I, the Jury

Compared to Ralph Meeker (Kiss Me Deadly, 1955) and even Robert Bray (My Gun is Quick, 1957), Biff Elliott brings a more adolescent and volatile vibe to Mickey Spillane’s famous private eye Mike Hammer in Harry Essex’s I, the Jury, a classic detective yarn in which Hammer moves from witness to witness, odd character to odd character, in his effort to determine who murdered his best friend from the war, paying special attention to the females, of course. The intricate plot demands close attention as suspects bob and weave throughout the investigation, even if the killer is a bit too easy to spot early on: highlights include an inexplicably uncredited Elisha Cook Jr. as dimwitted former boxer and Santa Claus impersonator Bobo and Dran Hamilton as kooky vixen Mary Bellamy, who uses a backscratcher as a surprisingly effective tool of seduction. As bodies begin piling up, even Hammer is a target after a newspaper article implies he knows the name of the killer, his physical and emotional wounds attended by psychiatrist and love interest Charlotte Manning (Peggie Castle). Known as a writer, not a director, and despite or even because of budget limitations, Essex was fortunate to have camera legend John Alton on hand to establish a compelling noir ethos, including foggy B&W streetscapes, smoky interrogations in the shadows, and pistol-pointing silhouettes framed in doorways. The filmmakers spare no violence in creating Hammer’s bitter and brutal downtown world, making ironic use of pleasant Christmas postcards as intertitles between acts.