Noirsville Bonus - Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Noir TV (Season Two)

This television series ran from 1958 to 1959 right at the height of the Tail Fin Noir era. The "Tail Fin" Noirs were those Film Noir and TV Noirs that began to transition between the Classic Film Noir era and the Neo Noir era. Noir didn't die it just morphed. The Tail Fin refers to the quite prominent automobile design feature that dominated auto styling starting around 1955 and petering out in the mid to late sixties.

Mike Hammer (Darin McGavin)

Tattoo Bruté - This episode had quite a bit of location shots down in NYC's Chinatown and also stock footage of possibly other Chinatown's (but without seeing the street signs I can't definitely say for sure).

Chinatown

Sam Wo Toi (Allen Jung) Copper Mako (Theodore Marcuse)

Sam Wo Toi (Allen Jung) runs Lee's a Chinatown restaurant. He also runs an illegal high stakes poker game in a secure backroom. When the game is robbed at gunpoint by a man in a mask and a figure "8" tattoo on his hand, Cooper Mako (Theodore Marcuse) thinks it was an inside set up. 

Pacific Bar? maybe a stock footage of San Francisco....

A beautiful Chinese woman Sue Wo Toi (Lisa Lu ) comes to Mike's office to find the man who robbed her fathers poker game. Copper Mako is making threats against Sam Wo Toi. Copper wants the Money back within 24 hours. The can't obviously go to the police.

Sue Wo Toi (Lisa Lu )

Mike accepts the case and starts his investigation questioning the local tattoo parlors.

Noirsville

Rembrandt Kloski (Anthony Jochim)

Copper Mako and Moon (Paul Dubov)

Directed by Virgil W. Vogel (noted for being an editor on Touch Of Evil (1958), written by Bill S. Ballinger, DOP was Jack MacKenzie.

Stars Darren McGavin as Mike Hammer, Lisa Lu as Sue Wo Toi, you'll know him when you see him Theodore Marcuse, as Copper Mako, Paul Dubov (The Set-Up (1949), Champion (1949), The Mob (1951), The Sniper (1952), I, the Jury (1953)) as Moon Allen,  Jung asSam Wo Toi, Anthony Jochim (The Girl on the Bridge (1951), as Rembrandt Kloski.

 Better than average Hammer episode with a nice mix of location work and interior sets. 7/10

According to Luke - This episode was wholly shot on Hollywood sets and  back lots and looks it. The episodes biggest interest is Detour (1945) actor Tom Neal in his last credited role,.

Luke Lund (Tom Neal) rt.

Al Kruger (Tom Gleason)

Al Kruger (Tom Gleason) had been taking long time payoffs from Luke Lund (Tom Neal) a crook and killer now gone halfways legit. He's a real estate development construction company front man. Als been staying lost after he skipped out of town during Lund's murder trial. He was the key witness.

They are both holed up in an upstate town called Shale City, it's fictitious but something like Nyack with it's stone quarries and gravel companies. Al, Luke and Lloyd Barnum  (Lewis Charles) are sitting in Luke's plushy modern office. Lots of window with a rubber plant, and a fancy desk.

Al must figuring out that putting the squeeze on old mob buddies is making him persona non grata among the old crews. After he picks up his envelope, and pockets the loot, Al must be feeling lonely, he makes "wid da small talk." A shit eating grin on his face.

Al: You're lookin good Luke... hows business?
Luke: [turns his head towards Lloyd]
Al: Maybe you and I ought a have lunch sometime? Talk over old times? I uh, I had a letter from Chubby Britt the other day, Chubby-
Luke [breaking in to Al's sentence]: You got what you came for Al.
[Lloyd gets up and Al gets the message]
Al:  yuh.

Luke and Lloyd are trying to decide what to do about Al. Luke says he's had it. Lloyd asks why he waited? Luke coolly tells him, the right time and circumstances.

