The first draft of this review was roughly six pages of profanities directed at Frank Miller. For those not in the know, Will Eisner created the blue suit clad hero for the Register and Tribune Syndicate in 1940.
The character enjoyed decades in the funny papers, although Hollywood skipped Eisner's work by. When a big budget version was brought to the big screen in 2008 the results were...mixed. Despite Miller's general jackassery, that wasn't the first attempt to get the Spirit on a screen.
Made in 1986 but dumped on the viewing public in late summer of '87, the Spirit told how policeman Denny Colt became the Spirit.
We open with police detective Denny Colt (Sam J. Jones) racing along backroads, desperately trying to reach his mentor, retired policeman Severin (Phillip Baker Hall). Colt manages to get the old man out of the house before an explosion swallows it up, but he's too late. Severin begs Colt to get him justice, not revenge.
Taking the old man's notes, Colt figures he was killed due to a book he was researching about art forgeries. Following the clues to Central City, Colt tries to get the help of Commissioner Dolan (Garry Walberg), but the red tape of city politics trips him up. Trying to get to the bottom of it himself only results in a gut full of lead and dip in the harbor.
Rescued by street urchin Eubie (Bumper Robinson), Colt figures that as a living lawman he's held back by society's rules...but as a spirit he's free to do what needs to be done. Making his base in the Wildwood Cemetery, the Spirit starts his investigation in earnest. All the clues point at Central City Museum curator Simon Teasdale (Daniel Davis), but what about femme fatale P'Gell (McKinlay Robinson)? Will the Spirit solve the case? When Dolan's daughter Ellen (Nana Visitor) gets caught in the sinister web, can the Spirit save her in time?
Is it perfect? No; at little over an hour in length it does set up plenty. The sets go from stock standard TV set to half a notch above a grade school Halloween play. The performances save it though. Jones is perfect as the square jawed hero, while Robinson oozes sex and Davis smarm. Visitor is a bit too campy, but overall good.
It was finally released onto DVR, so if you want to see Eisner's character in the flesh feel free to check it out.
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