''Time to Kill'' is an American

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

directed by Herbert I. Leeds. It is the first screen adaptation of

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's novel '' The High Window'', which was remade five years later as '' The Brasher Doubloon''. The detective was changed from

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

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 Llo ...

for this version, with

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor who rose from a supporting player and B-movie lead early in his career to featured player status after creating the role of Captain Qu ...

playing the part and Heather Angel in a rare turn as

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...

. It is also the final Michael Shayne film starring Lloyd Nolan made at Fox, who closed down their popular B movie unit which included Mr. Moto,

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...

, and

the Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Maga ...

. In 1946 the series would be reborn at

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation (generally known as PRC) was the smallest and least prestigious of the 11 Hollywood film companies of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called " Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower St ...

with

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1910 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series ''Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, and as private detec ...

taking over the role.

Plot

Cast

In order of billing: *

* Heather Angel as Myrle Davis * Doris Merrick as Linda Conquest Murdock *

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...

as Lou Venter, bodyguard * Richard Lane as Lt. Breeze *

Sheila Bromley Sheila Bromley (born Louise Fulton; October 31, 1907 – July 23, 2003), also billed early in her career as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Mannors or Sheila Manors, was an American television and film actress. She is best known for he ...

as Lois Morny *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Ankrum was born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, and pursued a career in law. After graduating ...

as Alexander Morny *

Ethel Griffies Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was a British actress. She is remembered for portraying the ornithology, ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic ''The Birds (film), The Birds'' (1963). She app ...

as Mrs. Murdock * James Seay as Leslie Murdock * Ted Hecht as George Anson Phillips * William Pawley as Mr. Hensch * Syd Saylor as The Mailman * Lester Sharpe as Elisha Washburn * Charles Williams as The Dentist * LeRoy Mason as Rudolph, the headwaiter *

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

as Minor Role (uncredited)

Production

Rights

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

bought

's novel '' The High Window'' for $3,500.

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

purchased the rights to Chandler's 1940 novel '' Farewell, My Lovely'' and made 1944's ''

Murder, My Sweet ''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The fi ...

'' which would have the character of

Score

David Raksin David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. Raksin had more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit. Some sources called him the "Grandfather of ...

was uncredited for his work on ''Time to Kill'' although the book ''Film Composers in America : A Filmography, 1911-1970'' credits him. Emil Newman is credited with the film score of ''Superior "Michael Shayne" thrillers: Murders surround theft of valuable coin''.

Screenplay

''Time to Kill'' was

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

by Clarence Upson Young, based on

's novel '' The High Window''. Brett Halliday wrote a series of books with

as the lead character whereas Chandler's was

was looking for detective film series after the success of ''Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto'' film series in 1940.

Cinematography

''Time to Kill''s cinematographer was

Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who held various Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2006, lastly as Home Secretary from December 2004 to May 2006. Clarke was th ...

Reception

Critical response

In 1978's ''The Detective in Hollywood'' by Jon Tuska claimed it "is in every way superior to the later remake, '' The Brasher Doubloon''".

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1942 films 1940s mystery drama films 20th Century Fox films American detective films American mystery drama films Films based on American novels American black-and-white films Films based on works by Raymond Chandler Films directed by Herbert I. Leeds Films scored by David Raksin Films scored by Emil Newman 1942 drama films 1940s American films {{mystery-film-stub