the quintessential mike hammer ( robert bray ) and haggard and menacing and but essentially a decent guy in a dirty world inhabit by ruthless killer and get involve in the murder of a young aspiring actress and who only the night before he have meet at a lonely downtown diner and and have help out with bus fare back to her native nebraska . her death be relate to a piece of jewelry she be carry and part of a cache of steal war time jewel . force to get to the bottom of the murder and not for money but because of his connection to the girl and he unravel the mystery in the typical hammer fashion of payoff and beating . release two year after aldrich kiss me deadly and mgiq be the poorer man version and though it have it own charm and mostly in the way of the la setting and bray portrayal and tired and unshaven and but with the determination of a pit bull .