Mike Hammer - Murder Me, Murder You (TV-movie, 1983)

Murder Me, Murder You is one of two Mike Hammer TV-movies which served as pilots for projected TV series. Murder Me, Murder You screened on CBS in April 1983 and the response was positive. The series went ahead and was quite successful, running from 1984 to 1987. Stacy Keach plays Hammer in both the TV-movies and the series.

This was a TV-movie so there was no way the budget was going to stretch to a period setting. This is New York in the early 80s but it has a grimy scuzzy slightly sleazy 70s vibe. There’s no 80s glamour. Mike Hammer fits right into this environment.

Mike Hammer looks like he’s dressing the same way he’s dressed for twenty years. He wears a hat, which definitely adds a slight retro hint. The women wear dresses that also have just a very slight retro feel. The women’s hairstyles are not too 80s. This is not really New York in 1983. This is Mickey Spillane’s New York. This is Mike Hammer’s New York. It has its own reality. The visual style works, with nods to classic film noir and 70s grittiness.

Hammer is pressured by the DA to offer protection to an important witness. Chris Jameson (Michelle Phillips) runs an all female courier agency that specialises in delivering very sensitive documents. One of their couriers has been killed. It may have some connection to a crooked aerospace company. A briefcase disappeared from the murder scene. A briefcase worth killing for.

Mike soon finds himself with a personal stake in the case (which is a standard feature in most of Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels). Chris is an old flame. And Mike discovers he has a family member he didn’t know about, one who is mixed up in this case in some mysterious way. Mike has some personal stuff from the past that he will have to deal with.

There has been a murder. It’s very likely that there have been two murders. And as the story progresses, three murders.

As usual Hammer has clashes with the police and the DA. He’s used to that, but someone is taking pot shots at him and that annoys him. Some people he liked are dead. Someone he likes very much could soon be dead. When things like that happen Mike starts playing hardball.

You couldn’t get too sleazy on network TV in 1983 but Murder Me, Murder You gives it the old college try. There’s an astounding quantity of cleavage on display. There’s no naked flesh but there is a nicely squalid atmosphere. A key suspect is involved in the adult movie business. And there’s a balance between life in the gutter and life for the rich, and the rich people in this story are the sleaziest of all.

There’s an effectively twisty screenplay by Bill Stratton and most importantly it feels like a Mike Hammer story. There’s a bizarre twist at the end which you might find bewildering if you haven’t read Spillane. But it is a real Spillane touch.

And Stacy Keach is a splendid Hammer, always ready to start throwing punches and shoot people.

And this is the real Velda. If you’ve read the books you know that Velda has a private investigator’s licence of her own and a gun licence and she has no qualms about shooting people if she has to. I think Tanya Roberts is pretty good in the role. Velda has to be beautiful and glamorous and Tanya Roberts fits the bill perfectly. It’s a pity she wasn’t available for the series.

I have a few qualms about the ending. I’m not sure it rings true emotionally. Obviously I can’t say any more without risking spoilers.

The two TV-movies Murder Me, Murder You and More than Murder are available in a two disc DVD set. Murder Me, Murder You gets a perfectly acceptable transfer. Sadly the TV series seems to be long out of print on DVD. Blu-Ray releases would certainly be welcome!

I enjoyed Murder Me, Murder You quite a bit. Highly recommended.

As much as I like Stacy Keach here I do think that Darren McGavin in the 1958-1960 Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer TV series was a slightly better Hammer. And, oddly enough, a slightly tougher Hammer.