Star of film and TV who relished the roles of grandmas and grotesques, and won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show
Few actors could have asked for a more startling debut to their film careers than Cloris Leachman, who has died aged 94. In the opening of Robert Aldrich’s masterly film noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955), she is first seen running along a dark country highway at night, barefoot and clad only in a pale trench coat.
Terrified, she tries to flag down several cars until she forces one driven by the private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) to stop. He reluctantly lets her get in. As the opening credits roll, we hear her highly amplified heavy breathing while, from the radio, Nat “King” Cole sings I’d Rather Have the Blues.
Few actors could have asked for a more startling debut to their film careers than Cloris Leachman, who has died aged 94. In the opening of Robert Aldrich’s masterly film noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955), she is first seen running along a dark country highway at night, barefoot and clad only in a pale trench coat.
Terrified, she tries to flag down several cars until she forces one driven by the private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) to stop. He reluctantly lets her get in. As the opening credits roll, we hear her highly amplified heavy breathing while, from the radio, Nat “King” Cole sings I’d Rather Have the Blues.
- 1/28/2021
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman’s work ethic and versatility were only exceeded by her love of basking in the showbiz spotlight. The legacy she leaves her fans after dying this week at the age of 94 is immense, as is her share of trophies that she earned over the course of her career that continued up to 2020.
Her path to fame started when she was a Miss America contestant in 1946 as Miss Illinois. That led to a scholarship under Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City. She would make her film debut in Robert Aldrich’s disturbing film noir in which private eye Mike Hammer gives a lift to Leachman’s hitchhiker Christina, who has escaped a mental hospital wearing only a trench coat. She is duly tortured to death by a gang of men and her demise haunts the rest of the movie.
She paid her dues...
Her path to fame started when she was a Miss America contestant in 1946 as Miss Illinois. That led to a scholarship under Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City. She would make her film debut in Robert Aldrich’s disturbing film noir in which private eye Mike Hammer gives a lift to Leachman’s hitchhiker Christina, who has escaped a mental hospital wearing only a trench coat. She is duly tortured to death by a gang of men and her demise haunts the rest of the movie.
She paid her dues...
- 1/28/2021
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Mike Hammer is in action again! Well, not exactly. Producer Victor Saville’s third go-round with Mickey Spillane’s famed character doesn’t do the franchise justice. Hammer-philes will be astounded by this thriller’s decidedly un-thrilling thrills: there’s little to connect the inexpressive nice guy Robert Bray with the super-popular, super-violent avenger of the books. Spillane’s original is abandoned in favor of a tame ‘who’s got the diamonds?’ storyline, with some compensation in a string of exciting ‘Hammer dames.’ I checked twice — Mike doesn’t shoot Any of them in the stomach.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
- 3/3/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Hank Reineke
The 1972 Giallo Who Saw Her Die? (Chi l'ha vista morire?) was Aldo Lado’s second film as director, his first being Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971). That film was a somewhat less-than-traditional Giallo, photographed inexpensively behind the Iron Curtain in the cities of Zagreb and Prague. Short Night of Glass Dolls was a complicated film that told its story in backward fashion, much in the style of the celebrated playwright Harold Pinter. It was also an unusual Giallo in the sense that its overtly exploitative sex scenes were unevenly mixed with the genre’s level of on-screen violence than European movie-thriller fans had come to expect. Lado had entered into the film business only some five years earlier, serving as the assistant director on a handful of Sergio Leone-inspired Spaghetti western knock-offs and a couple of action films, before getting the opportunity to work with the...
