Lights...Camera...Action?- Movie Review- Michael Shayne Mysteries

I love a good mystery. Whether it's a screwball mystery like Arsenic and Old Lace or a more hard-boiled mystery like The Maltese Falcon, and Michael Shayne is one of my favorite private detectives, topped only by Richard Diamond (Dick Powell is my favorite Diamond and Lloyd Nolan my favorite Shayne).

Some background and fun facts:

In 1939, Michael Shayne was created and first published in paperbacks by Davis Dresser (writing under the pseudonym Brett Halliday) and quickly became a sensational hard-boiled private gumshoe, and appeared in 77 novels and 300 short stories enduring from the 1930s through the 1970s.

Shayne quickly made the leap to films with Lloyd Nolan playing Shayne in seven movies between 1940 and 1942 giving the character a more light-hearted touch. There was another film series made in 1946-47 starring Hugh Beaumont.

Shayne was also a popular Radio drama called Michael Shayne Private Detective and starred Wally Maher as the lead from 1944 and 1948. 

There was a second radio series The New Adventures of Michael Shayne, starring Jeff Chandler and was aired from the mid-1940s and for decades afterward's. In this series, Shayne was one of the most hard-boiled radio detective series aired during the golden age of radio and was set in the mysterious city of New Orleans. 

The third and final Michael Shayne radio series was The Adventures of Michael Shayne which aired from 1952-53 on ABC. It managed to have three different leads in its first fourteen weeks and was set in Miami.

Michael Shayne made his way to television in 1960, with former Mr. and Mrs. North star Richard Denning starring as Shayne. 

But now onto the movies. These are the Nolan films, I'll do the rest later, but for now, I thought seven were enough.

 
Michael Shayne, Private Detective
A private detective (Lloyd Nolan) is hired to babysit a racing official's gambling daughter (Marjorie Weaver) and try to keep her out of trouble and he inadvertently gets involved in a murder.

Sleepers West

Mike Shayne encounters nothing but trouble when he travels by train from Denver to San Francisco by train while guarding a murder witness to go on the witness stand. Being dogged all the way by a reporter.

 
Dressed to Kill
Detective Michael Shayne wedding gets interrupted when a scream from a nearby hotel room draws him to a pair of theatrical murders. To solve the case, he has to use clues from 25 years ago. (P.S. this was the first Shayne mystery I ever saw.)


 
Time to Kill
Mike Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is hired to retrieve a rare and valuable antique coin that was stolen. The private eye soon finds himself involved in fights, blackmail, hysterical women and uncovers three murder.


 
Blue, White and Perfect
Private eye Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is Hawaii-bound as he tracks industrial diamonds stolen by spies and a smuggling ring.


 
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
The daughter of a millionaire (Marjorie Weaver) calls an old friend, private detective Mike Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) to help her investigate the strange things happening at her house, but since her father doesn't like detectives, she introduces him as her husband. 


 
Just Off Broadway
While serving as a juror on a murder case, private detective Mike Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) starts to suspect that the wrong person is on trial and starts his own investigation with the help of reporter Judy Taylor (Marjorie Weaver).

Thanks for reading. Stop by again for more reviews.

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