Mickey Spillane's hard-hitting '50s private eye, Mike Hammer, returns to television in the guise of Kevin Dobson (Darren McGavin was Hammer in the 1958-59 series) to track down the killer of his best friend who was driving his (Hammer's) car. Joining in the hunt are the detective's Girl Friday, the ever-hopeful Velma, and his cop friend, Pat Chambers. This film finally appeared about the same time as a theatrical remake of Mickey Spillane's "I, the Jury" with Armand Assante as Hammer, bringing renewed interest in the tough shamus, and subsequently was followed by another TV-movie Mike Hammer pilot with Stacy Keach that spawned the hit series in 1983.

A 1981 made-for-TV movie, Margin for Murder focuses on detective Mike Hammer. His investigation into a friend's murder eventually leads to a gang of smugglers. ~