Features: DVD
Editor's Note
The fourth installment of the popular Fox series, which starred Lloyd Nolan (IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT) as Miami P.I. Michael Shayne, sees the sleuth finally preparing to marry his girlfriend, showgirl Joanne La Marr (Mary Beth Hughes, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS). But just as the pair are settling in to do some serious planning, a scream issuing from a nearby hotel calls Shayne back to the job. Rushing to the scene, he discovers a hotel maid aghast at the two dead bodies she has come upon: a washed-up stage actress and a has-been producer. Turns out, both were involved in a production some 25 years past, and a playbill is on hand to deliver a list of possible suspects. Hired by the cops' two main suspects (played by Mae Beatty and Henry Daniel) to find the real killer, Shayne's methods encounter disapproval from police inspector Pierson (William Demarest, WHAT PRICE GLORY), while, throughout the action, the put-upon Joanne sulks. Eugene Forde's well-made comedic thriller, based on the book series by Brett Halliday, boasts excellent acting from an all-star cast, and a twist at the end that no one will predict.
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