQEjhLbcGsMhfmxIKS4-Dwcy3iI-O2nk3fNU7V765PhetyFSDNa227Mf1kNm7UsC0Wok4vkCkjTpPWrdq93QAKXcl53fA2CDhjrfBRZ7pUwMBM4sA5a4bN7EtKyS-/s1878/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-14%20at%207.13.52%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1878" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIYtJRllfexjYwxcmIhV8B8K6DY0zGtijnWCOfW8KIkueUYY7agnvU4en-oWRaG3uQEjhLbcGsMhfmxIKS4-Dwcy3iI-O2nk3fNU7V765PhetyFSDNa227Mf1kNm7UsC0Wok4vkCkjTpPWrdq93QAKXcl53fA2CDhjrfBRZ7pUwMBM4sA5a4bN7EtKyS-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-14%20at%207.13.52%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>In LADY IN CEMENT Year: 1967 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the sequel to the neo-noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/04/lyon-of-rome.html">TONY ROME</a>, with legendary cool crooner Frank Sinatra in the lead role during the colorful late 1960's... while deep sea diving he literally sees the LADY IN CEMENT at the bottom of the ocean...<br><br>Her naked, otherwise model-looking corpse surrounded by a guardian shark (that would have probably stripped her to the bone) as the original film's otherwise capable director Gordon Douglas (KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE), who filmed several other of Frank's crime/heist vehicles, doesn't get a lot of tension out of what should be an extremely suspenseful situation: as Rome (actually the stunt diver) merely brushes off the killer fish as if they were nothing... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

action, chris robinson, dan blocker, exploitation, frank sinatra, gumshoe, jazz-score, lainie kazan, mystery, neo noir, raquel welch, richard conte, shark, sixties, tony rome

FRANK SINATRA RETURNING AS TONY ROME IN 'LADY IN CEMENT'

In LADY IN CEMENT Year: 1967 Rating: *** In the sequel to the neo-noir TONY ROME , with legendary cool crooner Frank Sinatra in the lead rol...

