Sat 11 Feb 2017
JONATHAN LEWIS: Music I’m Listening To: SKIP MARTIN – The Music From Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer [Complete Album].
Posted by Steve under Music I'm Listening To , TV mysteries[3] Comments
SELECTED BY JONATHAN LEWIS:
Music from Mike Hammer, the 1957-59 TV series, starring Darren McGavin:
February 11th, 2017 at 3:21 am
Definitive noir anthem. Even more so than Alfred Newman’s Street Scene – which it admittedly emulates.
February 11th, 2017 at 12:42 pm
Darren McGavin never fit my idea of what Mike Hammer might look or act like, but how in 1957 could they put the real Mike Hammer on the air? If you watch the series now viewing it as the adventures of just another generic private eye, they’re lightweight but entertaining. The music is good, though!
February 11th, 2017 at 1:38 pm
McGavin said he could never take Hammer seriously – some proto Kolchak slipped into his portrayal. There was supposedly a much more faithful unsold pilot around that time with Brian Keith, directed by Blake Edwards.