''The Girl Hunters'' (1963) is a British crime drama film directed by Roy Rowland and adapted from the 1962

Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have ...

pulp novel of the same name. Exteriors were shot on location in New York with studio scenes in London. Spillane stars as private detective Mike Hammer, one of the few occasions in film history in which an author of a popular literary hero has portrayed his own character. The film also stars

Shirley Eaton Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English actress, author and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her iconic appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson i ...

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bio ...

and columnist

Hy Gardner Hy Gardner (December 2, 1908 – June 17, 1989) was an American entertainment reporter and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Herald Tribune'', host of ''Hy Gardner Calling'', ''The Hy Gardner Show'', and ''Celebrity Party'', and an orig ...

as himself. Producer

Robert Fellows Robert Fellows or Robert M. Fellows (August 23, 1903 in Los Angeles – May 11, 1969 in Los Angeles) was an American film producer who was once a production partner with John Wayne and later with Mickey Spillane. Biography Fellows entered Holl ...

intended to follow the film with Spillane's '' The Snake'', but the second film was never produced.

Plot

Ever since his assistant Velda went missing, private detective Mike Hammer has been drinking and he is now homeless. Although Hammer hasn't worked a case in seven years, his old police friend Capt. Pat Chambers asks for his assistance on a job. Chambers and Hammer were both in love with Velda, which had ended their friendship. The case involves a senator who has been murdered. Hammer is needed to talk with Richie Cole, a dying sailor who refuses to speak with anybody else. According to federal agent Art Rickerby, not only has Richie been shot by the same gun recently used to kill a politician, he is actually an undercover federal agent. Hammer's investigation leads to Laura Knapp, the late senator's widow. She is beautiful and seductive, but Hammer does not trust her. He learns that they are caught in the fallout from a network of spies operating during World War II. Now a killer nicknamed the Dragon is trying to silence people who had information about the spy operation. Hammer finds and kills the Dragon. He confronts Laura with his suspicions about her involvement. Laura fires a shotgun that Hammer had rigged to backfire in order to test her loyalty. It is not clear if Velda is still alive.

Cast

as Mike Hammer *

as Laura Knapp * Scott Peters as Police Captain Pat Chambers * Guy Kingsley Poynter as Dr. Larry Snyder *

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

as Joe Grissi * Kim Tracy as Nurse *

as Himself - The Columnist *

as Federal Agent Arthur Rickerby *

Benny Lee Benny Lee (11 August 1916 – 9 December 1995) was a Scottish comedy actor and singer. He started his career in stage roles, and developed a television and film career. Early life Lee was born on 11 August 1916 to a Jewish family in The G ...

as Nat Drutman *

Murray Kash Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian wh ...

as Richie Cole * Bill Nagy as Georgie * Hal Galili as a thug with an ice pick

Production

Spillane recalled meeting crime figure Billy Hill in London and invited him to the film set. According to Spillane, Hill provided firearms that were used in the film. Spillane also noted that the producers surrounded him with actors who were shorter than he was.

References

External links

* * 1963 films 1963 crime drama films British crime drama films British neo-noir films British detective films Films directed by Roy Rowland Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels Films based on works by Mickey Spillane Reboot films Films shot in London Films shot in New York City 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Mike Hammer (character) films {{crime-drama-film-stub