TOM CONWAY AS DUKE MARTIN BRITISH CRIME DOUBLE-FEATURE

<p><u></u></p><p><u></u></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyG8zcu2si6JFcRXJB-P-3r-OcXATPCmxaBuoWhnVHBjlRvQmPhNJPOMmL8R5p8W6INLJqgEE9I411U6phuSl2yZC6q9RT2s1buq8h10uh_lpvMNNMWVkmmFegY_SJGYWjiuF9R9mXL-gNcE1Z0xTMSaCYzm1FFo7x_xcuYJ-0w71XFjJ488jbNtiKW1Xz/s1425/b0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyG8zcu2si6JFcRXJB-P-3r-OcXATPCmxaBuoWhnVHBjlRvQmPhNJPOMmL8R5p8W6INLJqgEE9I411U6phuSl2yZC6q9RT2s1buq8h10uh_lpvMNNMWVkmmFegY_SJGYWjiuF9R9mXL-gNcE1Z0xTMSaCYzm1FFo7x_xcuYJ-0w71XFjJ488jbNtiKW1Xz/s16000/b0.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BREAKAWAY Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u>BREAKAWAY</u>: Former FALCON Tom Conway in the second Tom 'Duke' Martin private eye flicks made in Britain during the film noir 1950's, with the right balance of gunplay, mystery and polite traipsing from various locations... from mansions to airports... gathering clues wherein sidekick Michael Balfour's overweight, ex-crook Barney is the better fighter during the rare times where that kind of thing happens... yet the villain and his henchman (including a young John Colicos) still mean business, having kidnapped beautiful Honor Blackman's beautiful sister, who might be carrying a scientist's secret that everyone's after... <br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Nothing like the tough guy American Humphrey Bogart vehicles from the previous decade, BREAKAWAY is lightweight British yet still desperately urgent, keeping both the dignified snoop and audience on edge... despite knowing almost exactly who the villains are, and why.  <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzhcrWfNc8ltLzz_kXNQPfFgpRcohBYPkFR5oiYlfod1fZCoxGL4OExSq07VD2_CStVH7mokKoPuqn_A_W1ZAzJ4eHQGQJXrwVNMaAeIHGjZJh3WRn8fWYd9S0735rO9czNpzyeWtblYoJmmjG4RoinvSgfwufNW5KQDeyw8vg3FJ_BEAP-YkcmNnuHAA/s1630/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzhcrWfNc8ltLzz_kXNQPfFgpRcohBYPkFR5oiYlfod1fZCoxGL4OExSq07VD2_CStVH7mokKoPuqn_A_W1ZAzJ4eHQGQJXrwVNMaAeIHGjZJh3WRn8fWYd9S0735rO9czNpzyeWtblYoJmmjG4RoinvSgfwufNW5KQDeyw8vg3FJ_BEAP-YkcmNnuHAA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.49%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Colicos in BREAKAWAY<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArNqL2tzjwAjULGNOqd7Pcu4hXWWwYZynROIhXXneOhrEWmHMKSVI2nrI8eJIOwjxRwVNpcHHAGoRJJNgIHA2KhMJaFbZbKwOkeq4IQmzaDE-NHiXcGkCB3xcTKvi1fKm-fx9fenrRt-Y_NjHXXUTA-BkdDfxu10ywQMLz6twyv5p7Nld6ViwHz6_NHrP/s1448/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.58%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArNqL2tzjwAjULGNOqd7Pcu4hXWWwYZynROIhXXneOhrEWmHMKSVI2nrI8eJIOwjxRwVNpcHHAGoRJJNgIHA2KhMJaFbZbKwOkeq4IQmzaDE-NHiXcGkCB3xcTKvi1fKm-fx9fenrRt-Y_NjHXXUTA-BkdDfxu10ywQMLz6twyv5p7Nld6ViwHz6_NHrP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.58%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCvEtIx2KkZnkFiz2FIl8PRGEYQubG8PryqKx5SaqHA7i0os_Pj0qOJF1y-a_ow-pNdXQmpU9x4EPW8MBxt-y4bcBzBQwZ-m-4_TXJBSgedIiT2YTDkCupgJmZoTMT-9fA6Pjam_wbF7q4o2xap4_2Yr7aJ-5SfdxlIK_3GnLKmgkJYXsFSbRswHQOhQZ/s1468/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.09%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCvEtIx2KkZnkFiz2FIl8PRGEYQubG8PryqKx5SaqHA7i0os_Pj0qOJF1y-a_ow-pNdXQmpU9x4EPW8MBxt-y4bcBzBQwZ-m-4_TXJBSgedIiT2YTDkCupgJmZoTMT-9fA6Pjam_wbF7q4o2xap4_2Yr7aJ-5SfdxlIK_3GnLKmgkJYXsFSbRswHQOhQZ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.09%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Colicos in BREAKAWAY with Tom Conway and Larry Taylor<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ9j1EHHvgSNiVZKVTe4H7It7qkGUh613Y3NkjMQKQuXKFCIIc_Aftm0bHjpFTePDAiUwuKyws-69pvUjf36rVWMcs_B4_rGDWKckLPhvYrKSOZyUejIDgaurqT_VXGE1ccb2-FG17qq5U1wXn2_8nVdSV_vD06AuYZz9c9Juo8eMXlTMwR03WpNqa6AQ/s1420/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.16%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ9j1EHHvgSNiVZKVTe4H7It7qkGUh613Y3NkjMQKQuXKFCIIc_Aftm0bHjpFTePDAiUwuKyws-69pvUjf36rVWMcs_B4_rGDWKckLPhvYrKSOZyUejIDgaurqT_VXGE1ccb2-FG17qq5U1wXn2_8nVdSV_vD06AuYZz9c9Juo8eMXlTMwR03WpNqa6AQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.16%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY with Honor Blackman<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqEOIQILCw8U0ifgUfkcipABS1YcMDkFMtj-FZ0aVUKeZFWKrOzCuEU3UgOwD4T9gxtElCI5eM9Kp0RA-8KOEcVN2GpbBqIJVPyMFM-ZLEnX2kXcAgUivV12jz5Otq5F9jkAxkUaZpVm_0BDvDPgJthaxwi1gRuBYYW28bsROQTtiJk-2ExHvkbeK1s4S/s1440/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqEOIQILCw8U0ifgUfkcipABS1YcMDkFMtj-FZ0aVUKeZFWKrOzCuEU3UgOwD4T9gxtElCI5eM9Kp0RA-8KOEcVN2GpbBqIJVPyMFM-ZLEnX2kXcAgUivV12jz5Otq5F9jkAxkUaZpVm_0BDvDPgJthaxwi1gRuBYYW28bsROQTtiJk-2ExHvkbeK1s4S/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.29%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY with Michael Balfour<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1F7L6nnTQwwttFkGf9tXaxia_2Z6bRl6nuwIKK6XcWj9LNfjSFYNlC6rAN990VTMvUQziUPA7BcKw3FalI_Yaa1TpnQKl1ebukRPzp1LZL_hfDuodfO8XNj8sqLpkxqj6Xan9U21PCyt9KX2Vu9UW7Pi4IBPY9zK5aENKdWTjkKwn83GAMKV3m1lR4j-/s1460/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.57%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1F7L6nnTQwwttFkGf9tXaxia_2Z6bRl6nuwIKK6XcWj9LNfjSFYNlC6rAN990VTMvUQziUPA7BcKw3FalI_Yaa1TpnQKl1ebukRPzp1LZL_hfDuodfO8XNj8sqLpkxqj6Xan9U21PCyt9KX2Vu9UW7Pi4IBPY9zK5aENKdWTjkKwn83GAMKV3m1lR4j-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.57%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Honor Blackman in BREAKAWAY with Michael Balfour</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjfvHpuVDPqrEu__20cREwVyja1rAjRFo9i4XwxURv2nAX5zRErFxHBAjKU3tQGGYxyyVSJxXCoKphgAi-hF1ZW-couR13DIp7GSF3DajYXsLaVuuZ-5PeV_njf-aDDO5TVw6KE6_wmai-XO0t4RNUj6LFGIUy3L3jim1fzz8vK5iP5C9C5mBeYn4n-hS/s1450/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjfvHpuVDPqrEu__20cREwVyja1rAjRFo9i4XwxURv2nAX5zRErFxHBAjKU3tQGGYxyyVSJxXCoKphgAi-hF1ZW-couR13DIp7GSF3DajYXsLaVuuZ-5PeV_njf-aDDO5TVw6KE6_wmai-XO0t4RNUj6LFGIUy3L3jim1fzz8vK5iP5C9C5mBeYn4n-hS/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.08%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Honor Blackman in BREAKAWAY with Tom Conway<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2Z04Rw1L-0RqgxEv7H41pliiRMHqZE71-ydOTTSLzoCJPV02HDkEBbQl5DPTbAsqJsOvgSg_2ntfEt8KV7a4YlArmYZZcqa_dOaqIBqSEBbXLeNhndHPNpCV_pGowwUxyS_cWVOs9CerPatUo-0p5un5-33ulH1eZmEpnYbDk3Ji8mKphKOZ1L4cjQHs/s1430/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.15%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2Z04Rw1L-0RqgxEv7H41pliiRMHqZE71-ydOTTSLzoCJPV02HDkEBbQl5DPTbAsqJsOvgSg_2ntfEt8KV7a4YlArmYZZcqa_dOaqIBqSEBbXLeNhndHPNpCV_pGowwUxyS_cWVOs9CerPatUo-0p5un5-33ulH1eZmEpnYbDk3Ji8mKphKOZ1L4cjQHs/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.15%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Brian Worth and Paddy Webster in BREAKAWAY</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTmdWX9bxbVLVIXt9yy4MJ65QYrhLdsfQHcl87W3kmgo1twKAbZvn8HSl5yOo_5AUTGZ1emUBf9fUSC39WNoIuSPcJ6umKf9ZNnIjHrOhNATYiFs0NJ-ioHOqLarVgahx4JLaFzQULgoseQd3_OZyz-_W8gNUD1oxr2KtEa3GrFO77RHJjsHF1oHDNjCy/s1434/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.22%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTmdWX9bxbVLVIXt9yy4MJ65QYrhLdsfQHcl87W3kmgo1twKAbZvn8HSl5yOo_5AUTGZ1emUBf9fUSC39WNoIuSPcJ6umKf9ZNnIjHrOhNATYiFs0NJ-ioHOqLarVgahx4JLaFzQULgoseQd3_OZyz-_W8gNUD1oxr2KtEa3GrFO77RHJjsHF1oHDNjCy/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.22%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From BREAKAWAY</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiu032fG7kh4TNphS8FM0UDgI-GVReWvFrnqjTVL2Y58sCm-_j9S4s0de9PB-AZpw09aCPvSw6w7v2rqqsctch0b2heEeEYcSbmzrRlGERhYA0SLr8NhcZDASCXbgzn4YjuDhIgmD_T0FEiELFRARrfoN9fxxRYClwVcEZBKJqyWZb2sTEvGSIrH1aYZD/s1446/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiu032fG7kh4TNphS8FM0UDgI-GVReWvFrnqjTVL2Y58sCm-_j9S4s0de9PB-AZpw09aCPvSw6w7v2rqqsctch0b2heEeEYcSbmzrRlGERhYA0SLr8NhcZDASCXbgzn4YjuDhIgmD_T0FEiELFRARrfoN9fxxRYClwVcEZBKJqyWZb2sTEvGSIrH1aYZD/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.29%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From BREAKAWAY</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p><u></u></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4D2Vu-3zxZEDhBEi3TmU5HtdXtMRd8W087FdrsYApLREyZ_l6CmXDZ-TX-NauvJ5QJ4cmcDQdNfeZFhv44bQ72E-0sqAo_66gZp9CN2YQOd3s4hWA1jFiPfiv4whf0q9MzDD6HRCf2P-HtI3XN3miIBH3MQbG2s8jTd0EDg0Z4sm3i3hyEh47zdGN0Ttl/s1898/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.51.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4D2Vu-3zxZEDhBEi3TmU5HtdXtMRd8W087FdrsYApLREyZ_l6CmXDZ-TX-NauvJ5QJ4cmcDQdNfeZFhv44bQ72E-0sqAo_66gZp9CN2YQOd3s4hWA1jFiPfiv4whf0q9MzDD6HRCf2P-HtI3XN3miIBH3MQbG2s8jTd0EDg0Z4sm3i3hyEh47zdGN0Ttl/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.51.54%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BARBADOS QUEST aka Murder on Approval Year: 1955 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While the sequel BREAKAWAY is more action-packed, going from a brutal kidnapping to Tom Conway's dapper gumshoe Tom 'Duke' Martin searching for various clues, BARBADOS QUEST is more like reading a book... or watching the reading of a book... with a passive plot about a phony high-priced stamp, called the Barbados Overprint, hence the main title that's also known by a more pulpy, mainstream-sounding MURDER ON APPROVAL... <br /><br />With violence more an afterthought as this original programmer smoothly sets up the characters, where Michael Balfour's comic-relief sidekick Barney is not<i> quite yet </i>a former criminal, but has stolen the fancy car he and his boss drive around in... while the ingenue is sultry, low-voiced Delphi Lawrence,  initially hands-on and helpful, like a partner, until an enigmatic fatale twist (where her persona's more fitting): plus a snooping Scotland Yard inspector while the bad guys are played by returning actors Brian Worth and another thug role for John Colicos... in what seems more like a TV-movie but a nice, tight and intriguing one: with BREAKAWAY its more roving big-screen-style followup.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry7GehnEAo5vCWsNI5AmDapxo-sdelzTg4EwwlH1qw-kwdeF9q1Z51JVV1_A0u1-VqYumf7x9X7hr3eJgmSJ9yhe2IhOVCTyvxWZHovHnjSTw_zdD48SGQFx3te-6oDtCnEc0U14ly89HmNhSclsipCAMwOLb9F2qUD7G6dwbKwTNp4mnv_4NufYwMLWa/s2014/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.59.17%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="2014" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry7GehnEAo5vCWsNI5AmDapxo-sdelzTg4EwwlH1qw-kwdeF9q1Z51JVV1_A0u1-VqYumf7x9X7hr3eJgmSJ9yhe2IhOVCTyvxWZHovHnjSTw_zdD48SGQFx3te-6oDtCnEc0U14ly89HmNhSclsipCAMwOLb9F2qUD7G6dwbKwTNp4mnv_4NufYwMLWa/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.59.17%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Delphi Lawrence in Barbados Quest</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnx3RNKLdxgkoCwVTprVWEZnwdWu1Fovnx8M0EhBMhLwq3NipZYGEZjsSHEGABp4Wk_zEXnnl8TuCmAvlQ7LTTrDyGLHitB4c2M7XDnQjVhp2FX6EMiYyRo7E1m0tQliqk6DqyYiU25MBIH1-AlBSzgiDkPY3UFE5te9aLGGH5c2cVaEX2H91T5Jm2Kuz/s1458/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.02%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnx3RNKLdxgkoCwVTprVWEZnwdWu1Fovnx8M0EhBMhLwq3NipZYGEZjsSHEGABp4Wk_zEXnnl8TuCmAvlQ7LTTrDyGLHitB4c2M7XDnQjVhp2FX6EMiYyRo7E1m0tQliqk6DqyYiU25MBIH1-AlBSzgiDkPY3UFE5te9aLGGH5c2cVaEX2H91T5Jm2Kuz/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.02%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_WTLfQbvWyu5HOfLxXC1757udRBTqoftWa6zGUpEjlaqXMlDJaY7b8UfgBh1tbT6Xd_KA-a-BYOutaoh0iQKZId8hUQUi70JTOfeWWgoNb4oiyOXN2GqgVi-fJDMa0v_h5_YYc4K1Se3kzJCwOmYWY7qoirLMevZTAStXke8t7wulNR9dTnyquydQrOL/s1450/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_WTLfQbvWyu5HOfLxXC1757udRBTqoftWa6zGUpEjlaqXMlDJaY7b8UfgBh1tbT6Xd_KA-a-BYOutaoh0iQKZId8hUQUi70JTOfeWWgoNb4oiyOXN2GqgVi-fJDMa0v_h5_YYc4K1Se3kzJCwOmYWY7qoirLMevZTAStXke8t7wulNR9dTnyquydQrOL/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.24%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest with Brian Worth & Delphi Lawrence<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgTx-w47KccJGefMJog0YIC0J5PlktsFVUt1sTZgaPxlFc8C2oHvggTtLNGE7yLehdX0LZs3mGFO8IZT_ylxJ5HIo98eF5TfAkFzFdrYDfsQQiWMV4NgwJtjNRhYFuE_uC4rQlqCdE_G6YKxbpFBGVDOTLu83tS1xH2Zl27HI6CDHOOcLWcpHfV95r-m8/s1428/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgTx-w47KccJGefMJog0YIC0J5PlktsFVUt1sTZgaPxlFc8C2oHvggTtLNGE7yLehdX0LZs3mGFO8IZT_ylxJ5HIo98eF5TfAkFzFdrYDfsQQiWMV4NgwJtjNRhYFuE_uC4rQlqCdE_G6YKxbpFBGVDOTLu83tS1xH2Zl27HI6CDHOOcLWcpHfV95r-m8/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.36%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ON63krcNhQVB8k5XDkwxGl-6cvq9EjfUeiU7CNhHIcQzMOQTzLYCQdUy09W7IFSING3QciwtCMbsjC4mv0PjOzssw5MCLGRJusLWGMRdJeDbMByt0lxl7ScZr8uMedTBvY31_P3Oqv2mpxJ0go-T3AqSCb2SRBbY9RPDBgJpG21GDYeDHDfEjWwDTn4g/s1412/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.46%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ON63krcNhQVB8k5XDkwxGl-6cvq9EjfUeiU7CNhHIcQzMOQTzLYCQdUy09W7IFSING3QciwtCMbsjC4mv0PjOzssw5MCLGRJusLWGMRdJeDbMByt0lxl7ScZr8uMedTBvY31_P3Oqv2mpxJ0go-T3AqSCb2SRBbY9RPDBgJpG21GDYeDHDfEjWwDTn4g/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.46%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway in Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTAoEfH5MnrOBIh9EoHOceuWVuh8yUSTUSglQVK3u4a70-EUZ0waFM29sqEKeQp1YeIfGIMHTrm-_ZhuJnFM7BifYkIzvI71MQZHT6zipY90duwTSRBV21o1HynHt_jXPeQd23Jh_K30PsVmM2P5HG6HTIzP0WtlUnaI1I7F-vLzeFTa8qLnJ4nrhffYn/s1970/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.55.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTAoEfH5MnrOBIh9EoHOceuWVuh8yUSTUSglQVK3u4a70-EUZ0waFM29sqEKeQp1YeIfGIMHTrm-_ZhuJnFM7BifYkIzvI71MQZHT6zipY90duwTSRBV21o1HynHt_jXPeQd23Jh_K30PsVmM2P5HG6HTIzP0WtlUnaI1I7F-vLzeFTa8qLnJ4nrhffYn/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.55.46%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Conway and John Colicos in Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68MMplhyphenhyphenAlbLofTbF54Tbexuu3uUb7sWDSCQ0Joh2XQL6d6GxOMMykR2lmfQP99cZDYv3r3u-rQjWB8b5wivjEosHJHnvbUJEGXbtF98SlEcOxstSjfxyMFDugk8YNFBI_o2UxLVlXXz-ytbBOu1Ye48dk79pJLPB1nA3Mp0ydGMBU8uf3KtkzCeZAVqv/s1328/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.57.35%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68MMplhyphenhyphenAlbLofTbF54Tbexuu3uUb7sWDSCQ0Joh2XQL6d6GxOMMykR2lmfQP99cZDYv3r3u-rQjWB8b5wivjEosHJHnvbUJEGXbtF98SlEcOxstSjfxyMFDugk8YNFBI_o2UxLVlXXz-ytbBOu1Ye48dk79pJLPB1nA3Mp0ydGMBU8uf3KtkzCeZAVqv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.57.35%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Colicos and Tom Conway in Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq56Q5aUX0jjv5diTSa3yo1vvZnzBMGBfVu5Kjf9u9m9tIVC8y_HFA2V1WTTQnfQfhfsJz3tsxpEUgqv1R4sxswAX3VHqJE7FejrABaEqw3Bh4bvjkRb8QRxS63lQVfuy2YwMIv6OojBaJ0gJMBpM8yKHNPcNzu1bM4JYL3d3iubEzYCyaXziDByQMsLjG/s1438/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq56Q5aUX0jjv5diTSa3yo1vvZnzBMGBfVu5Kjf9u9m9tIVC8y_HFA2V1WTTQnfQfhfsJz3tsxpEUgqv1R4sxswAX3VHqJE7FejrABaEqw3Bh4bvjkRb8QRxS63lQVfuy2YwMIv6OojBaJ0gJMBpM8yKHNPcNzu1bM4JYL3d3iubEzYCyaXziDByQMsLjG/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.54%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From Barbados Quest</u></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

