I, the Jury [Blu-ray]

Director: Richard T. Heffron

Overview

Larry Cohen wrote the screenplay to this updating of Mickey Spillane's notorious 1947 novel. Cohen was originally engaged to direct the film as well but was pulled from the director's chair after a week's worth of shooting because he had already run up the budget by $100,000; he was replaced by television director Richard T. Heffron. In this 1982 I, the Jury, Mike Hammer (Armand Assante) is a Vietnam veteran who wears hip duds and drives around in a bronze Trans Am in much the same way as Robert Mitchum's Philip Marlowe was refurbished for Michael Winner's re-make of The Big Sleep. After a cheesy rip-off of a James Bond-style credit sequence, the story kicks in. One-armed detective Jack Williams (Frederick Downs) is murdered. Jack was Hammer's best friend, and Hammer decides that he will become a one-man vigilante squad and seek vengeance on the person responsible for his death. He enlists the aid of his vivacious secretary Velda (Laurene Landon) and is also helped and hindered by police-chief Pat Chambers (Paul Sorvino). Hammer latches on to the killer's trail, then the film veers in a radically different direction from the book, introducing government conspiracies and mind-control techniques by the CIA and the Mafia. Also introduced is Hammer's love interest Charlotte Bennett (Barbara Carrera), an administrator of a kinky sex clinic (depicted as a psychiatrist in the original novel).

Product Details

Release Date:	11/08/2016
UPC:	0738329206581
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	R
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Sales rank:	21,023

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Armand Assante	Mike Hammer
Barbara Carrera	Dr. Charlotte Bennett
Alan King	Charles Kalecki
Laurene Landon	Velda
Geoffrey Lewis	Joe Butler
Paul Sorvino	Pat Chambers
Judson Scott	Kendricks
Barry Snider	Romero
Julia Barr	Norma Childs
Jessica James	Hilda Kendricks
Frederic Downs	Jack Williams
Frederic Downs Jr.	Jack Williams
Lee Anne Harris	Twin #1,Twin #2
Mary Margaret Amato	Myrna Williams
F.J. O'Neil	Goodwin
William Schilling	Lundee,Lundee
Robert Sevra	Breslin
Don Pike	Evans
Timothy Myers	Blake
Gwynn Gillis	Receptionist
Mike Miller	Victor Kyle,Victor Kyle
Alex Stevens	Cab Driver #1
Bobbi Burns	Sheila Kyle
M. Sharon Madigan	Bonnie
Richard Russell Ramos	Cab Driver #2
Norm Blankenship	Kelsey
Daniel Faraldo	Danny
H. Richard Greene	Gentleman at Bar
Jodi Douglas	Party Girl
Lee Doyle	Maitre d'
Cheryl Henry	Brunette
Michael Fiorello	Man in Revolving Door
Herb Peterson	Policeman
Richard Dahlia	Doctor at Clinic
Ernest Harada	Chef
Larry Pine	Movie Director
Joe Farago	Assistant Director
Alan Dellay	Cameraman
Jack Davidson	Eric Clavel
Loring Pickering	Soap Opera Actor
Corinne Bohrer	Soap Opera Actress

Technical Credits

Larry Cohen

Robert H. Solo	Producer
Michael F. Leone	Executive Producer
Andrew D.T. Pfeffer	Executive Producer
Don Pike	Stunts
Larry Cohen	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

This attempt to update Mickey Spillane's hard-nosed style of detective fiction for the 1980's tries hard but still manages to fall short. Larry Cohen's script reworks Spillane's source novel extensively to give it some unusual, politically subversive themes but the film feels oddly lifeless in its pacing and structure. The major reason for this is the no-frills direction from television veteran Richard T. Heffron: his formulaic, competent-but-styleless approach to the material saps it of its energy and humor, creating an end result that looks and feels like a t.v. movie with added sex and violence. The television-like feel is enhanced by a chintzy score from Bill Conti that sounds like outtakes from a 1970's cop show. In terms of acting, Armand Assante does well with his brooding take on the detective hero and Barbera Carrera is alluring as the mysterious therapist who becomes his romantic interest. There are also likeable turns from Laurene Landon as Hammer's hard-working gal Friday and comedian Alan King as a stylish mob boss. Unfortunately, their quality work exists in a vacuum because the storytelling lacks the intensity and focus that define a good thriller. As a result, I, The Jury is little more than an interesting misfire.