User Reviews

Miami P. I. "Mike Hammer" (oh really?) who based his career on the Frank Sinatra movie TONY ROME, takes on a missing person case which leads to car-chases, assault & battery, romance, lies, deceit, a murder frame-up job, and trouble with the FBI.

This is actually a really fun film. It's just NOT "Mike Hammer". (Though, I have to admit, it's MORE "Mike Hammer" than, say, that Val Kilmer movie was ever "The Saint". Read my new IMBD review of that to see what I mean.)

I used to watch SILK STALKINGS, so I already liked Rob Estes, and this was before Pamela Anderson had too much plastic surgery. I COULD NOT believe where they slipped Kent Williams in, playing an entirely-different character!!! And I realized after it was over that the Spanish car mechanic was inspired by the guy in "KISS ME DEADLY".

Darlanne Fluegel was interesting, and I got such a huge laugh when she punched Mike out in mid-story. I keep forgetting she was in BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. What I remember was that disastrous 7th season of HUNTER. She-- WASN'T-- the problem. That show started to go to HELL a year before she got there. Put another way, her having "creative differences" with Fred Dryer and deciding to QUIT had a precedent. The previous season, Stepfanie Kramer was the ONLY thing just barely holding that show together, as Dryer seemed hell-bent on running it into the ground with his ideas of "creative control". When she left-- the show went RIGHT OFF A CLIFF. I stopped watching ONE WEEK before the network pulled the plug!!! When it happened, I said, "Ahh-- so it WASN'T JUST ME."

My favorite part had to be when the Feds are after Mike for something he didn't do, and his 3 best friends are all giving him hell for not being as clever as he seems to think he is.

Considering that 3 of the baddies in this turn out to be a Catholic Priest and 2 crooked cops... the script for this seems ahead of its time. I almost wonder how this ever got broadcast on a major network? I also wonder why writer John Lau has such a short IMDB resume? And yeah-- how come this didn't become a series? (Did Mickey Spillane object?) Maybe this would have gone over better as a reboot of TONY ROME!

Private detective Mike Hammer takes on a case looking for Trinity Sinclair's father (Felix Sinclair aka Donald Acuff) who has been missing for 15 years. Hammer predictably gets romantically involved with her, but Velda doesn't think Trinity is as innocent as she portrays. But when Trinity's "father" ends up dead, the FBI shows up and Hammer is accused of the murder. Apparently Acuff was in the witness protection program for ratting out the Trinity Brothers 15 years ago. Mike and Velda think Trinity (obviously not her real name) is connected to the Daytona mob so Mike follows her to Daytona. Trinity (who is really a Daytona cop) and her partner, Vince, are the ones who killed Acuff and framed Hammer. They killed Acuff for Father Teddy Trinity, the youngest and only surviving Trinity brother--who because he is a priest, could not carry out the revenge killing himself.

The movie is a bit slow in places but is mostly non-stop action and a twisted plot that keeps you guessing. Hammer gets himself in many jams but somehow always manages to get himself out of them. I have not seen Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer, so I cannot compare the two; but I do like Rob Estes for this role.