british film noir, crime, delphi lawrence, gumshoe, honor blackman, john colicos, michael balflour, michael balfour, mystery, thriller, tom conway

TOM CONWAY AS DUKE MARTIN BRITISH CRIME DOUBLE-FEATURE

Title: BREAKAWAY Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2 BREAKAWAY : Former FALCON Tom Conway in the second Tom 'Duke' Martin private eye flicks m...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/27/2023 / No comments / anne shirley , claire trevor , daun kennedy , dick powell , film noir or melodrama , forties , gumshoe , mike mazurski , raymond chandler , suspense , thriller

DICK POWELL AS PHILIP MARLOWE SHADOWS 'MURDER, MY SWEET'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmIgeqgdFX0OhJSgI8rNdlV7z5nSHtwgXC6QhEi-2tfFFy17HxrdEz0-_Ywy9doWpk-EI-tn0O3mR4SKsNgO7RwDRGpH9w1FORJNhTJ22-04O5fIx6kDL_GrvuqFImQ7f8vBAmO9OXy7wVWiec7yMKVrOiWMBOpJf8u4M6EM0Lrn0NMbNUKGGbnCohv2t/s1996/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2010.39.41%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1996" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmIgeqgdFX0OhJSgI8rNdlV7z5nSHtwgXC6QhEi-2tfFFy17HxrdEz0-_Ywy9doWpk-EI-tn0O3mR4SKsNgO7RwDRGpH9w1FORJNhTJ22-04O5fIx6kDL_GrvuqFImQ7f8vBAmO9OXy7wVWiec7yMKVrOiWMBOpJf8u4M6EM0Lrn0NMbNUKGGbnCohv2t/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2010.39.41%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MURDER, MY SWEET Year: 1944 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>"You go barging around without a clear idea of what you're doing," says MURDER MY SWEET seemingly good girl Anne Shirley to Dick Powell's loose, congenial, free-form and not particularly tough version of novelist Raymond Chandler's gumshoe private investigator, Philip Marlowe. "Everybody bats you down, smacks you over the head... fills you full of stuff... and you keep right on hitting between tackle and end..." </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And yet, while most think of strong-willed, fully-controlled, woman-loving Humphrey Bogart in Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP to epitomize Chandler's literary turned cinematic snoop, Edward Dmytryk had already directed former romantic comedy song-and-dance-man Powell as Marlowe, more like a staggering kite skidding just above ground, sporadically raked by unpredictable elements in an intense yet affable manner: initially derived from a police hot-spot interrogation frame story, thinking back on the rudimentary job that ignited the nightmare... <br></p><span></span>

anne shirley, claire trevor, daun kennedy, dick powell, film noir or melodrama, forties, gumshoe, mike mazurski, raymond chandler, suspense, thriller

DICK POWELL AS PHILIP MARLOWE SHADOWS 'MURDER, MY SWEET'

Title: MURDER, MY SWEET Year: 1944 Rating: ****1/2 "You go barging around without a clear idea of what you're doing," says MUR...

