Robert Shayne Movies
The son of a wholesale grocer who later became one of the founders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Robert Shayne studied business administration at Boston University. Intending to study for the ministry, Shayne opted instead to work as field secretary for the Unitarian Layman's League. He went on to sell real estate during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s before heading northward to launch an acting career. After Broadway experience, Shayne was signed to a film contract at RKO radio in 1934. When this led nowhere, Shayne returned to the stage. While appearing with Katharine Hepburn in the Philip Barry play Without Love, Shayne was again beckoned to Hollywood, this time by Warner Bros. Most of his feature film roles under the Warner banner were of the sort that any competent actor could have played; he was better served by the studio's short subjects department, which starred him in a series of 2-reel "pocket westerns" built around stock footage from earlier outdoor epics. He began free-lancing in 1946, playing roles of varying size and importance at every major and minor outfit in Hollywood. In 1951, Shayne was cast in his best-known role: Inspector Henderson on the long-running TV adventure series Superman. He quit acting in the mid-1970s to become an investment banker with the Boston Stock Exchange. The resurgence of the old Superman series on television during this decade thrust Shayne back into the limelight, encouraging him to go back before the cameras. He was last seen in a recurring role on the 1990 Superman-like weekly series The Flash. Reflecting on his busy but only fitfully successful acting career, Robert Shayne commented in 1975 that "It was work, hard and long; a terrible business when things go wrong, a rewarding career when things go right." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1961
Well-made considering its six-day shooting schedule, this "B"-grade cops 'n robbers drama by Jack Leewood features Gene Nelson as Dan, an ingenious thief living on the edge at the moment. Dan has just cheated a mobster out of some stock in order to use it as collateral on a loan -- and now he has to save himself by replacing the stock with the money its worth. In order to do that, he figures out a complex scheme to steal some diamonds from a display case in a museum, use them to get an insurance sum, and put the real diamonds back before his fake substitutes are found. He co-opts a few people to help him on this plot, and the action begins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Nelson, Merry Anders, (more)
- 1964
After a dangerous tiger turns on its trainer and escapes from the circus, a small town in Texas finds itself in an uproar over its capture. As it is hunted by numerous parties, a young girl begins protesting and starts a nationwide movement to plead for the tiger's safety. As the situation gains more attention, the local attitude is torn by politics and outside pressure. At the time of its release, this feature (taken from a book by Ian Niall) was quite different for Disney as it portrayed realistic small-town politics rather than an ideal community. The titular tiger, on the other hand, seemed to have an uncanny knack of choosing baddies to prey upon while leaving all well-meaning folks alone. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1956
Nightclub singer Ilona Vance (Vera Ralston) is Accused of Murder in this Republic programmer. And from the looks of things, Ilona is guilty; she was, after all, the last person to see crooked lawyer Hobart (Sidney Blackmer) alive. But Lt. Roy Hargis (David Brian) is convinced that Ilona is innocent, and he intends to prove it. Except for the mildly surprising denoument, there is little in Accused of Murder that is not thoroughly predictable. Star Vera Ralston, the wife of Republic chieftan Herbert J. Yates, is her usual expressionless self. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Brian, Vera Ralston, (more)
- 1947
This minor 20th Century-Fox B picture received a great deal of TV play in the late 1950s. In a series of flashbacks, the audience learns that attorney John Morland (John Eldredge) has given a lift to a hitchhiker (Douglas Fowley) who turns out to be a murderer. As a result, Morland himself is implicated in a killing. A pair of detectives (Larry Blake and Richard Travis) discover that Morland has been having business problems and no end of difficulties with his wife Catherine (Jean Rogers). The trail of clues leads to a surprising revelation-especially surprising for those filmgoers conditioned to believe that the most obvious suspect is never guilty. Backlash is also available in a computer-colored version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Rogers, Larry Blake, (more)
- 1946
