MIKE HAMMER Pi 1984 & 1986

It's time to take a look at a great TV show from the eighties. Mike Hammer as portrayed by Stacey Keach was given a new lease of life during this period and gathered enough momentum to warrant a couple of spin off TV Movies. Which we take a look at this week....enjoy

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:33

It was a cold January night in 1984, and the schedules delivered a slick primetime show that filled a void on the CBS, and in my love for shows about private investigators, Mike Hammer was a cool P.I. who worked his way through hundreds of cases over the years. Firstly, in the books of author Mickey Splane, then in 1958 TV series. The books then gathered and generated a new audience in the late 70s when they were reissued, and consequently a new audience was excited about our hero. In the casting window of 1979, actor Stacey Keach was confirmed as Mike Hammer for a pilot movie, which was finally released in 1983. The show kicked off in 84. The cop shows of the time that included Magnum P.I. and Remington Steel. The stunt coordinator was Richard Butler, a well-respected stunt man who was in charge of 43 episodes between 1984 and 1987. Alongside an additional 27 performers, they created some excellent action on the show. After a unexpected jail sentence for smuggling drugs into the UK, the lead actor Stacey Cage and the show went into six months of hibernation, allowing the star to get through his incarceration in Reading Prison in the UK. Later on down the line, a series of spin-off TV movies was released, proving to an already excitable audience that Mike Hammer still had what it took to get the bad guys and keep the ratings. One such outing was the 1984 movie called Mike Hammer: More Than Murder.

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Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is caught between the love of a beautiful woman and a criminal conspiracy that could lead to more than murder. Following Airwolf, Saturday.

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The one great thing about these shows is their pretty regular fight scenes, good use of camera angles, and all the punches appear to land. There's also a very interesting car turnover, Mike Hammer, in the road with his gun pointed directly at a fast approaching vehicle. He fires twice and manages to jump out of the way just as the car mounts a concealed ramp and flips over. Great work by the stun team here. Also, there's a scene where the villain has captured the girl and has her at gunpoint on board a ferry. Hammer chases him aboard and follows them both up towards the roof. The villain barges one or two passengers along the way, including a guy who he sends off the top of the ferry into the sea below. It's a fall of some thirty feet. Now, he's credited as John Coron, an actor. But I can't find any other credits of him at all. I would have expected a stunt man to have taken this fall, but I can't find a credit for that either. Anyone who would like to offer an alternative, please watch Friday's YouTube video. The other movie is the return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer in 1986. Tonight on a CBS special movie presentation.

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Hammer, do you realize that every time there's a violent crime in the city or in the middle? Hammer's back love my work when Stacy Keats returns. In a whole new movie as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, tracking a deadly mystery to LA to protect a movie star and her daughter. Lauren Hutton, Bruce Box Lightner, and Mickey Rooney star with Stacey Keats in the return of Mickey Spillet's Mike Hammer.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Another good outing for Mike Hammer, and this one starts right outside his own apartment window. A film crew arrives to film an action sequence, and the stunt coordinator, Buddy Joe Hooker, plays the stunt coordinator on the movie. He also drives the car that's involved in the opening sequence. But I'd like to talk about a moment later on, which is under the watchful eye and in the hands of pilot Chuck Tamborough, a man with the most amazing track record in film. His credits include Smokey and the Bandit 2, Annie, Rocky III, Blade Runner, The A-Team, Beverly Hills Cop, Fast and Furious 7, and many, many more. In this he must fly the chopper and carry a stuntman doubling Mike Hammer underneath. Now the first part of this is him dragging the stuntman back and forth across the ground. But then the bar is lifted much higher when he drags the stuntman off the edge of a cliff and is now flying at 8 to 900 feet above the canyon floor. Now this may have been a scenario where a co-pilot can spot the stunt man under the helicopter and keep Chuck notified of the movements required. The one thing that's always of concern here is the change in weight. The chopper has an additional ten to twelve stone under it, which will be something Chuck must compensate for with his movements of the stick. It's a truly brilliant piece of work, and he proves once again that Chuck Tamborough is a legend in aerial action. Join me again on Friday when we'll have a look at these two movies and explore the stunt work. Don't forget to subscribe and click the link below for all our social media. Until then, it's bye for now.