 First edition | |
| Author | Mickey Spillane |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Series | Mike Hammer |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Publisher | E. P. Dutton (h/b) Signet Books (p/b) |
Publication date | 1947 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Followed by | My Gun Is Quick |
I, the Jury is the 1947 debut novel of American crime fiction writer Mickey Spillane, the first work to feature private investigator Mike Hammer.
Private detective Mike Hammer is called to the apartment of insurance investigator Jack Williams, a close friend who was crippled saving Hammer's life during shared World War II military service in the Pacific. Losing his arm rendered Jack unfit for police work, so he put his experience to use by investigating insurance fraud. Williams has been murdered in a particularly cruel way, deliberately shot in the stomach to make the death slow and painful. Mike vows vengeance, declaring that Jack's murderer will die the same way Jack did.
Prior to his death, Jack had fallen in love with Myrna Devlin when he stopped her from committing suicide by jumping from a bridge. Williams asked Dr. Charlotte Manning, a young, beautiful, blonde, and well-to-do psychiatrist, to admit Myrna to her clinic for psychotherapy. After Myrna became clean, she and Williams became engaged. The couple maintained a casual friendship with Manning. Over time, Williams comes to suspect that Hal Kines, one of Manning's college students who has spent some time at her clinic and who has become one of her casual acquaintances, is in fact a criminal.
In the course of his investigation, Hammer meets and begins to fall in love with Dr. Manning. In the course of the novel, they become engaged.
Taking time out from his investigation on a Saturday morning, Hammer picks up Myrna Devlin and gives her a lift to an estate in the country, owned by the lovely Bellamy twins, for a gigantic all-day party. Charlotte Manning says she has some business to attend to and will be there in time for a tennis game due to take place that evening. After an unsuccessful attempt at playing tennis himself, Hammer gets rid of his sleep deficit by spending all day in his room, fast asleep, with "old junior" — his gun — close to him. He is woken up just in time for dinner, during which Harmon Wilder, the Bellamys' lawyer, and Charles Sherman, Wilder's assistant, are pointed out to him. This is a fine — and the final — distractor in the novel: Wilder and Sherman are suddenly missing from the party after Myrna Devlin has been found shot. In fact they had illicit drugs on them and did not want to be found out. During the tennis game, Mary Bellamy asks Charlotte if she can "borrow" Hammer. She then leads him into the woods, where they have sex. They return to the party just as a maid discovers Myrna's body in an upstairs room, in front of a large mirror. Both Hammer's friend Pat Chambers and other police are called in, and the alibi of each guest is checked.
Now having another reason to seek vengeance, Hammer redoubles his efforts to discover the killer. Soon he has uncovered a wide-ranging narcotics rings, one that Jack had been on the verge of exposing.
Back home, Hammer retreats into his apartment to think. Finally, he knows the identity of the killer: Dr. Manning. Confronting her, Hammer keeps his promise and kills her in the same excruciatingly painful way she had killed his friend Jack.
When the dying murderer asks Hammer how he could act in such a cruel manner, Hammer replies "It was easy!".
By the time the book was adapted into a film in 1953, it had sold 3,500,000 copies. [1]
The first film version of I, the Jury was shot in 1953 and was released through United Artists. After a four-picture contract was signed with Spillane, the movie was filmed, in 3-D, featuring Biff Elliot (as Mike Hammer), Preston Foster and Peggie Castle. The plot from the novel was toned down for the film version. It grossed $1,299,000. The cinematographer was John Alton.
In 1982, the story was again made into a movie, this time with Richard T. Heffron directing, and with Armand Assante as Mike Hammer.
The novel's reputation for raciness and violence has outlasted the popularity of the book itself.
Kiss Me Deadly is a 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in their feature film debuts. The film follows a private investigator in Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a complex mystery after picking up a female hitchhiker. The screenplay was written by Aldrich and A.I. Bezzerides, based on the 1952 crime novel Kiss Me, Deadly by Mickey Spillane.
