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Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer hit the big screen early in the 3-D craze, in a much tamed-down adaptation. The camera legend John Alton handled the lighting and likely called the shots on the camera setups as well. As a detective noir it’s definitely flat-footed, with a bum script, weak direction and a miscast Biff Elliot as the vengeful tough-guy hero. But compensating are the seductive Dran Hamilton, Margaret Sheridan and especially Peggie Castle — the key ‘dame’ in the pulp fiction finale. The United Artists release has been mostly Mia for decades,and this release presents it three ways: flat in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, plus a beautiful restored 3-D Blu-ray encoding.

I, the Jury

4K Ultra HD + 3-D Blu-ray + Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Special Limited Edition / Street Date November 8, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 34.99

Starring: Biff Elliot, Preston Foster, Peggie Castle, Margaret Sheridan, Alan Reed,...

Nicole Kidman takes on the role of Martha Gellhorn, Bill Clinton attends too many parties, and Tony Blair returns

Action couple

Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn? HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn premieres on Us TV tonight, but we won't be able to judge it until later this year.

He's back!

Former Pm Tony Blair will be making an appearance at the Leveson inquiry later on Monday.

Hard times

Frances Osborne (wife of chancellor George) publishes her novel Park Lane next week. Unfortunate title, given we've just hit a second recession.

Good call

Loving the packaging on Tesco's "iconic" sandwich range. We suspect they're not going to taste as good as they look.

Party animal?

Bill Clinton: when did you become a Z-lister? Recently spotted at a London party with Will.i.am, then with some porn stars at a Monte Carlo bash. Stop. Please.

Nicole KidmanTony BlairSandwichesBill Clinton

guardian.co.uk...

Frances Osborne first met her great-grandmother in the pages of Nancy Mitford’s novels The Pursuit Of Love and Love In A Cold Climate, as the heroine’s absentee mother. In The Bolter, Osborne suggests, not always convincingly, that Mitford’s real-life inspiration endured an undue measure of heartbreak over her self-selected exile from London society. A plain girl but a quick study, Idina Sackville married above her station to handsome heir Euan Wallace, but was separated from him during World War I. They grew apart, and while they both took advantage of the permissiveness of their set to take ...