I, The Jury (1953)

I, The Jury (1953) is a violent sexified-narcotic Mike Hammer exploitation shocker Private Eye thriller film noir, in fact it was the first violent Mike Hammer exploitation shocker Private Eye thriller film noir.

Mike Hammer is explosively portrayed by newcomer Biff Elliot who walks into shot and examines the dead body of his one-armed pal, some crude jokes are made and then Hammer brutally attacks a journalist, smashing him into a rack of plates. This is as solid a character introduction as was ever made.

While not a great film nor a great effort at a film, I, The Jury (1953) is one of these movies that seems responsible for some of the truer of film noir's tropes and visions.

The character of the private eye in film noir is well explored by Dan Hodges and others, and the findings are clear: while the world and style of film noir seems to be populated by for example many private eyes, there are in fact very few genuine private eye film noirs, and yet in terms of noir culture, they punch far above their weight.

Were the LLMs of the 21st century asked to create a film noir of their own, the results would be what human perception of film noir is - the neon sign slowly blinking outside the window of a private eyes, the private eye's sexy personal secretary, with whom he is having an off and on affair, the coat, the hat, the gun, the alleyway, the mooks, the hoods and the paraphernalia of the gang boss, who at one point or maybe even at several points ties the P.I. to a chair and beats him.

The primary marker of Hammer noir however seems to be the confusing amount of women that fall for the private eye. None of the actors who played Mike Hammer in the classic period of 1940 to 1960, seem attractive enough to merit these absolutely beautiful but often vulnerable women who throw themselves upon him.

These actors who played Hammer in the 1950s are incidentally Biff Elliot, as here, Ralph Meeker (maybe the best looking of the bunch?) in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and a full on classic film noir, and Robert Bray of My Gun Is Quick (1957).

Although most of the work on classic film noir enjoys film from the 1940s and 1950s, dives into the 1930s and 1960s are often needed, and in an incredibly rare meta-moment of casting joy, rare insofar as an author has rarely been hired to play their own character, Mickey Spillane himself was hired to play his own creation in the picture The Girl Hunters (1963), which will hereafter be included in our studies.

The girls and women seem to be the most distinguishing feature of the Mike Hammer world. There is not a huge amount of detection, and once he hits the screen, Mike Hammer seems to borrow heavily from the earlier P.I. created by Rayomd Chandler - Philip Marlowe.

Both are world weary, cynical, and have the same office set up and certainly no steady girlfriend. Often the women that they fall for are the criminals that they are hunting. Often they are ties and beaten, and knocked unconscious. Often they are alone in the streets, stairwells and alleys and often the plots of their adventures are circular, confusing and touching upon the surreal in their lack of meaning.

Christmas wrapping in I, The Jury (1953)

For the 1950s, Mike Hammer represents the triumph of sex and violence, a refining of the culture into fantasies of both. The sexual fantasy runs in parallel to the fantasy of violence. Both occur in plenty, both occur with strangers, both occur with little warning or build up, and both seem to form the texture of the day to day life of the hero. How the women throw themselves at Mike Hammer is as alarming as the amount of beatings he takes, before he rises once again, and continues.

Photo album in I, The Jury (1953)

Film noir romance-neck-grip in I, The Jury (153)

In fact the sex and violence probably alternate. There is often a beautiful woman in his path and when she shifts, there are some blunt fisted mooks with boxers' broken noses, ready to dish out the antitheses. In the Mike Hammer films.

I, The Jury (1953) was out of the traps an exciting and cynical violent Mike Hammer exploitation shocker Private Eye thriller film noir, in fact it was the first violent Mike Hammer exploitation shocker Private Eye thriller film noir.

Mike Hammer is explosively portrayed by newcomer Biff Elliot who walks into shot and examines the dead body of his one-armed pal, some crude jokes are made and then Hammer brutally attacks a journalist, smashing him into a rack of plates. This is as solid a character introduction as was ever made.

While not a great film nor a great effort at a film, I, The Jury (1953) is one of these movies that seems responsible for some of the truer of film noir's tropes and visions.

The character of the private eye in film noir is well explored by Dan Hodges and others, and the findings are clear: while the world and style of film noir seems to be populated by for example many private eyes, there are in fact very few genuine private eye film noirs, and yet in terms of noir culture, they punch far above their weight.

Were the LLMs of the 21st century asked to create a film noir of their own, the results would be what human perception of film noir is - the neon sign slowly blinking outside the window of a private eyes, the private eye's sexy personal secretary, with whom he is having an off and on affair, the coat, the hat, the gun, the alleyway, the mooks, the hoods and the paraphernalia of the gang boss, who at one point or maybe even at several points ties the P.I. to a chair and beats him.

The primary marker of Hammer noir however seems to be the confusing amount of women that fall for the private eye. None of the actors who played Mike Hammer in the classic period of 1940 to 1960, seem attractive enough to merit these absolutely beautiful but often vulnerable women who throw themselves upon him.

BRADBURY BUILDING TIME

These actors who played Hammer in the 1950s are incidentally Biff Elliot, as here, Ralph Meeker (maybe the best looking of the collection of Mikes?) in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and a full on classic film noir, and Robert Bray of My Gun Is Quick (1957).

Although most of the work on classic film noir enjoys film from the 1940s and 1950s, dives into the 1930s and 1960s are often needed, and in an incredibly rare meta-moment of casting joy, rare insofar as an author has rarely been hired to play their own character, Mickey Spillane himself was hired to play his own creation in the picture The Girl Hunters (1963), which will hereafter be included in our studies.

The girls and women seem to be the most distinguishing feature of the Mike Hammer world. There is not a huge amount of detection, and once he hits the screen, Mike Hammer seems to borrow heavily from the earlier P.I. created by Raymond Chandler - Philip Marlowe.

Both are world weary, cynical, and have the same office set up and certainly no steady girlfriend. Often the women that they fall for are the criminals that they are hunting. Often they are ties and beaten, and knocked unconscious. Often they are alone in the streets, stairwells and alleys and often the plots of their adventures are circular, confusing and touching upon the surreal in their lack of meaning.

For the 1950s, Mike Hammer represents the triumph of sex and violence, a refining of the culture into fantasies of both. The sexual fantasy runs in parallel to the fantasy of violence. Both occur in plenty, both occur with strangers, both occur with little warning or build up, and both seem to form the texture of the day to day life of the hero. How the women throw themselves at Mike Hammer is as alarming as the amount of beatings he takes, before he rises once again, and continues.

In fact the sex and violence probably alternate. There is often a beautiful woman in his path and when she shifts, there are some blunt fisted mooks with boxers' broken noses, ready to dish out the antitheses. In the Mike Hammer films we discover these antitheses. Through one door is sex, through another door is violence. Mike opens door after door until the 90 minutes is up, and the film fantasy completes.

I, the Jury (1953)

Directed by Harry Essex

Genres - Crime, Drama, Mystery-Suspense, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Film Noir  |   Release Date - Aug 14, 1953  |   Run Time - 87 min.  

Undressing woman on the poster: