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.
Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. was an American actor and successful amateur boxer best known for his co-starring role in the critically lauded film Detour, for having a widely publicized affair with actress Barbara Payton, and for later being convicted and imprisoned for involuntary manslaughter.
Robert Shayne was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series Adventures of Superman.
Rita Ann Johnson was an American actress.
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.
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.
Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fox, five films from the low-budget Producers Releasing Corporation with Hugh Beaumont, a radio series under a variety of titles between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960–1961 in a 32-episode NBC television series starring Richard Denning in the title role.
Robert Donald Walker was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles.
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. 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.
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.
The Falcon in Hollywood is a 1944 crime film directed by Gordon Douglas and stars Tom Conway in his recurring role as a suave amateur sleuth, supported by Barbara Hale, Jean Brooks, and Rita Corday. The film was the 10th of 16 in Falcon detective series.
Sleepers West is a 1941 American mystery drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Lynn Bari and Mary Beth Hughes.
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.
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.
