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One of the greatest film noirs fashioned from pulp fiction and hugely influential. Mike Hammer, a private investigator with a line in divource cases and setting up honey traps, is dragged into the case of the murder of a hitch-hiker he picked up. Thinking that he’s on the trail of a big pay day, he pushes into the case for the object that everybody is trying to find, ‘The Great Whatsit’. The violence in this film was shocking for the time, even if it’s largely off screen. It may be said that the plot involves a MacGuffin, but it’s a darker, alien one in design and concept then before, leading to a nightmare climax relating to the metaphor of Pandora’s box being opened onto the world and into American culture. Even though you can see how it’s been an influence on many different works, it still stands on its own as one of the best 1950’s films.

Great film, great set, a must own.