''Michael Shayne, Private Detective'' is a 1940 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan,

Marjorie Weaver Marjorie Weaver (March 2, 1913 – October 1, 1994) was an American film actress of the 1930s through the early 1950s. Early life, entrance into acting Weaver was born in Crossville, Tennessee to John Thomas Weaver and his wife, Ellen (née Mar ...

and Joan Valerie.Backer p.106 It is based on

Brett Halliday Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 – February 4, 1977) is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commission ...

's novel ''

The Private Practice of Michael Shayne ''The Private Practice of Michael Shayne'' is a 1940 detective novel by the American writer Brett Halliday. It was the second book in Halliday's Michael Shayne series of novels, after ''Dividend on Death'' (1939). Film adaptation In the same year ...

''. It was the first in a series of

Michael Shayne Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century ...

films starring Nolan.

Synopsis

In this film, much of the main plot has already happened or happens off-camera. We see a subplot that out-of-work private detective Mike Shayne is hired by his friend, wealthy racing executive Hiram Brighton, to, while he's out of town, watch over his spirited daughter Phyllis, who gambles her money away and has begun dating underworld character Harry Grange, to the consternation of the father. The key plot involves wealthy but shady Elliott Thomas who owned a horse, Banjo Boy. The odds were 15 to 1 against that horse winning. Thomas had a run of bad luck and needed a quick infusion of cash. In south America he found a champion to switch with the same markings as, and a dead-ringer for, Banjo Boy. So as not to affect the track odds, Thomas engaged Grange as a shill to "spread around" Thomas' large bet of $10,000. The substitute horse wins, and the payoff is $150,000 (equivalent to over $2 million in 2021 purchasing power). But Grange would not pay Thomas his money, so Thomas hired another shady character, Larry Kincaid, who tries to hire Shayne to go to Shayne's friend and Grange's boss, casino owner Benny Gordon, to ask him to pressure Grange. Shayne refused, so Kincaid went straight to Grange. When Grange told Kincaid the backstory, Kincaid decided to cut himself in on the pot by blackmailing Thomas. As a result, Thomas and Kincaid brawled, Kincaid ended up dead, and Grange knew of the meeting. At that point, Thomas felt he had no choice but to do away with Grange. Shortly before Thomas kills Grange, after a meeting in Gordon's casino, Grange had been drugged, then driven to the woods, smeared with ketchup and left in the convertible by Shayne in a scheme to teach Phyllis a lesson about hanging with shady characters. The scheme backfires when they find Grange has actually been shot dead and Shayne's gun is on the ground, having been fired. Shayne has already tipped the police to "a murder in the woods" in the plan to scare Phyllis. Now sirens are heard. Shayne rushes Phillis away in her car but his car won't start and cops arrest him. In reality, Gordon's daughter Marsha, Grange's angry ex who had been jilted by Grange, happened to stumble upon the crime scene first, became distraught and rushed to her father. In order to protect her from any kind of suspicion, Gordon framed Shayne, having conveniently seen him leave the casino earlier with Grange. Eventually, Shayne correctly deduces what happened with the murder of Grange, and engineers a trap for Thomas in front of the police, at which point Thomas confesses the horse race plot, the death of Kincaid and throwing his body in the bay, and the murder of Grange, at which point the movie ends.

Cast

* Lloyd Nolan as Michael Shayne *

as Phyllis Brighton * Joan Valerie as Marsha Gordon *

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of ...

as Elliott Thomas * Elizabeth Patterson as Aunt Olivia *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Chief Painter *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

as Gordon *

Clarence Kolb Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect. Biography Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kol ...

as Hiram Brighton * George Meeker as Harry Grange * Charles Coleman as Ponsby * Adrian Morris as Al * Robert Emmett Keane as Larry Kincaid *

Frank Orth Frank Orth (February 21, 1880 – March 17, 1962) was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series ''Boston Blackie''. Career By 1897, Orth ...

as Steve *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Fisherman *

Jimmy Aubrey Jimmy Aubrey (23 October 1887 – 2 September 1983) was an English actor who worked with both Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, having gone with Fred Karno's theatrical company to America in 1908. However he left to start on his own in v ...

as Mac * Don Brodie as Reporter *

Paul E. Burns Paul E. Burns (January 26, 1881 – May 17, 1967) was an American actor, who had a very lengthy career on film and television, although mostly in bit parts. He played Ebenezer Hawkins in ''Son of Paleface'' (1952), Latitude Bucket in ''The Ro ...

as Furniture Company Mover * James Conaty as Gambler * Robert Conway as Riverside Terrace Desk Clerk * Sayre Dearing as Racetrack Spectator * Ralph Dunn as First Bartender *

Fern Emmett Fern Emmett (March 22, 1896 – September 3, 1946) was an American film actress. She appeared in 212 films between 1930 and 1946. Emmett's film debut came with Universal in a two-reel production in 1914. Personal life Emmett was married to ...

as Jenny *

Bess Flowers Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerou ...

as Racetrack Spectator * Dick French as Reporter * Harold Goodwin as Reporter * Sherry Hall as 2nd Bartender * Paul Kruger as Parking Attendant *

Hamilton MacFadden Hamilton MacFadden (April 26, 1901 – January 1, 1977) was an American actor, screenwriter and film director. MacFadden's parents were Rev. Robert A. MacFadden and Edith Hamilton MacFadden. His father died in 1909, leaving his mother to suppor ...

as Reporter * Tony Martelli as Gambler * Major McBride as Croupier * Frank Mills as Counterman * Edmund Mortimer as Gambling Casino Patron * Field Norton as Gambler * Paddy O'Flynn as Reporter *

James Pierce James Hubert Pierce (August 8, 1900 – December 11, 1983) was an American actor and the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film. He appeared in films from 1924 to 1951. Background Pierce was born in Freedom, Indiana. He was an All-American ...

as Burly Man Downstairs * Dick Rich as Mover * Jack Richardson as Gambler *

Cyril Ring Cyril Ring (December 5, 1892July 17, 1967) was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, nearly all of them in small and/or uncredited bit ...

as Reporter * Bob Rose as Freddy * S.S. Simon as Nightclub Patron *

Larry Steers Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ...

as Racetrack Spectator

References

Bibliography

* Backer, Ron. ''Mystery Movie Series of 1940s Hollywood''. McFarland, 2010.

External links

* * * * {{Michael Shayne 1940 films 1940 mystery films American mystery films Films directed by Eugene Forde 20th Century Fox films Films produced by Sol M. Wurtzel American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films