Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1958 TV series)

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Starring Darren McGavin
Bart Burns
Theme music composer Dave Kahn
Melvyn Lenard Gordon
Opening theme "Riff Blues"
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 78 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Richard Irving
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Revue Productions
Distributor Universal Television
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network Syndication
Picture format Black-and-white; NTSC
Audio format Monaural sound
Original release January 7, 1958 (1958-01-07) – September 18, 1959 (1959-09-18)

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the first syndicated television series based on Spillane's hard-boiled private detective Mike Hammer, played by Darren McGavin. The series (produced from 1957 to 1959) had a run of 78 episodes over two seasons. Episodes were filmed in black and white and filled a half-hour time slot.

Episodes

Cast

Main

Recurring

Production and casting

Darren McGavin played the title role. McGavin would go on to play another hard-boiled private detective in the short-lived 1968 series The Outsider. He is perhaps best known as Carl Kolchak in the television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and the curmudgeonly father in A Christmas Story.

Bart Burns played Captain Pat Chambers, Hammer's main ally in the Police department.

Home media

On September 20, 2011, A&E Home Video released Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[1] The 12-disc set featured all 78 episodes of the series.

Reception

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Diamond Studio City Walk of Fame

Public and critical reaction to the show was mixed. While TV Guide referred to it as "easily the worst series on TV",[2] McGavin said that the show was "instantly successful".[3] Some reviewers were critical of the show for its use of excessive and gratuitous violence. However, McGavin made a point of playing the role of Hammer with a hint of tongue-in-cheek satire – against the wishes of Universal Studios executives.[3]

Unlike the series that appeared in the 1980s, Mickey Spillane had minimal involvement in the production of the 1950s program. "I just took the money and went home," Spillane said of the show. "Believe me, I had bigger fish to fry, namely, that darn elusive Batmanfish."[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Mike Hammer DVD news: Announcement for Mike Hammer - The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14.
  2. 1 2 Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present. New York: Ballantine Books.
  3. 1 2 "Mike Hammer". www.darrenmcgavin.net.
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