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his Road to Perdition series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the Dick Tracy newspaper strip for many years and has produced numerous novels featuring the character as well.
Michael Hammer is a fictional character created by the American author Mickey Spillane. Hammer debuted in the 1947 book I, the Jury. Hammer is a no-holds-barred private investigator who carries a Colt .45 M1911A1 in a shoulder holster under his left arm. His love for his secretary Velda is outweighed only by his willingness to kill a killer. Hammer's best friend is Pat Chambers, Captain of NYPD Homicide. Hammer was a World War II army veteran who spent two years fighting jungle warfare in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II against Japan.
Frank Morrison Spillane, better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally. Spillane was also an occasional actor, once even playing Hammer himself in the 1965 film The Girl Hunters.
The Girl Hunters (1963) is a British crime drama film directed by Roy Rowland and adapted from the 1962 Mickey Spillane pulp novel of the same name. Exteriors were shot on location in New York with studio scenes in London.
Lady on a Train is a 1945 American light-hearted comedy crime film directed by Charles David and starring Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, and David Bruce.
I, the Jury is a 1982 American neo-noir crime thriller film based on the 1947 best-selling detective novel of the same name by Mickey Spillane. The story was previously filmed in 3D in 1953. Larry Cohen wrote the screenplay and was hired to direct, but was replaced when the film's budget was already out of control after one week of shooting. He was replaced at short notice by veteran TV director Richard T. Heffron.
Robert E. Bray was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series Lassie, He also starred in Stagecoach West and as Mike Hammer in the movie version of Mickey Spillane's novel My Gun Is Quick (1957).
Murder Me, Murder You is a 1983 American made-for-television mystery film starring Stacy Keach as Mickey Spillane's iconic hardboiled private detective Mike Hammer. The film was a follow-up to another television film first aired in 1981, Margin for Murder, in which the fictitious gumshoe was portrayed by Kevin Dobson. The Dobson film, which did not lead to a series, marked the first time the character was depicted on the small-screen since Darren McGavin played the part in the black-and-white version of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, a syndicated television series (1958–1960). Murder Me, Murder You was the first of two pilots featuring Keach in the part - the other being More Than Murder (1984) - that blazed a path for the 1980s version of the CBS series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, which debuted on January 28, 1984.
I, the Jury is a 1953 American film noir crime film based on the 1947 novel I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane. It was directed by Harry Essex, produced by Victor Saville's company, Parklane Pictures and released through United Artists.
Jack Stang born John A. Stang was Mickey Spillane's inspiration for the private eye character Mike Hammer in his novels.
My Gun Is Quick (1950) is Mickey Spillane's second novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer. It was the basis for the 1957 film of the same name.
Vengeance Is Mine (1950) is Mickey Spillane's third novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer.
One Lonely Night (1951) is Mickey Spillane's fourth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer.
The Big Kill (1951) is Mickey Spillane's fifth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer.
Kiss Me, Deadly (1952) is Mickey Spillane's sixth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer. The novel was later loosely adapted into the film Kiss Me Deadly in 1955.
The Girl Hunters (1962) is Mickey Spillane's seventh novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer. It was adapted for the screen in 1963; Spillane himself played Mike Hammer.
Biff Elliot was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of I, the Jury and for his guest appearance as Schmitter in the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark".
The Paperboy is a 2012 American crime drama film co-written and directed by Lee Daniels and based on Pete Dexter's 1995 novel of the same name. The novel was inspired by a true story. It follows Miami reporter Ward Jansen who returns to his hometown in Florida to investigate a murder case involving a death row inmate. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, David Oyelowo, John Cusack and Macy Gray.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, with Stacy Keach in the title role, is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 28, 1984, to May 13, 1987. The series consisted of 51 installments: 46 one-hour episodes, a two-part pilot episode, and three TV Movies.
