20th Century Fox
Michael Shayne Collection
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Millionaire sportsman Hiram Brighton hires gumshoe Michael Shayne to keep his spoiled daughter Phyllis away from racetrack betting windows and roulette wheels. After Phyllis slips away and continues her compulsive gambling, Shayne fakes the murder of her gambler boyfriend, who is also romancing the daughter of casino owner Benny Gordon, in order to frighten her. When the tout really ends up murdered, Shayne and Phyllis' Aunt Olivia, an avid reader of murder mysteries, both try to find the identity of the killer.
- Original title
- Michael Shayne: Private Detective
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Apr 16, 2023 · via TMDB
For some reason, this starts with and features a slightly Scottish lilt to the score throughout, as we follow the slightly zany investigations of the eponymous down-at-heel PI (Lloyd Nolan) as he tries to wade his way through the murky worlds of horse racing, gaming addicts and, of course, murder! He's initially retained by the wealthy "Brighton" (Clarence Kolb) to rein in his unruly daughter "Phyllis" (Marjorie Weaver) but as the bodies start to pile up and he finds that he has to stay clear of the suspecting police chief "Painter" (Donald MacBride) we find ourselves in quite an entertainingly internecine mess of who did what and why? No absence of suspects and no shortage of crimes to suspect them of - all good fun! The star is really Elizabeth Patterson as the sleuthing "Aunt Olivia" whom, with her butler "Ponsby" (Charles Coleman) provide quite a lively conduit to bring the themes together at the end of what is quite a quickly paced eighty minutes. The denouement is a bit far-fetched - you probably wouldn't ever guess it - but Nolan is on good form with some quick-witted, dry, dialogue to deliver and there is a good chemistry between him, Weaver and MacBride as the story clears each fence. It's much better than I was expecting!
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Amazon Video
Lloyd Nolan
Michael Shayne
Marjorie Weaver
Phyllis Brighton
Joan Valerie
Marsha Gordon
Walter Abel
Elliott Thomas
Elizabeth Patterson
Aunt Olivia
Donald MacBride
Chief Peter Painter
Douglass Dumbrille
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Clarence Kolb
Hiram P. Brighton
George Meeker
Harry Grange
Charles Coleman
Ponsby
Adrian Morris
Al
Robert Emmett Keane
Larry Kincaid
Frank Orth
Steve
Irving Bacon
Fisherman
Don Brodie
Reporter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Racetrack Spectator in Sunglasses (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey
Mac
Paul E. Burns
Furniture Company Move
Robert Conway
Desk Clerk
Sayre Dearing
Racetrack Spectator
Ralph Dunn
First Bartender
Fern Emmett
Jenny
Harold Goodwin
Reporter
Paul Kruger
Parking Attendent
Harold Miller
Casino Patron
Frank Mills
Counterman
James Pierce
Burly Man Downstairs
Dick Rich
Mover
Jack Richardson
Casino Patron
Cyril Ring
Reporter
S.S. Simon
Casino Patron
Larry Steers
Racetrack Spectator
Sol M. Wurtzel
Executive Producer
Brett Halliday
Novel
Deadly Revisions
A Time to Kill
One Shoe Makes it Murder
Dancing Man
Lady in White
Time to Kill
Burke & Hare
The Fat Man
The Last Prosecco
The Heart of Justice
Blood Actually: A Murder, They Hope Mystery
Goodbye Lover
My Gun Is Quick
Lady of Burlesque
Wrecked
Shadows on the Stairs
Murder Obsession
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Terrified
Les Femmes
The Big Sleep
A Shot in the Dark
Another Thin Man
Shadow of the Thin Man
Who Done It?
The Killers
I Wake Up Screaming
The Glass Key
The Honey Pot
Crooked House
Flypaper
The Commuter
The Late Show
5 Card Stud
Greedy People
Murder Mystery
Snake Eyes
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
Novocaine
3000 Miles to Graceland
Dec 19, 1940
