A Mike Hammer mystery directed by Robert Aldrich. Very noir. Very cheaply done. The anti-hero violence might have seemed over the top by 1955 standards, but by now we've all seen lots worse.
Gripping opening and notable for what is NOT shown in the torture scene: a woman's bare legs shown from the knees down as she screams. Then the screams stop. Then two men in suits are shown from the waist down; one is holding a pair of pliers.
Over all, kind of dull, but with one of the coolest maguffins ever (the inspiration for the contents of Marsellus Wallace's attache case in Pulp Fiction).
FF= 2.5
Gripping opening and notable for what is NOT shown in the torture scene: a woman's bare legs shown from the knees down as she screams. Then the screams stop. Then two men in suits are shown from the waist down; one is holding a pair of pliers.
Over all, kind of dull, but with one of the coolest maguffins ever (the inspiration for the contents of Marsellus Wallace's attache case in Pulp Fiction).
FF= 2.5
This post was last modified: 09-07-2005, 08:51 AM by fpw.
FPW
FAQ
"It means 'Ask the next question.' Ask the next question, and the one that follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of everything humanity has ever created." Theodore Sturgeon.
fpw Wrote:A Mike Hammer mystery directed by Robert Aldrich. Very noir. Very cheaply done. The anti-hero violence might have seemed over the top by 1955 standards, but by now we've all seen lots worse.Re-e-e-eally?!? I'll have to check this one out.
Gripping opening and notable for what is NOT shown in the torture scene: a woman's bare legs shown from the knees down as she screams. Then the screams stop. Then two men in suits are shown from the waist down; one is holding a pair of pliers.
Over all, kind of dull, but with one of the coolest maguffins ever (the inspiration for the contents of Marsellus Wallace's attache case in Pulp Fiction).
FF= 2.5
Just a clarification of your rating system: Do you ACTUALLY fast forward through parts of the movie? 2.5 times? Or is it just a mark of your boredom?
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. ... The piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
~ Howard Phillips Lovecraft
jimbow8 Wrote:Just a clarification of your rating system: Do you ACTUALLY fast forward through parts of the movie? 2.5 times? Or is it just a mark of your boredom?
The FF score is approximate, of course, but FF=2.5 means I FF'd through a quarter of the film. Some of the capture-and-escape stuff didn't advance the plot and bored me.
FPW
FAQ
"It means 'Ask the next question.' Ask the next question, and the one that follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of everything humanity has ever created." Theodore Sturgeon.
I was so disappointed in this movie. They moved Mike Hammer from NY to LA and transformed his character from a straightforward avenger to a slimeball. I might have enjoyed it more if they had used different names for the main characters, but I couldn't get past their depictions of Mike, Velda and Pat.
Always Play the Max!
Paul R Wrote:Hmmm. Pardon my ignorance, but what's a 'maguffin'?
A word coined by Alfred Hitchcock: the thing that sets the plot in motion. (ie, the Maltese Falcon)
FPW
FAQ
"It means 'Ask the next question.' Ask the next question, and the one that follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of everything humanity has ever created." Theodore Sturgeon.
fpw Wrote:A word coined by Alfred Hitchcock: the thing that sets the plot in motion. (ie, the Maltese Falcon)But has very little or nothing to do with the actual plot, usually.
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. ... The piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
~ Howard Phillips Lovecraft