“Lend Me Your Ear.” Squib by Howard G. Chau-Eoan. Time, 23 January, 60. Speaking at a New York City retrospective of his films, Mailer commented on how the staged hammer attack in Maidstone by Rip Torn, followed by Mailer biting Torn’s ear, affected the film. “In Rip’s view, everything made perfect sense. He may have saved the film.”