HUMPHREY BOGART WITH LAUREN BACALL IN 'THE BIG SLEEP'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4JR8kyc0_q1TlH_SucuKQDIEg7asFj0b_amfpQDYUX1Z0z0yQU9Aqd6gMngGNsAdZ4Z3IArT8REYNfWIElfnzsIwnTQ9rKMk6VNQqkO6pF1ukBUos8nowbpV6KCmDo4QW9swAfmyV5FY6BuktNu9kIrEzw9O4Vr9EEkmCSQHM2NiUIvhF-rOHqUqlwFH/s2066/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-01%20at%205.45.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="2066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4JR8kyc0_q1TlH_SucuKQDIEg7asFj0b_amfpQDYUX1Z0z0yQU9Aqd6gMngGNsAdZ4Z3IArT8REYNfWIElfnzsIwnTQ9rKMk6VNQqkO6pF1ukBUos8nowbpV6KCmDo4QW9swAfmyV5FY6BuktNu9kIrEzw9O4Vr9EEkmCSQHM2NiUIvhF-rOHqUqlwFH/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-01%20at%205.45.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE BIG SLEEP Year: 1946 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the most important agendas director Howard Hawks had for Humphrey Bogart in THE BIG SLEEP — following his breakthrough in HIGH SIERRA followed by THE MALTESE FALCON and CASABLANCA — was to not only sustain his snowballing stardom, but to make him a ravaging sex symbol...</p><p></p><p>Because every woman here wants him... needs him, even... from a sexy librarian, a sexier bookstore employee (Dorothy Malone)... and even a hot female cab driver gets his number, literally, for a possible nighttime tryst... </p><p><span></span></p>

dorothy malone, film noir or melodrama, gumshoe, howard hawks, humphrey bogart, lauren bacall, martha vickers, mystery, raymond chandler

HUMPHREY BOGART WITH LAUREN BACALL IN 'THE BIG SLEEP'

Title: THE BIG SLEEP Year: 1946 Rating: ***1/2 One of the most important agendas director Howard Hawks had for Humphrey Bogart in THE BIG SL...

CARROLL BAKER'S 'SYLVIA' INVESTIGATED BY GEORGE MAHARIS

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimET0B6Y_u80rfvvkEx1oZVlDy4FWhMHsntQ8gbLgq-Uv8hwVqSrwf68vQ4HEEixmf-binpPu-5cCbJPK9oB1Use5y3GjbolGfuJa4wuNeq_QyreccEW1P_wxO5FubD_8my_Wm9NXNDO9ax_jmHVLFbe9h0cpQNOZlAvm6npRAtkdGBQX-8QxfbCnm3A/s1518/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-14%20at%202.40.31%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1518" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimET0B6Y_u80rfvvkEx1oZVlDy4FWhMHsntQ8gbLgq-Uv8hwVqSrwf68vQ4HEEixmf-binpPu-5cCbJPK9oB1Use5y3GjbolGfuJa4wuNeq_QyreccEW1P_wxO5FubD_8my_Wm9NXNDO9ax_jmHVLFbe9h0cpQNOZlAvm6npRAtkdGBQX-8QxfbCnm3A/w400-h303/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-14%20at%202.40.31%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SYLVIA Year: 1965 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Beginning as a new take on the classic film noir THE BIG SLEEP, where a comfortably stricken rich man hires a streetwise private eye to investigate his missing daughter: well it's a fiance this time, here played by the lovely yet moodily enigmatic Carroll Baker, morphing from an older street-urchin to a younger well-read lush, and, in-place of a slowburn crime thriller is a jigsaw-puzzle study of a then-modern woman, pieced together by Maharis like the reporter in CITIZEN KANE...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>So half of SYLVIA are flashbacks consisting of the title character, a runaway who grew up in a poor, abusive family, wandering from various homes, mostly man to man, as the kind of prostitute you've probably never of since she doesn't seem to actually <i>sleep</i> with anyone while Maharis, surprisingly subdued in weary cruise-control compared to his edgy persona from TV's ROUTE 66, falls in love with this lovely phantom LAURA-style in Gordon Douglas's theatrical yet episodically-paced neo noir that... since 1965 was too progressive for subtlety and too regressed for daring exploitation... would have been far better either twenty-years earlier or ten years ahead. </p><span></span>

ann southern, carroll baker, edmond o'brien, george maharis, gordon douglas, gumshoe, neo noir, sixties, viveca lindfors

CARROLL BAKER'S 'SYLVIA' INVESTIGATED BY GEORGE MAHARIS

Title: SYLVIA Year: 1965 Rating: ** Beginning as a new take on the classic film noir THE BIG SLEEP, where a comfortably stricken rich man hi...

BURT REYNOLDS AND CLINT EASTWOOD TEAM FOR 'CITY HEAT'

<p>
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH0keeL8EP_DhcTnkaPU1AJnaGxXY3HonsP7aRL65NT2VTeVjw1VfIuLPRQU0591PogFDWguVtAj3XRB34B8PURJzeehgmT1d4syTDiXeSVI5RZsRdXnOoFCrBSblhyR0QZbMxEyIjiFMl-6X6P_zuLTZcfwt5OFNJRfxSh_LwdRn7K72yPS3Ik0LaQx3/s991/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-18%20at%207.30.39%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="991" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH0keeL8EP_DhcTnkaPU1AJnaGxXY3HonsP7aRL65NT2VTeVjw1VfIuLPRQU0591PogFDWguVtAj3XRB34B8PURJzeehgmT1d4syTDiXeSVI5RZsRdXnOoFCrBSblhyR0QZbMxEyIjiFMl-6X6P_zuLTZcfwt5OFNJRfxSh_LwdRn7K72yPS3Ik0LaQx3/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-18%20at%207.30.39%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: City Heat Stars: Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds Year: 1984 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Remembering the time, as a young action movie fan, when realizing CITY HEAT did <i>not</i> take place in an edgy modern setting — before the knowledge and love of Film Noir and/or Classic Gangster flicks — was a complete letdown...<br>
<br>

Years have opened the mind, and, while remaining an overall dud to what it could have been given the collaborative talents of Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, CITY HEAT has gotten a little more entertaining... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, bruce m. fischer, buddy, burt reynolds, clint eastwood, cop, eighties, gangster, gumshoe, jane alexander, madeline kahn, neo noir, richard benjamin, richard roundtree, team-up

BURT REYNOLDS AND CLINT EASTWOOD TEAM FOR 'CITY HEAT'

Title: City Heat Stars: Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds Year: 1984 Rating: *** Remembering the time, as a young action movie fan, when realiz...

NEO NOIR GUMSHOE BURT REYNOLDS BOOKS KAY FRYE IN 'SHAMUS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtBRX1lzz8w_REFch7HOE42Vt0njqST4KvyNJI1FIBYwMg8caC0OaKd_iL-HK9tqIbGkxjxMj5a1SyM_aojZzNEyKrbYW3jDCbMOvTfpd3MYTct46SYuLQYBdZmr0YbeNuGIDbaUTur7j1tHVu6SISBfP_jl2_QrRMLfO43iSMS43n67ZfZgoBZCv9g/s1135/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="1135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtBRX1lzz8w_REFch7HOE42Vt0njqST4KvyNJI1FIBYwMg8caC0OaKd_iL-HK9tqIbGkxjxMj5a1SyM_aojZzNEyKrbYW3jDCbMOvTfpd3MYTct46SYuLQYBdZmr0YbeNuGIDbaUTur7j1tHVu6SISBfP_jl2_QrRMLfO43iSMS43n67ZfZgoBZCv9g/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SHAMUS Year: 1973 Grade: C</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While Burt Reynolds is mostly known for car chase comedies, his deepest niche were neo noir flicks, and SHAMUS centers on modern gumshoe Shamus McCoy, breezily played by Burt in a semi-decent ride that puts the viewer in a seedy city that would have also worked as a dramatic thriller but Reynolds, even after his incredibly dramatic breakthrough in DELIVERANCE, wanted to lighten-up the sleaze...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In one of those last-name-spouting, location-to-location cases... to find diamonds... here alongside ingenue Dyan Cannon yet the best scene features a classy, beautiful and wonderfully stacked bookstore clerk, paying deliberate tribute to THE BIG SLEEP, providing Burt a turn at Humphrey Bogart when, in reality, he got the job done fine... but might not have realized his strengths just yet, and, God knows, the unknown bookworm Kay Frye was a much bigger blast than Cannon, and would have made a far superior love interest too. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, burt reynolds, comedy, dorothy malone, dyan dannon, gumshoe, kay frye, neo noir, seventies, thriller

NEO NOIR GUMSHOE BURT REYNOLDS BOOKS KAY FRYE IN 'SHAMUS'

Title: SHAMUS Year: 1973 Grade: C While Burt Reynolds is mostly known for car chase comedies, his deepest niche were neo noir flicks, and SH...

