Brett Halliday is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commissioned others to continue. Dresser also wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man is a 1951 American science fiction comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Nancy Guild.
Night Editor is a 1946 American film noir directed by Henry Levin and starring William Gargan, Janis Carter and Jeff Donnell. It was based on a popular radio program of the same name. The script for the film was based on a previous radio program episode "Inside Story." A B-movie produced by Columbia Pictures, The movie was to be the first in a series of films featuring stories about the graveyard-shift police beat reporters at a fictional newspaper, the New York Star, but no other Night Editor films were made.
The Chinese Parrot is a 1927 American silent mystery film, the second in the Charlie Chan series. It was directed by Paul Leni and starred Japanese actor Sōjin Kamiyama as Chan. The film is an adaptation of the 1926 Earl Derr Biggers novel The Chinese Parrot. Another version of the novel was filmed in 1934 entitled Charlie Chan's Courage.
The Death Kiss is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film starring David Manners as a crusading studio writer, Adrienne Ames as an actress, and Bela Lugosi as a studio manager. The thriller features three leading players from the previous year's Dracula, and was the first film directed by Edwin L. Marin.
The Golden Web is a 1926 American silent mystery film directed by Walter Lang and starring Lillian Rich, Huntley Gordon and Lawford Davidson. The cast also features Boris Karloff before he established himself as a horror star. It is based on the 1910 novel The Golden Web by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. A previous British film adaptation of the novel was produced in 1920.
Time to Kill is an American mystery film directed by Herbert I. Leeds. It is the first screen adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel The High Window, which was remade five years later as The Brasher Doubloon. The detective was changed from Philip Marlowe to Michael Shayne for this version, with Lloyd Nolan playing the part and Heather Angel in a rare turn as leading lady. It is also the final Michael Shayne film starring Lloyd Nolan made at Fox, who closed down their popular B movie unit which included Mr. Moto, Charlie Chan, and the Cisco Kid. In 1946 the series would be reborn at Producers Releasing Corporation with Hugh Beaumont taking over the role.
The Falcon Takes Over, is a 1942 black-and-white mystery film directed by Irving Reis. Although the film features the Falcon and other characters created by Michael Arlen, its plot is taken from the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely, with the Falcon substituting for Chandler's archetypal private eye Philip Marlowe and the setting of New York City replacing Marlowe's Los Angeles beat. The B film was the third, following The Gay Falcon and A Date with the Falcon (1941), to star George Sanders as the character Gay Lawrence, a gentleman detective known by the sobriquet the Falcon.
Two O'Clock Courage is a 1945 American film noir directed by Anthony Mann and written by Robert E. Kent, based on a novel by Gelett Burgess. The drama features Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford. It is a remake of Two in the Dark (1936).
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone is a 1950 comedy/murder mystery film set on board a train. It stars Marjorie Main and James Whitmore. It is based on the short story "Once Upon a Train " by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice.
Smart Blonde is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald. Starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane, a fast-talking wisecracking female reporter, teaming up with her boyfriend detective Steve McBride, to solve the killing of an investor who just bought a popular local nightclub.
Sleepers West is a 1941 American mystery drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Lynn Bari and Mary Beth Hughes. This second entry in 20th Century-Fox's Michael Shayne series was a remake of the 1934 Fox romantic drama Sleepers East from the novel Sleepers East (1933) by Frederick Nebel. The film Michael Shayne - Private Detective (1940) was the first in a series of 12 films. Lloyd Nolan starred as Shayne until the series was dropped by Twentieth Century-Fox and picked up by PRC. In the PRC series, Hugh Beaumont played Shayne.
The Miami Story is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler and Adele Jergens. It was produced by Sam Katzman for distribution by Columbia Pictures. The film features an introduction by Florida senator George Smathers.
Crashing Hollywood is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Lew Landers and written by Paul Yawitz and Gladys Atwater. The film stars Lee Tracy, Joan Woodbury, Paul Guilfoyle, Lee Patrick and Bradley Page. The film was released on January 7, 1938, by RKO Pictures. It is based on the 1922 play of the same title by Paul Dickey and Mann Page, previous adapted into the 1923 silent film Lights Out.
The Hidden Eye is a 1945 American mystery film directed by Richard Whorf and written by George Harmon Coxe and Harry Ruskin. It is the sequel to the 1942 film Eyes in the Night. The film stars Edward Arnold, Frances Rafferty, Ray Collins, Paul Langton, William 'Bill' Phillips and Thomas E. Jackson. The film was released on August 31, 1945, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Michael Shayne, Private Detective is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver and Joan Valerie. 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.
The Human Jungle is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Gary Merrill, Jan Sterling and Regis Toomey. It was produced and distributed by the Hollywood studio Allied Artists.
Behind The Mask is a 1946 American comedy mystery film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, George Chandler and Dorothea Kent. It was the second in a series of three films released by Monogram in 1946 starring Richmond as the crimefighter The Shadow, the others being The Shadow Returns and The Missing Lady.
Murder Is My Business is a 1946 American action film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Fred Myton. It is based on the 1940 novel The Uncomplaining Corpses by Brett Halliday. The film stars Hugh Beaumont, Cheryl Walker, Lyle Talbot, George Meeker, Pierre Watkin, and Richard Keene. The film was released on March 7, 1946, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Sarah Elizabeth Selby was an American actress.
