This movie is fantastic. It is the second Robert Aldrich movie I have watched - and this one lives up to the hype. This is film noir at its best. It is based on a Micky Spillane novel, and adapted beautifully. The dialog is fantastic - total tough-guy stuff. At one point Mike Hammer (played by a great Ralph Meeker) is trying to get into an apartment to search it. The wife of the landlord is bitchy, and Mike turns to the husband and says, "Tell her to shut up." The husband turns to his wife, "Shut up." That's the mood of the movie. Women are for ornamentation and sex, men are tough and brutal. And the opening scenes make fun of this attitude.
The opening? A woman is running barefoot down a freeway wearing only a trench coat. It's Cloris Leachman in her first movie appearance. It's riveting. Cloris gets Mike Hammer to stop his car by standing in front of it. He is not helpful or kind or polite at all. She evaluates him, "You only have one great love in your life. Yourself. You care more about your car and clothes than people." I am paraphrasing. It's a great scene.
This Mike Hammer is nasty and selfish, and he likes to hurt people. He's good at it. And guess what? This is the movie that inspired Quentin Tarantino's suitcase of glowing whatever in Pulp Fiction. You've got to watch it. If you do, pay attention to the sets and photography. I particularly like the shots up and down stairways. This is beautifully done.
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