| Michael Shayne, Private Detective | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eugene Forde |
| Screenplay by | Stanley RauhManning O'Connor |
| Based on | Dividend on Death1934 novelby Brett Halliday |
| Produced by | Sol M. Wurtzel |
| Starring | Lloyd NolanMarjorie WeaverJoan Valerie |
| Cinematography | George Schneiderman |
| Edited by | Alfred DeGaetano |
| Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
Productioncompany | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Michael Shayne, Private Detective is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver and Joan Valerie.[1] It is based on Brett Halliday's novel The Private Practice of Michael Shayne. It was the first in a series of Michael Shayne films starring Nolan.
Out-of-work private detective Mike Shayne is hired by his friend, wealthy racing executive Hiram Brighton, to, while he is 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.
トーマスがグランジを殺す直前、ゴードンのカジノでの会合の後、グランジは薬を盛られ、森へ連れ去られ、ケチャップを塗りたくられた後、オープンカーの中に置き去りにされた。シェインはフィリスに怪しい人物と付き合うことの教訓を植え付けるためだった。しかし、計画は裏目に出る。グランジは実際には射殺されており、シェインの銃は発砲されたまま地面に落ちていたのだ。シェインはフィリスを怖がらせるため、既に「森で殺人事件が起きた」と警察に密告していた。そしてサイレンが鳴り響く。シェインはフィリスを車で逃走させるが、彼の車はエンジンがかからず、警察は彼を逮捕する。
実際には、ゴードンの娘マーシャ(グランジに振られた元妻で、怒り狂っていた)が偶然現場に遭遇し、取り乱して父親のもとへ駆けつけた。ゴードンはマーシャを疑われないよう、都合よくシェインがグランジとカジノを出て行くのを目撃していたため、シェインに罪を着せたのだ。
最終的に、シェインはグランジの殺人事件で何が起こったのかを正確に推測し、警察の前でトーマスを罠にかける。その時点でトーマスは競馬の計画、キンケイドの死と湾への遺体投げ込み、そしてグランジの殺人を自白する。