Crooked newspaper columnist Jeff Mann (James Cardwell), who apparently was blackmailing half the criminal gangs in the city, is murdered in his own office, and a police officer is killed the same night in the alley outside the newspaper's building -- and the prime suspect is the Shadow, the mysterious masked adventurer with the ability to cloud men's minds so they can't see him. The Shadow is, in reality, millionaire playboy and dilettante criminologist Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond), who is about to get married to Margo Lane (Barbara Read); he's vowed to give up being the Shadow, but now he has to investigate this case to clear himself, much to Margo's dismay. Police Inspector Cardona (Joseph Crehan) wants to prove the Shadow committed the murders, and Mann's editor Brad Thomas (Robert Shayne) is calling for the Shadow's blood in his newspaper's editorial pages. This leaves Cranston with his hands full, especially after Margo -- anxious to get him to the altar -- tries to solve the case herself, at one point even masquerading as the Shadow. Between keeping her out of his way and staying ahead of the real culprit, the police, and the gangs that Mann was blackmailing, Cranston and his valet Shrevie (George Chandler) just about get themselves killed a couple of times, amid a string of comedic and mysterious twists that lead right back to the murder scene for the identity of the killer. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, George Chandler, (more)
- 1950
Big Timber was another in a series of medium-budget dramas co-produced by actor Roddy McDowall for Monogram. McDowall himself stars as Jimmy, a novice tree surgeon who takes a manual-labor job at a logging camp. Jimmy develops into a fairly competent logger, but his efforts are sabotaged by a jealous rival. Just when all seems lost, Jimmy redeems himself during a rousing climax, wherein the lumber camp is endangered by a "log avalanche". This time, Roddy McDowall has two leading ladies, Miss Jeff Donnell and Lyn Thomas. More than one reviewer has cited the resemblance between Timber and the earlier self-produced McDowall vehicle Tuna Clipper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Jeff Donnell, (more)
- 1960
Scott Harper (Ron Foster) is frustrated and angry as a police detective because he keeps getting passed over for a promotion to lieutenant. Meanwhile, he is assigned to gain the confidence of Holly Taylor (Patricia Blair), the girlfriend of a suspect in a robbery/homicide. Predictably, the two fall in love, conspire to kill Holly's boyfriend, and plan to run off with the proceeds. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Foster, Patricia Blair, (more)
War hero Dennis Morgan becomes the object of a publicity stunt staged by magazine publisher Sidney Greenstreet. The corpulent print mogul announces that Morgan has won a Christmas dinner, to be prepared by the magazine's housekeeping expert Barbara Stanwyck in her own Connecticut home. The catch: Not only does Stanwyck not have a home in Connecticut, but she's never been in a kitchen in her life! She also doesn't have a husband (as her articles claim), so Stanwyck's erstwhile beau Reginald Gardiner is pressed into service as the hubby. As for the cooking, that will be handled by master chef S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. This solves everything, right? No way, Jose. Long dismissed as a lesser film farce, Christmas in Connecticut has its own irresistible charm, and has in recent years become a perennial Christmas TV attraction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, (more)
- 1951
Though made in 1951, Criminal Lawyer has the feel of a 1930s film, right down to the casting of Pat O'Brien in the lead. The star plays attorney James Regan, whose unethical methods have earned him the disdain of the American Bar Association. Eventually, Regan is even disgusted with himself, and accordingly crawls into a liquor bottle. Redeemed by the love of girl-Friday Maggie Powell (Jane Wyatt), Regan tackles a difficult make-or-break case which comprises the film's tense denouement. Critics in 1951 were impressed by the subtle performance by brutish Mike Mazurki as Regan's bodyguard; few of them were aware that the college-educated Mazurki was a sensitive, highly intelligent performer who was not at all like the thugs and pluguglies he played on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Jane Wyatt, (more)
- 1950
William Eythe is the Customs Agent in this brisk Columbia programmer. The plot finds Bert Stewart (Eythe) stationed in China, where he goes undercover to join a gang of dope smugglers. His plan is to stop the wholesale stealing of valuable streptomycin, which the crooks are peddling to drug addicts. Marjorie Reynolds will surprise fans of her work in TV's The Life of Riley with her portrayal of the gang-leader's moll. Another TV favorite, Jim Backus, co-stars as one of the good guys. Customs Agent makes no demands upon the intellect but does succeed as slam-bang entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Eythe, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