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE MODERN NOIR TEMPLATE OF 'ST. IVES'

action, charles bronson, crime, dana elcar, gumshoe, harry guardino, j. lee thompson, jacqueline bisset, jeff goldblum, john houseman, lynn borden, neo noir, seventies, thriller

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE MODERN NOIR TEMPLATE OF 'ST. IVES'

ST. IVES Stars: Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2 The second of two Charles Bronson vehicles after...

BLAKE EDWARDS REDIRECTS 'GUNN' STARRING CRAIG STEVENS

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvuN9YXE868Z5c4jZLxaTcjNg8Z8rA4iJtedNkABlNvqa5JYhjbVf6HPK9gF534LOU8n4ka4oj7ABiy6MYaaaEdWM4V48Hc6uVFgcBsshSkSS6UySB2fV9wUPPRZoUzKxvc_Tgx2Rjt2dzFmXQXzOkHBzq0RJwmbnnvM6txhztHtqqxjNLvZyQX8b8Uw=s1429" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="1429" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvuN9YXE868Z5c4jZLxaTcjNg8Z8rA4iJtedNkABlNvqa5JYhjbVf6HPK9gF534LOU8n4ka4oj7ABiy6MYaaaEdWM4V48Hc6uVFgcBsshSkSS6UySB2fV9wUPPRZoUzKxvc_Tgx2Rjt2dzFmXQXzOkHBzq0RJwmbnnvM6txhztHtqqxjNLvZyQX8b8Uw=w400-h313" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GUNN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A womanizing 1950's playboy (who does little work for ladies to throw themselves his way) in the late-1960's Sexual Revolution is like an established multimillionaire winning the lottery... And in the case of fifty-year-old Craig Stevens returning into his PETER GUNN role for creator/director Blake Edwards' GUNN, it's what's expected and... even with original singer Lola Albright's Edie replaced by a less natural (or attractive) Laura Devon... GUNN makes for a decent Bond Clone despite the TV-series proceeding 007 cinema... </p><p>Yet most likely the popular spy franchise was Edwards' reason to revisit this kind of fun-flowing investigation, now more twisty espionage and in color as opposed to the televised B&W; and that show's jazzy nightclub's a slow-groove random backstop instead of an uptempo mainstay while the action sequences are effective and suspenseful, creatively-shot yet far too sporadic with our resilient, often vulnerable anti-hero, now a stone-faced Jack Webb monotone who, backed by a grouchy Ed Asner, is dealing with the mob who killed his friend, now after him... But the token hot young girl adds the real heart in quirky and neurotic brunette Sherry Jackson: her zesty presence noticeably ages our hero, yet she could have been the sole GUNN girl and, despite only a few scenes, she's far more into the movie than anyone else on board, including old Pete.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0JvKqN5Q2tjzj7ICzUo27eAYEQxQT0lBCnh-SfdFzH7gSF1nWxLTBJdeqmGC0_crIGvBb-5gQ18DzM1Nq6c24Oj50bCefxrbkgA-SVp8ClRLGZPHOs6uZzroa6JMx2f1kj7UxX80jRx-_k4hMWgc0KW4Hymm6wxu_Ly8SKhBOCrctjY8R9Qpo4Q_P0A=s911" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="911" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0JvKqN5Q2tjzj7ICzUo27eAYEQxQT0lBCnh-SfdFzH7gSF1nWxLTBJdeqmGC0_crIGvBb-5gQ18DzM1Nq6c24Oj50bCefxrbkgA-SVp8ClRLGZPHOs6uZzroa6JMx2f1kj7UxX80jRx-_k4hMWgc0KW4Hymm6wxu_Ly8SKhBOCrctjY8R9Qpo4Q_P0A=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sherry Jackson in Blake Edwards' GUNN</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiERzCT_Vo42vtoLuvh6os-SJftCwO5pkISBZmC11z1XIuhQmspiisWmXOkGY4iOJg_plyBs1nvAveEbDhs6x__2O4FVveE6Z06Th4-zA-J7yWihWR543J5UyYoUnArRrKY93hRv3W5NGUt7gYNGbyaPLSPetuw3vqL39dGJNk3cpTY83ASLbcfHAG8eg=s923" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="923" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiERzCT_Vo42vtoLuvh6os-SJftCwO5pkISBZmC11z1XIuhQmspiisWmXOkGY4iOJg_plyBs1nvAveEbDhs6x__2O4FVveE6Z06Th4-zA-J7yWihWR543J5UyYoUnArRrKY93hRv3W5NGUt7gYNGbyaPLSPetuw3vqL39dGJNk3cpTY83ASLbcfHAG8eg=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Craig Stevens in GUNN</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1eCejWaivvtKNZb1vsak2BRS543_fhU_5he7cvRyhzc5VBfFztgfHR9ySashMYCo6DM7Fl46hNVJy3FuKEai-kKgwy-so0FSwYsixD5zpW317ND22pygcAk7G9ts8vH32FyvzVPuS9N1ltLhZTm56sJFAR6IfWSXT1lhUVptbGiAeLNqJpvNY7zUNCA=s1050" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1eCejWaivvtKNZb1vsak2BRS543_fhU_5he7cvRyhzc5VBfFztgfHR9ySashMYCo6DM7Fl46hNVJy3FuKEai-kKgwy-so0FSwYsixD5zpW317ND22pygcAk7G9ts8vH32FyvzVPuS9N1ltLhZTm56sJFAR6IfWSXT1lhUVptbGiAeLNqJpvNY7zUNCA=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Craig Stevens in GUNN with Laura Devon<br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH1rF8vGOp_ZcgozCP8lmJbBWRKYvJESlB7cmt9vADq3qGhaLKAvpCWPGivV6HzLt8960pTh__G6Y8OLxioRc_zJLZMyp5z6IscG1Z9o4oNWnnzd9gMoLLldwLymjAkv4wyBuJS4pVIXlbk6xWgjD7EXtdqdOKLjy6_DhFnlLzUVqON_yEpiNsYdw4dw=s1094" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1094" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH1rF8vGOp_ZcgozCP8lmJbBWRKYvJESlB7cmt9vADq3qGhaLKAvpCWPGivV6HzLt8960pTh__G6Y8OLxioRc_zJLZMyp5z6IscG1Z9o4oNWnnzd9gMoLLldwLymjAkv4wyBuJS4pVIXlbk6xWgjD7EXtdqdOKLjy6_DhFnlLzUVqON_yEpiNsYdw4dw=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sherry Jackson as Samantha in GUNN </u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdY_kfMlDLGvNh0Xd5tyvdKFLrb-HFlwlbaZy8UvTGfLyQzjAk17Cz2OW89f3pEmCk-359wXTzifLPtCWi3zuLqqNivwQN5IeE8_Pf3OM3GSBOCf2MzWpvFAOnUfxHD_m-tJ5IcqLJZc55EGgrrix3w85RfyV7Tz2CisrbzBuXAksB4-yh-FYOyBPJfQ=s1054" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="1054" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdY_kfMlDLGvNh0Xd5tyvdKFLrb-HFlwlbaZy8UvTGfLyQzjAk17Cz2OW89f3pEmCk-359wXTzifLPtCWi3zuLqqNivwQN5IeE8_Pf3OM3GSBOCf2MzWpvFAOnUfxHD_m-tJ5IcqLJZc55EGgrrix3w85RfyV7Tz2CisrbzBuXAksB4-yh-FYOyBPJfQ=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Craig Stevens in GUNN</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUGVwBBivnKvLczfobwSpA-RECIEq7C0i-7CQLqrjFGHYNAXi1DDdx47FCvIHoty8gB4sBn2z9OqPUQETwjOTV8IGRe3mzG4Av9uKNZZ9pswRTN-2c3ZyHRvCLtCzLHf4D7lP2PslLldnKkCM0o_5iV1fpRSnOyoCYAAb-CoOkSGHw31isjp2xj7iUPg=s715" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="715" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUGVwBBivnKvLczfobwSpA-RECIEq7C0i-7CQLqrjFGHYNAXi1DDdx47FCvIHoty8gB4sBn2z9OqPUQETwjOTV8IGRe3mzG4Av9uKNZZ9pswRTN-2c3ZyHRvCLtCzLHf4D7lP2PslLldnKkCM0o_5iV1fpRSnOyoCYAAb-CoOkSGHw31isjp2xj7iUPg=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Craig Stevens in Otto Preminger's Where the Sidewalk Ends</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9_Fb4KO3CGMfxUOW0S7BADbmDj-blwxs9ih4kmsnugYiaOdDfiJnJ4-JnBBU50GXFUsFlN1CxSR8RaFVBUbIT2SZYOiG0KoRg5ufvh164KYO05IZTbiy2-vxCwtBZobdZPo8f0kizy0-t_2BRu43saQRXOcZmFGqVl3j6q9EaoVRp2zavTBiywaVpZA=s1019" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="1019" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9_Fb4KO3CGMfxUOW0S7BADbmDj-blwxs9ih4kmsnugYiaOdDfiJnJ4-JnBBU50GXFUsFlN1CxSR8RaFVBUbIT2SZYOiG0KoRg5ufvh164KYO05IZTbiy2-vxCwtBZobdZPo8f0kizy0-t_2BRu43saQRXOcZmFGqVl3j6q9EaoVRp2zavTBiywaVpZA=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lola Albright and Craig Stevens on the PETER GUNN series</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlhjyekDGDwzygabOxxxQkn6UmvBo6zhZLn57pKmQjDv5i1-EIPK2MvWls3nroFKajYO7-szyCZh7BuLHJbsQ9HlF3b8fg__Zj42RCxtUNJ-mGk3oQUn1MlfNnyjD-W2hmn_IN48I0_GWqgKTUYRP_JyWFDkTxJDwDgkXiwoxO6I2LHW88i3Qp_1LFrg=s713" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="713" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlhjyekDGDwzygabOxxxQkn6UmvBo6zhZLn57pKmQjDv5i1-EIPK2MvWls3nroFKajYO7-szyCZh7BuLHJbsQ9HlF3b8fg__Zj42RCxtUNJ-mGk3oQUn1MlfNnyjD-W2hmn_IN48I0_GWqgKTUYRP_JyWFDkTxJDwDgkXiwoxO6I2LHW88i3Qp_1LFrg=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sherry Jackson in GUNN</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEid4T2DvQjhpr0HwezFVA_W469alv2LziYJX9QJs_hplWTfcvEWt271XV9WRjO7ACEe7R-hJFUEdvg8VCk0O0Zo7EhetEndxWEVpultyqhzT1FLES_RkkKyRaXGPFlsWaN1vSRqBs2b0GjCG4K9JBB15-kZfsKIuelHNoBGXFRuaxLEeadT9BKTA0slfg=s1055" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="1055" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEid4T2DvQjhpr0HwezFVA_W469alv2LziYJX9QJs_hplWTfcvEWt271XV9WRjO7ACEe7R-hJFUEdvg8VCk0O0Zo7EhetEndxWEVpultyqhzT1FLES_RkkKyRaXGPFlsWaN1vSRqBs2b0GjCG4K9JBB15-kZfsKIuelHNoBGXFRuaxLEeadT9BKTA0slfg=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Laura Devon jazz-singing through GUNN</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP5qgmF0XnILiLtwT3ljGz16Qf8pRvqhaOIk08ophuEvjDKfTn17N2eF-LT4pml66b6Ay4t3qO__dOL0rMg-_fgmSG9pm-2NUTf1ymTF2AWEt4_0jAGJoUeuEoSgZGL_mH8H9h3TDQHblouCeylAulZG-Oli69um5X_Zod8s-u5YyTEWLtq7kKeAY5TQ=s702" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="702" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP5qgmF0XnILiLtwT3ljGz16Qf8pRvqhaOIk08ophuEvjDKfTn17N2eF-LT4pml66b6Ay4t3qO__dOL0rMg-_fgmSG9pm-2NUTf1ymTF2AWEt4_0jAGJoUeuEoSgZGL_mH8H9h3TDQHblouCeylAulZG-Oli69um5X_Zod8s-u5YyTEWLtq7kKeAY5TQ=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Craig Stevens and Sherry Jackson in GUNN</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