The 1972 Giallo Who Saw Her Die? (Chi l'ha vista morire?) was Aldo Lado’s second film as director, his first being Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971). That film was a somewhat less-than-traditional Giallo, photographed inexpensively behind the Iron Curtain in the cities of Zagreb and Prague. Short Night of Glass Dolls was a complicated film that told its story in backward fashion, much in the style of the celebrated playwright Harold Pinter. It was also an unusual Giallo in the sense that its overtly exploitative sex scenes were unevenly mixed with the genre’s level of on-screen violence than European movie-thriller fans had come to expect. Lado had entered into the film business only some five years earlier, serving as the assistant director on a handful of Sergio Leone-inspired Spaghetti western knock-offs and a couple of action films, before getting the opportunity to work with the...
- 11/13/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Written by Max Allan Collins | Art by Marcelo Salaza, Marcio Freire | Published by Titan Comics
This has been something of a romp, albeit a noir romp, and has been very enjoyable because of that. No high brow entertainment here, Collins has gone for crowd pleasing guns, fights, dames, and sex. Can’t really go wrong with that I guess. I’ve been a little torn between enjoying the delights spread out before me each month, and wishing for that little bit extra to distinguish this from the crowd, to add a little cherry on top of a decent dessert. This series of course was never meant to reinvent the wheel, just showcase Mike Hammer and to an extent Mickey Spillane, and that it does extremely well.
So, where were we? Mike has got caught up with client Helen Venn, on the run from gangster boss Carmen Rich who thinks she has $10 million of his money.
This has been something of a romp, albeit a noir romp, and has been very enjoyable because of that. No high brow entertainment here, Collins has gone for crowd pleasing guns, fights, dames, and sex. Can’t really go wrong with that I guess. I’ve been a little torn between enjoying the delights spread out before me each month, and wishing for that little bit extra to distinguish this from the crowd, to add a little cherry on top of a decent dessert. This series of course was never meant to reinvent the wheel, just showcase Mike Hammer and to an extent Mickey Spillane, and that it does extremely well.
So, where were we? Mike has got caught up with client Helen Venn, on the run from gangster boss Carmen Rich who thinks she has $10 million of his money.
- 10/1/2018
- by Dean Fuller
- Nerdly
Written by Max Allan Collins | Art by Marcelo Salaza, Marcio Freire | Published by Hard Case Crime/Titan Comics
I’m guessing pretty much everyone has heard of Mickey Spillane, even those not really fans of the hardboiled detective genre, which he practically invented. When Mickey Spillane’s most famous character, Mike Hammer, first hit the stands it ramped up the levels of sex and violence previously seen and became a huge success. Although mainly a comics guy, I do dabble a little in genre fiction, sci-fi, horror, detective noir etc and have always had a soft spot for Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer. The soft spot for Mickey Spillane comes from the fact he got his start in comics, where he wrote a ton of stuff for a lot of publishers in the early 1940′s. My soft spot for Mike Hammer? Two reasons.
Firstly, I remember watching, and loving, that...
I’m guessing pretty much everyone has heard of Mickey Spillane, even those not really fans of the hardboiled detective genre, which he practically invented. When Mickey Spillane’s most famous character, Mike Hammer, first hit the stands it ramped up the levels of sex and violence previously seen and became a huge success. Although mainly a comics guy, I do dabble a little in genre fiction, sci-fi, horror, detective noir etc and have always had a soft spot for Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer. The soft spot for Mickey Spillane comes from the fact he got his start in comics, where he wrote a ton of stuff for a lot of publishers in the early 1940′s. My soft spot for Mike Hammer? Two reasons.
Firstly, I remember watching, and loving, that...
- 7/2/2018
- by Dean Fuller
- Nerdly
Titan Comics' imprint 'Hard Case' will release "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" #1, June 27, 2018, written by Spillane, Max Allan Collins ("Road To Perdition") and illustrated by Marcelo Salaza, with covers by Robert McGinnis, Alex Ronald and Mack Chater:
"...in 1946, Mickey Spillane, an established comic-book writer, worked with illustrator Mike Roy to create the private-eye character 'Mike Danger' for a proposed comic-book or comic-strip publication. Unable to sell the project as a comic, he reworked the story as the novel 'I, the Jury', converting Mike Danger to 'Mike Hammer'.
