That Hammer Guy

Various

(4.4 stars; 8 reviews)

"That Hammer Guy" made its radio debut in 1953, at the height of Mickey Spillane's tough, trigger-happy, skirt-chasing detective Mike Hammer's popularity. Broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System from January 6, 1953 until October 5, 1953, "That Hammer Guy" didn't feature any scripts by Spillane, but writer Ed Adamson did manage to capture Spillane's gritty world and colorful language. The show originally starred Larry Haines as Mike Hammer. He was later replaced by Ted de Corsia.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

License

Chapters

14 Saddle Shoes (April 7, 1953)	28:12
The Laura Fenton Case (April 14, 1953)	25:12
18 Contract on a Dead Man (May 5, 1953)	24:28
Faye Durando (1953)	21:50
Man in a Wheelchair (1953)	26:39
The Barney Miller Syndicate (1953)	26:02
The Dead Dame in the Park (1953) (Larry Haines)	24:20
The Dead Dame in the Park (1953) (Ted de Corsia)	23:24
The Jim Gordon Case (1953)	26:00
The Wakefield Dame (1953)	25:47
Velda's Brother (1953)	20:49

Reviews

Great little series.

(4 stars)

MPOEye

Very enjoyable series, with a real Mickey Spillane "feel" to it, even though he had virtually nothing to do with its production. Sadly, these 11 are so far the only exemplars available of a series that contained a total of 91 shows--the first half with Larry Haines as Mike Hammer, and the last half with Ted de Corsia.. From the few available, I much prefer Haines as Hammer, with the reason for the change being the moving of the production from New York to Hollywood. Nonetheless, it is my hope that many more episodes will be found over the years, with either of the actors as Hammer.