action, blake edwards, craig stevens, ed asner, franchise, gumshoe, mob, neo noir, sherry jackson, sixties

BLAKE EDWARDS REDIRECTS 'GUNN' STARRING CRAIG STEVENS

Title: GUNN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 A womanizing 1950's playboy (who does little work for ladies to throw themselves his way) in the l...

Written by James M. Tate / 6/01/2021 / No comments / ahna capri , chris robinson , gumshoe , janet maclachlan , neo noir , robert clouse , robert phillips , rod taylor , seventies , suzy kendall , william smith

ROD TAYLOR LITERALLY VS WILLIAM SMITH IN 'DARKER THAN AMBER'

ahna capri, chris robinson, gumshoe, janet maclachlan, neo noir, robert clouse, robert phillips, rod taylor, seventies, suzy kendall, william smith

ROD TAYLOR LITERALLY VS WILLIAM SMITH IN 'DARKER THAN AMBER'

Book Cover Darker than Amber Year: 1970 Rates: *** "And speaking of that... What about that?" is some of the clunky dialogue in Ro...

CHARLES GRODIN AND FARRAH FAWCETT BASKING IN 'SUNBURN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsScbne-f22xr8-X874nm7P5jUDn2O-Pg5jYEzMFdMgsMxNR1xj1bODL9e5vX9Vu2vSiQwKLLoAKBYXzPBmv7VgCjsPpbBVg8ruE-Wa1Xcrk9gZQwg9EQz5pdQk9FUBXGHVnpSHh7Tk7p/s869/Screen+Shot+2021-05-19+at+7.44.08+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="869" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsScbne-f22xr8-X874nm7P5jUDn2O-Pg5jYEzMFdMgsMxNR1xj1bODL9e5vX9Vu2vSiQwKLLoAKBYXzPBmv7VgCjsPpbBVg8ruE-Wa1Xcrk9gZQwg9EQz5pdQk9FUBXGHVnpSHh7Tk7p/w400-h318/Screen+Shot+2021-05-19+at+7.44.08+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sunburn poster resembling Killer Fish circa 1979 Rates: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Around the time <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2014/04/saturn-3.html">Farrah Fawcett</a> and husband <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/04/Majors-of-Steel.html">Lee Majors</a> produced <i>his</i> <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/08/blackfish.html">KILLER FISH</a> in sunny Brazil, <i>she</i> went to sunnier Acapulco in an action-comedy almost entirely lacking humor; and yet, helmed by VANISHING POINT director Richard C. Sarafian, the action sequences are pretty good along with neat shots of the glistening locale with a scantily-clad Farrah who, having just left CHARLIE'S ANGELS, was so hot/popular that anything she starred in could pass as Exploitation Cinema, although SUNBURN is mostly a mainstream venture juggling too many characters while losing focus on the main plot: A rich old man's car crash might not be accidental, and his insurance company has to reluctantly shell out 5M...</p><p>So Grodin, supposedly a troublesome private eye, is sent with Fawcett as his fake wife... But there's hardly any trouble or suspense surreptitiously investigating the man's family that includes a lusty Joan Collins and the dead man's kids in a quaint <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/09/buster-and-billie.html">Joan Goodfellow</a> and her playboy brother. Meanwhile, Art Carney... as a gumshoe's gumshoe mentor... gets lost in a mix of neo noir crime and chaos wherein, since Grodin plays it so dry he hardly seems there at all, only Fawcett really shines... Which was obviously this film's backup plan that ultimately becomes pretty much everything.  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, charles grodin, comedy, exploitation, farrah fawcett, gumshoe, joan collins, joan goodfellow, neo noir, robin clarke, romance, seventies

CHARLES GRODIN AND FARRAH FAWCETT BASKING IN 'SUNBURN'

Sunburn poster resembling Killer Fish circa 1979 Rates: ** Around the time Farrah Fawcett and husband Lee Majors produced his KILLER FISH...

