El puñal asesino

Misfire, with Lloyd Nolan as the Michael Shayne character. In this entry, Nolan is serving on a jury in a murder trial. A witness is knifed while testifying, so Nolan immediately jumps out of the jury box and hides the knife under a table. I'm no legal expert, but I think this qualifies as either suppressing evidence or obstruction of justice.

It gets worse. Nolan figures out who killed the witness ... some professional knife-thrower guy named "Shiverino," or something similar. Nolan tracks down the guy to a warehouse, and breaks in (I think that is also illegal). Then the guy turns up dead. In trying to escape, Nolan slugs a security guard (sounds like assault and battery to me). In the courtroom finale, Nolan, still acting as a juror, is allowed to call and question witnesses. Then he sums up the case, Charlie Chan-style, but you need a scorecard to figure out who did what to whom and where. Justice is served, somewhat, as Nolan gets a short jail term for contempt of court. The screenwriters should have gotten the electric chair.

This film is not even amusing. Nolan comes off as irritating, which is too bad, since I like him. Marjorie Weaver, who plays a reporter, aids and abets Nolan. Phil Silvers is barely funny as a newspaper photographer. Janis Carter, a lovely B-movie gal, is completely wasted as the defendant. She has little screen time, and only has a few lines near the end of the film. The fight and chase scenes are shown at high speed, in an early attempt at Cinema de Benny Hill.

Joan Valerie sings (or lip-syncs) "It Happened, It's Over, Let's Forget It." Sound advice.

In this Michael Shayne movie, it begins with Shayne serving on jury duty...something VERY unlikely for a private dick. Regardless, as a butler is testifying in court, an unseen person throws a knife and kills the butler! Instead of remaining with the jurors, however, Shayne steals the murder weapon and sneaks off to investigate the case.

This is one of the goofiest set-ups for any Shayne film, as having his investigate while on jury duty is a first...and likely to get him jailed if the judge finds out his actions. Still, it is enjoyable and provides the usual Michael Shayne excitement and twists.

Terrible acting. The characters lack depth except the protagonists. Most acting is boring and two dimensional. Too much unrealistic drama. For example, when Nolan is being attacked by another man, the woman who is with Nolan knocks out the attacker with a gun. The worst part is how police suddenly show up. How did they know? Even worse is how two LEOs rush in, as if they know exactly where to go and who to look for. Then they fire off shots as the two people get away. I doubt that this was ever police protocol. A LEO especially does not fire away at a criminal as the criminal is running away at a distance. It's more of a cute movie with corny one-liners here and there. It's supposed to be a mystery detective comedy I guess but it's just poorly made. There are plenty of early 1940s films like Penny Serenade that have depth and three-dimensional characters.

Fast and furious "B" courtesy of Lloyd Nolan's unstoppable for very long Mike Shayne, private, I guess, detective. Murder abounds most foul, but you can be readily assured in this instance the butler didn't do it. Courtroom highjinks are just the beginning of the fun as Mike bothered by brunette reporter with occasional appearances by photographer buddy played by Phil Silvers in early "Sargent Bilco" mode, investigates in the wings of the local Ed Sullivan theater searching for a knife throwing contingency. After 2 or 3 conks on the head, sped up fist fights, being saved by bruised brunette more times than was needed, Mike is finally free to hunt down the master maniac. Imagine the surprise when we find out courtrooms are often like outhouses, full of stuff we'd rather not see, let alone smell.

The adventures of Mike Shayne weren't huge moneymakers for 20th Century Fox, in the detecting arena that role was filled by the ever scrutable Charlie Chan. Suffice it to say, this caper "Just Off Broadway" wasn't the best sparkler in the series, but an OK time waster in the 60 minute market. The method of death here can not be expected to be any "knife in the water".

Okay entry in Michael Shayne series. Mike works to clear innocent woman Hubbard (Carter) from a murder charge. And catch that sudden knife toss across a packed courtroom. The victim could have cleared Hubbard, but no longer. Now Mike's got to really dig, with the help (sort of) of spunky girl reporter Taylor (Weaver). Adding real spark is the inimitable Phil Silvers in an early role as a big personality photographer. Seems to me that Nolan's more subdued than usual, but he's always a strong presence anyway.

The storyline is pretty packed so you may need a scorecard to keep up with dolphin pins and custom made knives. Speaking of sharp edges, how did production finesse Telmachio's knife throwing act. I can't see them really letting a girl's live edges serve as the thrower's target. Oh well, it is well done, however they did it. Still, I had trouble telling Weaver and Carter apart since they're almost look-alikes —was that intentional, I wonder. Also, take a look at the huge windowless walls of the supposed warehouse that appears about halfway through. From their looks I'll bet they're outside walls of TCF soundstages. If so, the cast didn't have far to go. All in all, the 60- minutes remains an average entry in the often delightful Shayne series. And should you happen to miss a favorite Perry Mason, then give this courtroom drama a look-see.