Mickey Spillane's view of the end of the world comes to the screen as a brutal, violent and fatalistic one. It also comes off as one of the best detective dramas ever filmed. The screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides portrays Hammer as Spillane intended him to be. A caustic, callous, self centered man who is a good detective, perhaps too good for his own being.
After Hammer picks up a woman hitchiker he is drawn into a case that involves everything up to and including the atomic bomb.
The film is presented as a compelling mystery, and despite a cast of lesser stars and unknowns, the acting is uniformly great throughout.
Meeker is the best Hammer I've ever seen on any medium(and I say this even though Biff Elliot, the first screen Hammer is a close personal friend). He has just the right blend of toughness, cockiness and cynicism to make you admire him yet pity him. He is supported by a strong supporting cast. Cloris Leachman(her screen debut), Maxine Cooper (as Velma)and Gaby Rodgers as Lily Carver make up a deadly trio of Femme Fatals. Albert Dekker is one of the great villans in screen lore. Paul Stewart plays his culturally bred lieutenant. Strother Martin, Fortunio Bonanova, Nick Dennis and Juano Hernandez are memorable characters involved with the case.
The star of the show is the end. The video versions, both VHS and laser, feature the original ending as shot by Director Robert Aldrich following the conclusion of the film
Personally I like the ending that is in the released version. It gives the picture more of a mystique(not that it needs it). In fact this film needs very little because it has so much.
After Hammer picks up a woman hitchiker he is drawn into a case that involves everything up to and including the atomic bomb.
The film is presented as a compelling mystery, and despite a cast of lesser stars and unknowns, the acting is uniformly great throughout.
Meeker is the best Hammer I've ever seen on any medium(and I say this even though Biff Elliot, the first screen Hammer is a close personal friend). He has just the right blend of toughness, cockiness and cynicism to make you admire him yet pity him. He is supported by a strong supporting cast. Cloris Leachman(her screen debut), Maxine Cooper (as Velma)and Gaby Rodgers as Lily Carver make up a deadly trio of Femme Fatals. Albert Dekker is one of the great villans in screen lore. Paul Stewart plays his culturally bred lieutenant. Strother Martin, Fortunio Bonanova, Nick Dennis and Juano Hernandez are memorable characters involved with the case.
The star of the show is the end. The video versions, both VHS and laser, feature the original ending as shot by Director Robert Aldrich following the conclusion of the film
Personally I like the ending that is in the released version. It gives the picture more of a mystique(not that it needs it). In fact this film needs very little because it has so much.