ELLIOTT GOULD IN ROBERT ALTMAN'S NEO NOIR 'THE LONG GOODBYE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzlN60-CDD26JhjHwXuECcvqSnOjPKRnpp1l3UwDDe-kctzoVLCCP5i4JX18KxfVASSK-7gVFdyxPTnVP2f6Untb-UW861LId_xNFHiuyd0kc7pgU7iIbZm4HdCLzYrE5FLJZ7nz5cSe3RZ7HTA7LmPoUdmafk7gxXlPI0Ig-mNGCEf2MtkeuJnlhXw/s1686/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-09%20at%204.16.37%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="1686" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzlN60-CDD26JhjHwXuECcvqSnOjPKRnpp1l3UwDDe-kctzoVLCCP5i4JX18KxfVASSK-7gVFdyxPTnVP2f6Untb-UW861LId_xNFHiuyd0kc7pgU7iIbZm4HdCLzYrE5FLJZ7nz5cSe3RZ7HTA7LmPoUdmafk7gxXlPI0Ig-mNGCEf2MtkeuJnlhXw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-09%20at%204.16.37%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE LONG GOODBYE Director: Robert Altman Year: 1973 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Former Noir legend Sterling Hayden is technically the most important character in Robert Altman's Neo Noir THE LONG GOODBYE, based on a Raymond Chandler novel where the tough-handsome gumshoe Philip Marlowe is turned into a lazy, hippie-friendly slob in Elliott Gould, perfectly cast against type and at his very best... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Particularly a scene where he and Hayden's Roger Wade... hired by Wade's mesmerizing trophy wife guarded by a grouchy doberman within a Malibu, California colony home... share an afternoon drink at the couple's Malibu beach-backyard, and it's here Wade learns that Marlowe's not such a "ding-a-ling" after all...</p><p><span></span></p>

arnold schwarzenegger, crime, cult, david arkin, elliott gould, gumshoe, jerry jones, mark rydell, mystery, neo noir, robert altman, seventies, sybil scotford, thriller

ELLIOTT GOULD IN ROBERT ALTMAN'S NEO NOIR 'THE LONG GOODBYE'

Title: THE LONG GOODBYE Director: Robert Altman Year: 1973 Rating: ***** Former Noir legend Sterling Hayden is technically the most importan...

FRANK SINATRA WITH RICHARD CONTE & SUE LYON IN 'TONY ROME'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOywmxjrBeKdPn4Ckt2WYd9tNI2H2YHD-4V8TRMIwRr5s18So2jYfOaaCQi4aUsXbOHYg8f60FyuMYCqJFIMPgDLHBi-d_YK6L1UVcMsKG3wqcooOltH2-6eRlDemaOT9IRFADIIw79yNCg9rhJk2NbfV5NkXpbAyQjP429eT1t99anBFM6GzRh1lSdnv/s1626/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-15%20at%204.24.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOywmxjrBeKdPn4Ckt2WYd9tNI2H2YHD-4V8TRMIwRr5s18So2jYfOaaCQi4aUsXbOHYg8f60FyuMYCqJFIMPgDLHBi-d_YK6L1UVcMsKG3wqcooOltH2-6eRlDemaOT9IRFADIIw79yNCg9rhJk2NbfV5NkXpbAyQjP429eT1t99anBFM6GzRh1lSdnv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-15%20at%204.24.04%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Frank Sinatra with Richard Conte in TONY ROME Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy's bouncy title song for TONY ROME misleadingly promises a character causing mothers to lock up their daughters — when in fact the only dame in danger is heart of gold "slut" Jill St. John, one of the most contrived femme fatale types in the history of Film Noir, or in this case, Neo Noir cinema...<br>
<br>
Seeming like a sexy daydreamed wraith created solely to share parenthetical scenes with — and pretending to be only somewhat interested in when she's really wildly crazy about — our smug anti-hero private dick, whose gambling addiction is as idle and secondhand as the gumshoe plot with its mazy ups-and-downs while prominently featuring the gorgeous Miami, Florida in its groovy 1960's heyday...<br>
</p><p></p>

frank sinatra, gumshoe, jeffrey lynn, jill st. john, neo noir, private eye, richard conte, sixties, sue lyon, thriller, tiffany bolling, tony rome

FRANK SINATRA WITH RICHARD CONTE & SUE LYON IN 'TONY ROME'

Frank Sinatra with Richard Conte in TONY ROME Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy's bouncy title song for TONY...

PETER FALK IN 'COLUMBO CRIES WOLF' WITH REBECCA STAAB

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRWQfELXs2YVI2UmnvoVCeSEADLElGNCr1nz2-YHhuTb3llu_-sIabvX26qVcINvHMcMSDfTUQYTkaV9rETtJZ9HGc6loNdtzZro2qdfRYHeB-VPMpnePyY-fSWzsB2mrM1PaqLZX51J_/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-02-17%252Bat%252B1.51.41%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRWQfELXs2YVI2UmnvoVCeSEADLElGNCr1nz2-YHhuTb3llu_-sIabvX26qVcINvHMcMSDfTUQYTkaV9rETtJZ9HGc6loNdtzZro2qdfRYHeB-VPMpnePyY-fSWzsB2mrM1PaqLZX51J_/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-02-17%252Bat%252B1.51.41%252BAM.jpeg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1990 cast: Peter Falk, Ian Buchanan, Rebecca Staab rating: ****</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If every COLUMBO episode can be judged upon how conceited and prosperous, and downright horrendously in-your-face lucky
 the villain is, you can chalk this up as one of the best...<br>
<br>
That is, of
 the latter episodes made during the 1990's wherein Peter Falk is 
an older, scruffier Columbo, still feigning naivete with his ruffled trench 
coat and even wearier eyes, not even having to act the way he seems and looks being older: yet he's still always thinking... <br>

actress, crime, gumshoe, ian buchanan, mystery, nineties, peter falk, rebecca staab, thriller, TV

PETER FALK IN 'COLUMBO CRIES WOLF' WITH REBECCA STAAB

year: 1990 cast: Peter Falk, Ian Buchanan, Rebecca Staab rating: **** If every COLUMBO episode can be judged upon how conceited and pros...

GARY KENT IN RAY STECKLER'S 'BODY FEVER' AKA 'SUPERCOOL'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu846sngxRvOod_czHWrL8C2qqqa3pHV96mioPXYFpwGV3KyaZfUrzqBUPGWoUyFxAobinF0YlD0TFtBjmuJb_jM2AfiMgsuUFNq38VjXzMXguYIEPddXOVUUTVvdpAzGtwoEQXt8bLUic/s1600/45144595_2105173716193564_3520784872366931968_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="735" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu846sngxRvOod_czHWrL8C2qqqa3pHV96mioPXYFpwGV3KyaZfUrzqBUPGWoUyFxAobinF0YlD0TFtBjmuJb_jM2AfiMgsuUFNq38VjXzMXguYIEPddXOVUUTVvdpAzGtwoEQXt8bLUic/s400/45144595_2105173716193564_3520784872366931968_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ray Dennis Steckler and Gary Kent fight in Super Cool YEAR: 1969</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Film Noir/Gumshoe/Private Eye films have a main character wandering (and wondering) from one location to the next in search of something, or someone, or both...<br>
<br>
What they get along the way are a lot of names, mostly red herrings. Sexy dames and tough broads with tougher boyfriends. Fights. Gunshots. Psychedelic drugs and heroin or...<br>
<br>
Well the last sentence doesn't fit the Humphrey Bogart-era films, in which this was inspired all the way to director and here main star as well, Ray Dennis Steckler looking into a HIGH SIERRA poster with his image reflecting onto Bogie's. And in SUPER COOL, the real title's shown in the opening credits despite being packaged as BODY FEVER and with other names like CHEAT FOR LIFE, THE LAST ORIGINAL B MOVIE and DEADLOCKED...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUBcXwH0QnKAhExJLZXvPrma8Jd0Y2s_huCihqmthLDWBMqR5N4XZhFhLbTtSOz-l39jz0lZsaBZkrcCrnzlYw0YLSGIzsj1BoZtN-GqvxZtWdrhzrUyDq3nV8nkdiiNKJnhrIvvJDtKV/s1600/45089360_594050697690777_7978350524862824448_n.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="871" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUBcXwH0QnKAhExJLZXvPrma8Jd0Y2s_huCihqmthLDWBMqR5N4XZhFhLbTtSOz-l39jz0lZsaBZkrcCrnzlYw0YLSGIzsj1BoZtN-GqvxZtWdrhzrUyDq3nV8nkdiiNKJnhrIvvJDtKV/s400/45089360_594050697690777_7978350524862824448_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Kent grabs the bag of loot from his director Score: ***</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's an urban/suburban odyssey of Steckler's scrawny gumshoe Charlie Smith, trying to find a missing dame, played by his real life star and perpetual ingenue Caroyln Brandt, who stole a ton of drugs (after all, she's a cat burglar who dresses like Catwoman)...<br>
<br>
The best elements pit Smith against Frankie Roberts, played by Steckler's stock heavy Gary Kent (a formidable ax-murderer in THE THRILL KILLERS), who not only keeps women addicted to smack but smacks them regularly. And like those mazy Noirs of the forties and fifties, the plot is purposely convoluted: so the audience is as confused as the snoop... But the flat conclusion seems a bit forced: ending a breezy jaunt that could've gone on forever. Or at least fifteen (or ten, perhaps?) minutes longer.<br>

action, carolyn brandt, cult, exploitation, gary kent, gumshoe, independent, neo noir, ray dennis steckler, sixties, thriller

GARY KENT IN RAY STECKLER'S 'BODY FEVER' AKA 'SUPERCOOL'

Ray Dennis Steckler and Gary Kent fight in Super Cool YEAR: 1969 Film Noir/Gumshoe/Private Eye films have a main character wandering (an...

