Miami P. I. "Mike Hammer" (oh really?) who based his career on the Frank Sinatra movie TONY ROME, takes on a missing person case which leads to car-chases, assault & battery, romance, lies, deceit, a murder frame-up job, and trouble with the FBI.
This is actually a really fun film. It's just NOT "Mike Hammer". (Though, I have to admit, it's MORE "Mike Hammer" than, say, that Val Kilmer movie was ever "The Saint". Read my new IMBD review of that to see what I mean.)
I used to watch SILK STALKINGS, so I already liked Rob Estes, and this was before Pamela Anderson had too much plastic surgery. I COULD NOT believe where they slipped Kent Williams in, playing an entirely-different character!!! And I realized after it was over that the Spanish car mechanic was inspired by the guy in "KISS ME DEADLY".
Darlanne Fluegel was interesting, and I got such a huge laugh when she punched Mike out in mid-story. I keep forgetting she was in BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. What I remember was that disastrous 7th season of HUNTER. She-- WASN'T-- the problem. That show started to go to HELL a year before she got there. Put another way, her having "creative differences" with Fred Dryer and deciding to QUIT had a precedent. The previous season, Stepfanie Kramer was the ONLY thing just barely holding that show together, as Dryer seemed hell-bent on running it into the ground with his ideas of "creative control". When she left-- the show went RIGHT OFF A CLIFF. I stopped watching ONE WEEK before the network pulled the plug!!! When it happened, I said, "Ahh-- so it WASN'T JUST ME."
My favorite part had to be when the Feds are after Mike for something he didn't do, and his 3 best friends are all giving him hell for not being as clever as he seems to think he is.
Considering that 3 of the baddies in this turn out to be a Catholic Priest and 2 crooked cops... the script for this seems ahead of its time. I almost wonder how this ever got broadcast on a major network? I also wonder why writer John Lau has such a short IMDB resume? And yeah-- how come this didn't become a series? (Did Mickey Spillane object?) Maybe this would have gone over better as a reboot of TONY ROME!
This is actually a really fun film. It's just NOT "Mike Hammer". (Though, I have to admit, it's MORE "Mike Hammer" than, say, that Val Kilmer movie was ever "The Saint". Read my new IMBD review of that to see what I mean.)
I used to watch SILK STALKINGS, so I already liked Rob Estes, and this was before Pamela Anderson had too much plastic surgery. I COULD NOT believe where they slipped Kent Williams in, playing an entirely-different character!!! And I realized after it was over that the Spanish car mechanic was inspired by the guy in "KISS ME DEADLY".
Darlanne Fluegel was interesting, and I got such a huge laugh when she punched Mike out in mid-story. I keep forgetting she was in BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. What I remember was that disastrous 7th season of HUNTER. She-- WASN'T-- the problem. That show started to go to HELL a year before she got there. Put another way, her having "creative differences" with Fred Dryer and deciding to QUIT had a precedent. The previous season, Stepfanie Kramer was the ONLY thing just barely holding that show together, as Dryer seemed hell-bent on running it into the ground with his ideas of "creative control". When she left-- the show went RIGHT OFF A CLIFF. I stopped watching ONE WEEK before the network pulled the plug!!! When it happened, I said, "Ahh-- so it WASN'T JUST ME."
My favorite part had to be when the Feds are after Mike for something he didn't do, and his 3 best friends are all giving him hell for not being as clever as he seems to think he is.
Considering that 3 of the baddies in this turn out to be a Catholic Priest and 2 crooked cops... the script for this seems ahead of its time. I almost wonder how this ever got broadcast on a major network? I also wonder why writer John Lau has such a short IMDB resume? And yeah-- how come this didn't become a series? (Did Mickey Spillane object?) Maybe this would have gone over better as a reboot of TONY ROME!