User Reviews

An old friend of Mike's is killed for standing up to thugs running a protection racket. With the entire neighborhood living in fear, Mike goes into full-blown "I, THE JURY" mode, clobbering anyone who eagerly gets in his path. (THIS is what Darren McGavin calls "a light touch?") Before it's through, he's made a serious pass as a girl working for the mob, and tricked them into taking him to meet their boss before rubbing him out. I GUESSED 10 seconds before he walked it who it would be. A twist like that seemed the obvious thing to do.

No kidding, in one little half-hour TV episode, this show told a story and told it better than MOST of the Mike Hammer feature films did!

Among the guest cast are Lawrence Dobkin, who played "Dutch Schultz" in 3 episodes of "THE UNTOUCHABLES"; Russell Collins, who I've seen in "THE ENEMY BELOW" and the intensely-disturbing OUTER LIMITS episode "Don't Open "Till Doomsday"; but most outstanding,. perrennial crook Richard Bakalyan (seems he's been in everything, including 6 episodes of the 1966 "BATMAN) as a kill-crazy psycho.

Despite my being a huge Robert Stack fan, many episodes of 'THE UNTOUCHABLES" I find too disturbing to watch too often. But THIS show, even at its MOST BRUTAL, I find myself enjoying with a big smile on my face. Go figure! I rate Darren McGavin as my 2ND-FAVORITE Hammer-- right after Biff Elliot. (NO kidding.)

****SPOILERS*** Mike Hammer, Darren McGavin, takes the law into his own hands and mets out justice Mike Hammer style on a protection racket that's terrorizing his old Lower East Side Manhatten neighborhood. It's after his good friend Charlie Dagara was found with his throat slit for not paying off that Hammer tried to get those in the community to help him find Charlie's killers with little or no results. Knowing that the police can do nothing in being hamstrung by the law a lawless and brutal Mike Hammer goes solo to put the shake down artists out of commission.

Not really getting anywhere in getting public support it's the murder of local store owner Pop O'Connell, Russell Collins, that finally wakes up those in the neighborhood to stand up to the protection racketeers and join Hammer in his fight against them. Being set up by one of the racketeer's molls Eve, Lisa Gray, who claimed to have been the late Charlie Dgarga's girlfriend Hammer is or allows himself to be kidnapped by Lou & Zip, Richard Bakalyan & John Herman Shaner, on the order of their boss the behind the scenes head of the protection racket only known as "Mister Big".

****SPOILERS*** Hammer tied up and soon to become history in being dumped in the East River just plays it cool waiting for the big boss-man to show up. With "Mister Big" finally revealing himself by coming out of the shadows Hammer realizes that he's been duped right from the start in not really knowing just who his friends are. It was Hammer's plan all along to be captured so he can finally be able, even if tied up, to get a crack at "Mister Big's" operation as well as crack a few heads which by easily untying himself he just ends up doing that . One of them Zip was put out of action permanently by getting his skull cracked in the violent free for all with a mad as a bull seeing red Mike Hammer. With a wild and out of control Hammer putting an end to "Mister Big' and his protection racket the police reluctantly, in fearing for their lives & safety, show up only when the dust finally settled. As Hammer who did all the work for them would have told the police in their coming to his aid "Thanks for Nothing".