KOLCHAK VS 'THE NIGHT STALKER' AND 'THE NIGHT STRANGLER'

carol lynley, claude akins, dan curtis, darren mcgavin, gumshoe, horror, jazz score, jordan rhodes, kent smith, larry linville, neo noir, ralph meeker, seventies, simon oakland

KOLCHAK VS 'THE NIGHT STALKER' AND 'THE NIGHT STRANGLER'

Reviews of NIGHT STALKER & STRANGLER Years: 1972-73 Darren McGavin's Kolchak is a throwback in an era that at this point is a th...

MICKEY SPILLANE WIELDS HIS OWN HAMMER IN 'THE GIRL HUNTERS'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVW7yJfTGq-nynkfMCPB3bGnTFxh1-gwnBFJbwjMzEpjPNLi5RYcg6PENjTAFPZpBp8P0nInJ9h8BQ-R2ZCaUziKHfkvZj8ZqsBnnQteOWNPPsfONmtlAlaQh7A1rcFxjZlCz3qO6lPe6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-01-11+at+7.35.46+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="855" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVW7yJfTGq-nynkfMCPB3bGnTFxh1-gwnBFJbwjMzEpjPNLi5RYcg6PENjTAFPZpBp8P0nInJ9h8BQ-R2ZCaUziKHfkvZj8ZqsBnnQteOWNPPsfONmtlAlaQh7A1rcFxjZlCz3qO6lPe6/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-01-11+at+7.35.46+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Mickey Spillane as his creation in THE GIRL HUNTERS</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's not just how an actor delivers a line, but how they actually sit and/or stand there and actually... <i>listen</i>... Not something you really notice until a non-actor calls attention to the important process of <i>reaction</i>. And in this case, God is playing his own creation... Imagine if, instead of providing a quick fun cameo, Alfred Hitchcock took over Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart's job as leading man...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC15H9gQCXvhsEMExQw27SuEp4x8HhrqSji-AiRqc56TIZeUT4GPAjG9QrHORIeqXmJ1AR2UbblXoGJO7E5Vq8hdJ2cyaWvuiyUbmhW2411KYaWVloNfJ-A_3F8uTtDWGIcrg0luGvz2sI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-01-11+at+7.30.14+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1355" data-original-width="733" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC15H9gQCXvhsEMExQw27SuEp4x8HhrqSji-AiRqc56TIZeUT4GPAjG9QrHORIeqXmJ1AR2UbblXoGJO7E5Vq8hdJ2cyaWvuiyUbmhW2411KYaWVloNfJ-A_3F8uTtDWGIcrg0luGvz2sI/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-01-11+at+7.30.14+PM.jpeg" width="172"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hammer and Pat battle</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Then again, Mickey Spillane, who acts in an extremely subtle manner, and reacts with a stonewall countenance, does look much tougher and genuinely street savvy than most writers of tough guy fiction. And several actors played Mike Hammer; Ralph Meeker in KISS ME DEADLY was by far the best, most quintessential although you can't imagine him writing about his exploits, or doing any sort of personal narration, which is what the books are...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Robert Bray from MY GUN IS QUICK seems as if Hammer were real and they based a comic book on his exploits which became a motion picture, and Bray took on the part like George Reeves did Superman... TV's Darren McGavin seemed like Hammer's charming used car salesman brother who filled the gumshoe's shoes and, instead of the dames coming to him, he had to flirt his way into their hearts: And so, by 1963, writer Spillane, a visual cross between Eli Wallach on growth pills and "Thug Number Three" from any mobster flick you choose, took the mantle... And it'd been exactly seven years, within the story, that Hammer was a working Private Eye and eight years since KISS ME DEADLY hit theaters with a menacing growl...<br>

film noir or melodrama, gumshoe, kim tracy, mickey spillane, shirley eaton, sixties

MICKEY SPILLANE WIELDS HIS OWN HAMMER IN 'THE GIRL HUNTERS'

Mickey Spillane as his creation in THE GIRL HUNTERS It's not just how an actor delivers a line, but how they actually sit and/or sta...

JMT

Written by James M. Tate / 4/15/2026 / No comments / 3D , action , biff elliot , elijah cook jr. , fifties , film noir or melodrama , gumshoe , mary anderson , mickey spillane , mike hammer , peggie castle , preston foster

Written by James M. Tate / 4/09/2026 / No comments / albert dekker , cloris leachman , fifties , film noir or melodrama , gumshoe , jack elam , jack lambert , leigh snowden , marian carr , maxine cooper , paul stewart , ralph meeker , robert aldrich , wesley addy

Written by James M. Tate / 4/10/2025 / No comments / ariel winter , buddy , comedy , crime , dark comedy , genre tarantino , gumshoe , michelle monaghan , neo noir , robert downey jr. , shane black , shannyn sossamon , stephanie pearson , val kilmer , zeroes

Written by James M. Tate / 12/14/2024 / No comments / action , chris robinson , dan blocker , exploitation , frank sinatra , gumshoe , jazz-score , lainie kazan , mystery , neo noir , raquel welch , richard conte , shark , sixties , tony rome

Written by James M. Tate / 2/14/2024 / No comments / british film noir , crime , delphi lawrence , gumshoe , honor blackman , john colicos , michael balflour , michael balfour , mystery , thriller , tom conway

Written by James M. Tate / 12/27/2023 / No comments / anne shirley , claire trevor , daun kennedy , dick powell , film noir or melodrama , forties , gumshoe , mike mazurski , raymond chandler , suspense , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 11/03/2023 / No comments / dorothy malone , film noir or melodrama , gumshoe , howard hawks , humphrey bogart , lauren bacall , martha vickers , mystery , raymond chandler

Written by James M. Tate / 6/14/2023 / No comments / ann southern , carroll baker , edmond o'brien , george maharis , gordon douglas , gumshoe , neo noir , sixties , viveca lindfors

Written by James M. Tate / 2/20/2023 / No comments / action , bruce m. fischer , buddy , burt reynolds , clint eastwood , cop , eighties , gangster , gumshoe , jane alexander , madeline kahn , neo noir , richard benjamin , richard roundtree , team-up

Written by James M. Tate / 9/24/2022 / No comments / action , burt reynolds , comedy , dorothy malone , dyan dannon , gumshoe , kay frye , neo noir , seventies , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 8/26/2022 / No comments / action , charles bronson , crime , dana elcar , gumshoe , harry guardino , j. lee thompson , jacqueline bisset , jeff goldblum , john houseman , lynn borden , neo noir , seventies , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 1/17/2022 / No comments / action , blake edwards , craig stevens , ed asner , franchise , gumshoe , mob , neo noir , sherry jackson , sixties

Written by James M. Tate / 6/01/2021 / No comments / ahna capri , chris robinson , gumshoe , janet maclachlan , neo noir , robert clouse , robert phillips , rod taylor , seventies , suzy kendall , william smith

Written by James M. Tate / 5/27/2021 / No comments / action , charles grodin , comedy , exploitation , farrah fawcett , gumshoe , joan collins , joan goodfellow , neo noir , robin clarke , romance , seventies

Written by James M. Tate / 9/01/2020 / No comments / arnold schwarzenegger , crime , cult , david arkin , elliott gould , gumshoe , jerry jones , mark rydell , mystery , neo noir , robert altman , seventies , sybil scotford , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 4/07/2020 / No comments / frank sinatra , gumshoe , jeffrey lynn , jill st. john , neo noir , private eye , richard conte , sixties , sue lyon , thriller , tiffany bolling , tony rome

Written by James M. Tate / 2/17/2020 / No comments / actress , crime , gumshoe , ian buchanan , mystery , nineties , peter falk , rebecca staab , thriller , TV

Written by James M. Tate / 11/02/2018 / No comments / action , carolyn brandt , cult , exploitation , gary kent , gumshoe , independent , neo noir , ray dennis steckler , sixties , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 7/18/2016 / No comments / carol lynley , claude akins , dan curtis , darren mcgavin , gumshoe , horror , jazz score , jordan rhodes , kent smith , larry linville , neo noir , ralph meeker , seventies , simon oakland

Written by James M. Tate / 7/11/2016 / No comments / film noir or melodrama , gumshoe , kim tracy , mickey spillane , shirley eaton , sixties

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