Michael Shayne

Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s in a series of novels written by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fox, five films from the low-budget Producers Releasing Corporation with Hugh Beaumont, a radio series under a variety of titles between 1944 and 1953, a television pilot broadcast in 1958, and later in 1960–1961 in a 32-episode NBC television series starring Richard Denning in the title role.

Character biography

Shayne debuted in the novel ''Dividend on Death'' first published in 1939, written by Dresser as Halliday. Fifty Shayne novels were published in hardcover written by Dresser (until 1958) and a variety of ghost-writers. Twenty-seven more were published as paperback originals for a total of seventy-seven. There are also 300 short stories (although many of these are condensed from, or were expanded into, published novels), a dozen films, radio programs and television shows, and a few comic book appearances that included the character.

Shayne was initially married in the novels, his wife being Phyllis (Brighton) Shayne, who was a somewhat limited character, and was often out of town. Dresser "killed her off" when he sold the movie rights to the series. In the book ''Blood on the Black Market'', the comedy aspect of the earlier novels disappears and Shayne is forced to deal with his wife's death. Other recurring characters in the stories are reporter Tim Rourke, Miami Police Chief Will Gentry ( a close friend of Shayne's), Miami Beach Chief of Detectives Peter Painter (a foe of Shayne's), and Shayne's secretary (and occasional romantic interest) Lucy Hamilton.

Michael Shayne stands out from his fictional detective peers primarily due to his professional ineptitude. He is perpetually financially unstable and desperate for any work he can get. A typical story often finds him on the brink of losing his office, or having his furniture repossessed. He is often physically assaulted, and outmaneuvered, which usually results in his embarrassment, especially in the presence of police or other investigators. His frequent misfortunes are largely attributed to his strict ethical code, which prevents him from accepting morally ambiguous cases and the cases he does usually take are desperate clients and wind up being pro bono, leaving him more broke than before. Additionally, his tendency to aid others often leads to regret when those he helps betray him. Despite these setbacks, Shayne manages to maintain a positive reputation based solely on his honesty and integrity. A recurring theme in the narratives surrounding Shayne is his widespread recognition; regardless of his location or the company he keeps, he is invariably known by those around him who are still willing to hire him.

Magazine

Dresser later created ''Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine'', first introduced in 1956 by Renown Publications under the title ''Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine''. The magazine continued for nearly three decades, always including at least one Shayne novella in each edition. By this time, "Brett Halliday" was simply a house name. For several years the magazine was edited by Frank Belknap Long.

Films

The 1940 film '' Michael Shayne, Private Detective'' is the first in a series of twelve movies. Lloyd Nolan starred as Shayne through 1942, until the series was dropped by Twentieth Century Fox and picked up by PRC.

At that point, Hugh Beaumont took over the role in five films released in 1946. Then, over a half-century later, in 2005, Shane Black directed '' Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'', starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. It was based, in part, on the Shayne novel ''Bodies Are Where You Find Them'', but does not feature Shayne as a character.

Twentieth Century Fox films with Lloyd Nolan

* '' Michael Shayne, Private Detective'' (1940; based on Halliday's novel '' The Private Practice of Michael Shayne'')
* '' Sleepers West'' (1941; based on the novel ''Sleepers East'' by Frederick Nebel)
* '' Dressed to Kill'' (1941; based on the novel ''The Dead Take No Bows'' by Richard Burke)
* '' Blue, White and Perfect'' (1942; plot from the serial story ''Blue, White, and Perfect'' by Borden Chase)
* '' The Man Who Wouldn't Die'' (1942; based on the novel '' No Coffin for the Corpse'' by Clayton Rawson)
* '' Just Off Broadway'' (1942; original screenplay)
* '' Time to Kill'' (1942; based on the novel '' The High Window'' by Raymond Chandler)

PRC films with Hugh Beaumont

* '' Murder Is My Business'' (1946)
* '' Larceny in Her Heart'' (1946)
* '' Blonde for a Day'' (1946)
* '' Three on a Ticket'' (1947)
* '' Too Many Winners'' (1947)

Radio

Jeff Chandler and Wally Maher were among the actors who starred as Shayne in three weekly radio series.Review of Radio show in May 1949
at Variety

Television

In 1958, a failed 30-minute pilot titled "Three Men on a Raft" with Mark Stevens playing Michael Shayne and Merry Anders as Lucy Hamilton was aired on the NBC anthology series '' Decision''. Then, in 1960, the 32-episode television series ''Michael Shayne'' began on NBC, with Richard Denning, formerly of the series '' Mr. and Mrs. North'', in the title role. Patricia Donahue originated the role of Lucy Hamilton, Shayne's secretary, but was later replaced by Margie Regan as Lucy Carr after more than half of the episodes had been filmed. Herbert Rudley played Lieutenant Will Gentry of the Miami Police Department, and Jerry Paris played reporter Tim Rourke of the fictitious ''Miami Tribune''. Gary Clarke, later of '' The Virginian'', played Dick Hamilton, Lucy's younger brother, a character who does not appear in Halliday's books.

William Link and Richard Levinson wrote a number of episodes of the series, including "This Is It, Michael Shayne", which was based on Halliday's novel of that name. Julie Adams, who had previously worked with Richard Denning in '' Creature from the Black Lagoon'', guest starred in this episode. Richard Arlen guest starred as Vincent Rinker in the 1961 episode, "Murder Is a Fine Art."

Beverly Garland appeared in "Murder and the Wanton Bride". She and Denning had previously starred in the 1957 Roger Corman feature film, '' Naked Paradise''. Garland and Denning later costarred with Vincent Price in "The House of the Seven Gables" segment of the film '' Twice-Told Tales'' (1963). Warren Oates, Joan Marshall, and David White guest starred in the episode "Murder Round My Wrist." Margie Regan played a nurse in this episode, while Patricia Donahue was still playing Lucy Hamilton. On December 2, 1960, Robert Knapp portrayed Arthur Hudson in the episode "Blood on Biscayne Bay".

The hour-long series ran at 10 p.m. Fridays, opposite CBS's ''The Twilight Zone'' with Rod Serling and ABC's '' The Detectives'' with Robert Taylor and '' The Law and Mr. Jones'', starring James Whitmore, Conlan Carter, and Janet De Gore.

Episodes

* Unknown

Comics

Dell Comics picked up the character for a comic book series (three issues), ''Mike Shayne – Private Eye''.

References

External links

*

Michael Shayne
at ThrillingDetective.com


Brett Halliday explains the creation of Mike Shayne

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Characters in detective novel series
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Literary characters introduced in 1939
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