Contrabando

All in all, this was a good series - better than average, all things considered. Plots, production values, supporting casts all top-of-the-line. Lloyd Nolan is an excellent detective hero as the charismatic Mike Shayne. Funny how Nolan acts and sounds like a New Yorker, even though he was from the West Coast. Here he is involved in a wartime espionage story involving Nazis, but they aren't as big a part of the plot as they could be a couple of years later.

It's a good mystery, well written and you won't guess the murderer. But I thought it was interesting to note the bag tag on the steamer trunk that a reviewer alluded to. It says Honolulu - Dec. 6, 1941, the day before Pearl Harbor. I have to think it was just chance that this date was used, because the film was released in Jan. 1942 - but it had to have been made 6-8 months previous, so I don't think there was any intent to be sensational here (unless I misread the reviewer's comments).

Anyway, this is a good, worthwhile show in a noteworthy series. But I still think the last one, "Just Off Broadway" (1945), is the best.

Crisp black and white prints look very good on my HD set. Great film, part of a package of four on two DVDs. My wife and I have now gone through three with one to go. I was intrigued by product placement which is very unusual at this time in film history. For example, in Sleepers West, a pack of Chesterfield cigarettes is held so that anyone can read it. Then, in Blue, White and Perfect, two cartons of Chesterfields are held up for the longest time. Mission Orange soda is also prominently shown and directors make no effort to disguise the makes of the great cars used in the films. DelMonte is plainly advertised along with Yellow Cab. Also, there seems to be just enough location scenes to give the viewer a good look at life in the 40s. This Michael Shane group is great fun and easy viewing; four little time machines waiting to take you back.

Michael Shayne takes on the Nazis in this fourth entry in Fox's enjoyable B detective series starring Lloyd Nolan. This is far from the best of the series but it is entertaining thanks to a fine supporting cast and a plot that always keeps its lead character moving. It went lots of places I didn't expect, both in terms of locations and plot twists. The best Shayne movies have a good mix of humor and mystery. This one's a little more on the darker side. But like I said it's still an entertaining picture.

This entry in 20th Century Fox's Michael Shayne series has Lloyd Nolan working on a case of espionage involving industrial diamonds. The war has eliminated mining them for a while and those we have now are guarded and prized by both us and the bad guys.

With the breezy insouciance typical of his character Nolan follows a lot of false leads and has to bamboozle his put upon girlfriend Mary Beth Hughes for money to follow his trail on an ocean voyage to Honolulu. The trail he's on is that of fashion designer Helene Reynolds.

Nolan also makes a big mistake in assuming something about passenger George Reeves ever the dapper playboy and Curt Bois the ever helpful ship steward.

I didn't particularly like the way the confrontation scene with the chief villain was handled in the end. On the other hand Nolan's final exit as the film closes is pretty funny.

Most entertaining B film from 20th Century Fox.

Detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) boards a Hawaii-bound ocean liner on the trail of stolen industrial diamonds and a Nazi smuggling ring.

I have never heard of the Michael Shayne series, and I know by starting here I am jumping in the middle. Hopefully I didn't miss much, but the story still makes plenty of sense. And actually, it is really, really good. I get the feeling this was something of a B-picture, but today (2017) it feels more fun and fresh than some of the A-pictures of the time.

It serves as an interesting blend of detective fiction and spycraft, and has the interesting distinction of being set at least partially in Hawaii. As I understand it, the film was released in 1942 but was probably filmed in 1941... thus they had no idea just how crucial Hawaii would be to the World War II story. In fact, if this was filmed prior to Pearl harbor, America was not technically even in the war yet!