Michael Shayne: Private Detective
1940 | 77m | English
Popularity: 0.7 (history)
| Director: | Eugene Forde |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Brett Halliday, Stanley Rauh, Manning O'Connor |
| Staring: |
| Millionaire sportsman Hiram Brighton hires gumshoe Michael Shayne to keep his spoiled daughter Phyllis away from racetrack betting windows and roulette wheels. After Phyllis slips away and continues her compulsive gambling, Shayne fakes the murder of her gambler boyfriend, who is also romancing the daughter of casino owner Benny Gordon, in order to frighten her. When the tout really ends up murdered, Shayne and Phyllis' Aunt Olivia, an avid reader of murder mysteries, both try to find the identity of the killer. | |
| Release Date: | Dec 19, 1940 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Eugene Forde |
| Writer: | Brett Halliday, Stanley Rauh, Manning O'Connor |
| Genres: | Comedy, Mystery |
| Keywords | gambling, murder, racetrack, private detective |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 Entered: Apr 24, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Lloyd Nolan | Michael Shayne |
| Marjorie Weaver | Phyllis Brighton |
| Joan Valerie | Marsha Gordon |
| Walter Abel | Elliott Thomas |
| Elizabeth Patterson | Aunt Olivia |
| Donald MacBride | Chief Peter Painter |
| Douglass Dumbrille | Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille) |
| Clarence Kolb | Hiram P. Brighton |
| George Meeker | Harry Grange |
| Charles Coleman | Ponsby |
| Adrian Morris | Al |
| Robert Emmett Keane | Larry Kincaid |
| Frank Orth | Steve |
| Irving Bacon | Fisherman |
| Don Brodie | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Bess Flowers | Racetrack Spectator in Sunglasses (uncredited) |
| Jimmy Aubrey | Mac |
| Paul E. Burns | Furniture Company Move |
| James Conaty | Casino Patron |
| Robert Conway | Desk Clerk |
| Sayre Dearing | Racetrack Spectator |
| Ralph Dunn | First Bartender |
| Fern Emmett | Jenny |
| Dick French | Reporter |
| Harold Goodwin | Reporter |
| Dick Gordon | Casino Patron |
| Sherry Hall | 2nd Bartender |
| Paul Kruger | Parking Attendent |
| Hamilton MacFadden | Reporter |
| Tony Martelli | Casino Patron |
| Major McBride | Croupier |
| Harold Miller | Casino Patron |
| Frank Mills | Counterman |
| Edmund Mortimer | Casino Patron |
| Field Norton | Casino Patron |
| Paddy O'Flynn | Reporter |
| James Pierce | Burly Man Downstairs |
| Dick Rich | Mover |
| Jack Richardson | Casino Patron |
| Cyril Ring | Reporter |
| Bob Rose | Freddy |
| S.S. Simon | Casino Patron |
| Larry Steers | Racetrack Spectator |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Brett Halliday | Novel |
| Eugene Forde | Director |
| Stanley Rauh | Screenplay |
| Manning O'Connor | Screenplay |
| Cyril J. Mockridge | Original Music Composer |
| George Schneiderman | Director of Photography |
| Alfred DeGaetano | Editor |
| Lewis H. Creber | Art Direction |
| Richard Day | Art Direction |
| Thomas Little | Set Decoration |
| Herschel McCoy | Costume Design |
| William Eckhardt | Assistant Director |
| W. D. Flick | Sound |
| Harry M. Leonard | Sound |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Sol M. Wurtzel | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
For some reason, this starts with and features a slightly Scottish lilt to the score throughout, as we follow the slightly zany investigations of the eponymous down-at-heel PI (Lloyd Nolan) as he tries to wade his way through the murky worlds of horse racing, gaming addicts and, of course, murder! H ... e's initially retained by the wealthy "Brighton" (Clarence Kolb) to rein in his unruly daughter "Phyllis" (Marjorie Weaver) but as the bodies start to pile up and he finds that he has to stay clear of the suspecting police chief "Painter" (Donald MacBride) we find ourselves in quite an entertainingly internecine mess of who did what and why? No absence of suspects and no shortage of crimes to suspect them of - all good fun! The star is really Elizabeth Patterson as the sleuthing "Aunt Olivia" whom, with her butler "Ponsby" (Charles Coleman) provide quite a lively conduit to bring the themes together at the end of what is quite a quickly paced eighty minutes. The denouement is a bit far-fetched - you probably wouldn't ever guess it - but Nolan is on good form with some quick-witted, dry, dialogue to deliver and there is a good chemistry between him, Weaver and MacBride as the story clears each fence. It's much better than I was expecting!