Lloyd Barnum (Lewis Charles)

Luke goes into action, intercoms his sectary to buzz Lieutenant Dayton. Dayton had to get his ass pulled out of a spot a few months ago and a favor deserves a favor. Luke wants Lloyd to call Mike Hammer a P.I. in New York, Luke knows he'll want to see Al.

Al skipped out on Luke Lands murder trial and while he's been putting the bite on ever since, Mike's been waiting to catch up with him.. Mike wants to beat the truth out of him.

Mike Hammer is waiting at a Shale City hotel for Al to pick up his mail at the desk. When Mike tries to roust him Lieut. Dayton puts a stop to it. Dayton tells mike to get on the 4:18 train. Yea, sure, Mike head to Lunds office instead.  Karen Baxter (Jan Harrison (Fort Bowie (1958)) a '56 to early 60s mostly TV actress) is the hammer-tomically correct babe.

Karen Baxter (Jan Harrison)

Mike heads out in his rental car to Lunds place in the country to meet at Lunds suggestion when he gets there he's knocked out by Lloyd. When he wakes up, V.O. "coming to was like swimming to the top of a vat of glue" an hour and ten minutes later at he's in the middle of nowhere with his car his gun and his wallet. When he gets back to Shale City he's arrested by Dayton. Kruger was beaten and shot with Hammers gun.

Hammer jumps Dayton and gets away through and alley and goes back to Lunds  Mike confronts Lund. Things go Noirsville.

Luke  and 1959 Lincoln Continental with Tail Fins

Interesting to note that Tom Neal was quite a Noir character in real life. He put actor Fanchot Tone in the hospital over an affair with Barbara Payton, smashing Tone's cheekbone, breaking his nose a giving him a concussion. After this brouhaha Neal was blacklisted from films along with Payton.

From wiki:
In 1961 Neal married receptionist Gale Bennett in Las Vegas. On April 2, 1965, police were summoned to the couple's Palm Springs home by Neal's attorney. They discovered Bennett's body on the couch partially covered by a blanket with a gunshot wound in the back of her head. It was later determined that Bennett had been shot with a .45 caliber gun on April 1. Neal, who was not at the home when police arrived, became an immediate suspect. He surrendered to police on April 3 and was indicted on one charge of murder on April 10. At his trial, Neal admitted that he and Bennett were separated at the time of her death but that her death was accidental. He testified that on April 1, he had returned to the couple's Palm Springs home from Chicago where he had been living to see if a reconciliation was possible. Neal said the two began fighting after he accused Bennett of sleeping with other men. He claimed that Bennett pulled out a gun, held it to his head and the two began to struggle. During the ensuing struggle, Neal said that the gun accidentally discharged, killing Bennett. Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, a jury convicted Neal of involuntary manslaughter on November 18, 1965. On December 10, he was sentenced to one-to-fifteen years in prison, of which he served six. On December 6, 1971, he was released on parole. After his release, Neal went back to working as a landscaper and gardener.

Llyod Barnum (Lewis Charles)

Hollywood set,  note globe on post street light

Police Sgt. Dacon (Joseph Mell)

The director was Earl Bellamy, written by Steven Thornley, DOP was Jack MacKenzie. Starring Darren McGavin, Tom Neal (Detour 1945), Lewis Charles (They Live by Night (1948), The Tattooed Stranger (1950), Panic in the Streets (1950), Finger Man (1955) The Rose Tattoo (1955), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Party Girl (1958), ), Joseph Mell (The Sniper (1952), Deadline - U.S.A. (1952), The Glass Wall (1953), The Big Heat (1953), Naked Alibi (1954), Chicago Syndicate (1955), City of Fear (1959), Brainstorm (1965)), Jan Harrison, and Tom Gleason.

It's got a pretty brutal fist fight between McGavin and Charles tilts a bit more heavy on the Hammer side than the Johnny Liddell . Rate this one a 7/10