Masterful Movie

How sad is this?

Fantastic!

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

But it really is! This is a fast-paced comedy/mystery starring Lloyd Nolan as Private Eye Michael Shayne, attempting to solve a double-murder. Nolan seems to figure everything out before the bewildered police inspector, played by William Demarest. The banter between Nolan and Demarest is great. Demarest rolls with the punches, getting conked on the noggin twice, and even getting a chair wrapped around his head. Mary Beth Hughes appears in a subplot as Shayne's fiancée, but their wedding plans keep getting interrupted by Shayne's pursuit of the killer (whose identity did surprise me). Milton Parsons has a juicy part, and Henry Daniell shows a flare for slapstick. Mantan Moreland is hysterical, and I do hope that he laughed all the way to the bank given the roles he was given during his career. Don't think too hard about this one, and you'll have a good time.I have to admit, though, that just once, it would be interesting if the dumb police inspector actually turned out to be the killer. Now that would be a real surprise. And no, I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that.

In this entry in the Michael Shayne series at 20th Century Fox Lloyd Nolan is about to be married to Mary Beth Hughes. The plan is to go to Niagara Falls just as soon as he can dig up a proper suit to be married in for the wedding pictures at City Hall.But Nolan and Hughes stumble into a murder of a theatrical producer and his leading lady at the next door theater where the producer had a private entrance to his suite at the hotel and a few other hideaways and by ways. The man led quite a busy life with the ladies.In fact the whole thing revolves around a show he produced 25 years earlier and a performer whose wife he stole at the time. But being that the victim was an all around rat there are no shortage of suspects.Nolan makes a deal with one of the newspapers for an exclusive if he beats the cops to the solution. Not that it is all that hard because William Demarest the chief inspector is from the Keystone Academy of Police. Still there are laws about interfering with a police investigation. Stuff that private detectives like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe or even Jim Rockford avoid doing or at least get caught at doing Shayne does with abandon.Other than the fact that the perpetrator commits a third murder of a witness you do feel kind of sorry for him. Nolan fits the role better than the glove fit OJ.

Economical B movie that has a snappy pace and some terrific lines. Among the best "The stork that brought you should have been arrested for dope peddling!" Lloyd Nolan is perfect in the lead, attractive but believably an everyday guy that you'd run into as a private detective. Always a reliable supporting player whether cast as a heavy or a hero he gets a chance to hold down the star spot in this. One of the great things about the old lower budget films was the opportunities it presented for the quality secondary actors in A level productions to play parts with a bit more variety. William Demarest and Henry Daniell play their stock characters but as always extremely well and add zing to the picture. Something that probably came and went without much fanfare at its release this is a snappy little pic that will please most viewers.

Watching this and other Mike Shane entries in this series is truly a treat. They simply don't make them like this any more! Lloyd Nolan is a glib, fast-talking, somewhat arrogant Mike Shane but these traits only add to the character. This one was filmed on a set--unlike some of the others--and the viewer doesn't get a time-travel perspective of the way things looked in 1941. Even so, this little film is well worth watching and owning. Black cast members are given roles of ghost-fearing janitors and one--Mantan Moreland--has his name misspelled in the credits. Oh, if you like double-breasted suits, this film is for you. Shane and other male members of the cast wear them in every scene.