"While other hardboiled heroes bend and manipulate the law, Hammer often views it as an impediment to justice, the one virtue he holds in absolute esteem. Hammer nevertheless has a strong respect for the majority of police, realizing they have a difficult job and their hands are frequently tied by the law when trying to stop criminals..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...in 1946, Mickey Spillane, an established comic-book writer, worked with illustrator Mike Roy to create the private-eye character 'Mike Danger' for a proposed comic-book or comic-strip publication. Unable to sell the project as a comic, he reworked the story as the novel 'I, the Jury', converting Mike Danger to 'Mike Hammer'.
"While other hardboiled heroes bend and manipulate the law, Hammer often views it as an impediment to justice, the one virtue he holds in absolute esteem. Hammer nevertheless has a strong respect for the majority of police, realizing they have a difficult job and their hands are frequently tied by the law when trying to stop criminals..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 6/27/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
By Giacomo Selloni
Published for the first time anywhere, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Mickey Spillane's birth, come two short novels in the same book. "The Last Stand" (Spillane's final novel) is preceded by "A Bullet for Satisfaction," an unfinished manuscript that was finalized by Spillane's long-time collaborator Max Allan Collins. Both stories are satisfying reads. The book has been published by the Hard Case Crime imprint from Titan Books.
Mickey Spillane is best known for his character Mike Hammer, the fictional P.I. that redefined the "action hero" and spawned countless imitators. Unlike private investigators before him, Mike Hammer was a merciless executor of villains who slept with countless beautiful, willing women. Sound like anyone we know? The first Mike Hammer novel, "I, The Jury," was published in 1947, six years prior to Ian Fleming's James Bond debut, "Casino Royale." It may be argued that if Fleming...
Published for the first time anywhere, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Mickey Spillane's birth, come two short novels in the same book. "The Last Stand" (Spillane's final novel) is preceded by "A Bullet for Satisfaction," an unfinished manuscript that was finalized by Spillane's long-time collaborator Max Allan Collins. Both stories are satisfying reads. The book has been published by the Hard Case Crime imprint from Titan Books.
Mickey Spillane is best known for his character Mike Hammer, the fictional P.I. that redefined the "action hero" and spawned countless imitators. Unlike private investigators before him, Mike Hammer was a merciless executor of villains who slept with countless beautiful, willing women. Sound like anyone we know? The first Mike Hammer novel, "I, The Jury," was published in 1947, six years prior to Ian Fleming's James Bond debut, "Casino Royale." It may be argued that if Fleming...
- 3/25/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
To celebrate the centenary year of Mickey Spillane, Titan Comics have announced Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, a brand-new Hard Case Crime comic book series, based on a story originally written by Mickey Spillane and adapted by Max Allan Collins (Road To Perdition, Quarry’s War) – coming in June 2018.
Following his debut novel, I, The Jury in 1947 (which was also made into a fantastic movie in 1982), Mickey Spillane became one of the best-selling novelists of all-time, with more than 225 million copies of his books sold internationally. Famed, yet controversial for the depictions of sex and violence in his novels, Spillane created Mike Hammer, one of the most famous of all fictional detectives, and even starred as Hammer in one of the many movies made from his books.
Entitled “The Night I Died,” Titan’s new comic series is based on an unproduced 1950s Spillane screenplay. Now, with this new comic book series,...
Following his debut novel, I, The Jury in 1947 (which was also made into a fantastic movie in 1982), Mickey Spillane became one of the best-selling novelists of all-time, with more than 225 million copies of his books sold internationally. Famed, yet controversial for the depictions of sex and violence in his novels, Spillane created Mike Hammer, one of the most famous of all fictional detectives, and even starred as Hammer in one of the many movies made from his books.
Entitled “The Night I Died,” Titan’s new comic series is based on an unproduced 1950s Spillane screenplay. Now, with this new comic book series,...
- 2/23/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.