Dance With Me, Henry was the screen swan song for the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Most of the action takes place in Kiddieland, an amusement park owned by soft-hearted Lou Henry (Costello). An inveterate collector of strays, Lou has adopted orphaned kids Shelley (Gigi Perreau) and Duffer (Rusty Hamer), and has also provided a safe harbor for chronic gambler Bud Flick (Abbott). Bud's enormous gambling debts bring Lou under the scrutiny of gangster Big Frank (Ted De Corsia), who in turn is being monitored by DA Proctor (Robert Shayne). When Proctor is murdered, Lou finds himself the number one suspect. The film concludes with a riotous chase through the carnival grounds, with Bud and Lou just a few steps ahead of the bad guys. Both Abbott and Costello seem tired and worn out in Dance With Me, Henry, but a few bright moments manage to seep through the malaise of moldy old jokes and half-hearted sight gags. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, (more)
- 1950
Tim Holt and Richard Martin, RKO's resident western good guys, are back in Dynamite Pass. Usually cast as cowpunchers, Holt and Martin are construction workers Ross and Chito this time out. Someone is trying to prevent honest road builder Dan (Regis Toomey) from completing his job, and that someone is his unscrupulous rival Thurber (John Dehner), the owner of a profitable toll road. Had Thurber waited a few years, he could have found a job on the Pennsylvania turnpike. As it stands, however, Ross and Chito must stop Thurber before he destroys the road project permanently. Dynamite Pass is distinguished by better-than-usual performances from all concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Lynne Roberts, (more)
- 1977
Captain Stanley (Michael Norell) confuses the emergency staff when he begins showing signs of uncharacteristic nervousness and paranoia. The reason? Stanley's former commanding officer Captain McConnike (William Boyett) is scheduled to make inspection of the Rampart team. Back on the job, Marco (Marco Lopez) is seriously injured during a gas station fire; a car crashes into a truck full of toxic pesticides; two professional clowns aren't terribly funny when they start a fight at a skating rink; and a man is "shot" by a nail gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Experiment Alcatraz stars John Howard as a doctor who develops a serum to cure radioactive poisoning. He tests it on several Alcatraz "lifers," who have volunteered for the experiment on the promise of freedom if they survive. A murder within the group casts aspersions on the doctor, but the mystery is solved before the allotted hour's running time is up. While hardly a surefire candidate for box office success, Experiment Alcatraz was purchased for release by RKO for a sum of $100,000. The film had been independently produced a year before its distribution, its lack of production polish betraying its shoestring origins. Coincidentally, leading man John Howard "continued" in the medical profession as the star of the mid-1950s TV series Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Joan Dixon, (more)
- 1953
Evil traders and superstitious natives in India complicate the research efforts of an American doctor. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1950
Former juvenile star William Henry is the all-grown-up hero of Federal Man. Henry is cast as a government agent who dogs the trail of illegal narcotics peddlers. This requires several trips south of the US-Mexico border and back again. Scenes of startlingly vivid violence are counterpointed with prosaic shots of the scientific paraphernalia used by modern-day crime fighters ("modern," of course, by 1950 standards). Though leading lady Pamela Blake is ill-served by her bland dialogue, veteran utility player George Eldredge enjoys one of the largest assignments of his career as the slimy gang leader. Like many crime films of the era, Federal Man adopts a documentary approach to its scripted scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Pamela Blake, (more)
- 1957
"Wild Bill" Elliot once again plays diligent police lieutenant Boyle in Footsteps in the Night. This time, Doyle investigates the murder of a friend, who was killed shortly after a high-stakes card game. The principal suspect is Henry Johnson (Douglas Dick), who was heavily in debt to the dead man. But Doyle finally deduces not only the identity of the actual killer (it's a real surprise!) but the misguided motivations that led to the crime. Much of the film was lensed just outside the studios of Allied Artists, fomerly Monogram and currently the home of Los Angeles' PBS outlet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Haggerty, Eleanore Tanin, (more)
- 1949
Forgotten Women is Monogram's cut-rate 65-minute spin on MGM's The Women. The film deals with four lovely ladies, each of whom is plagued with Man Trouble. Elyse Knox is on the verge of divorce, Veda Ann Borg has been separated from her husband for months, Theodora Lynch's hubby doesn't want her to pursue a singing career, and Noel Neill (yes, Superman's Noel Neill) is a lonely gal looking for an eligible guy. In real life, Elyse Knox was the wife of football star Tom Harmon and the mother of film star Mark Harmon. Approximately 65 minutes too long, Forgotten Women could just as well have been titled Forgotten Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elyse Knox, Edward Norris, (more)
- 1944
The West Coast's answer to Broadway's Stage Door Canteen, the Hollywood Canteen was created as a GI morale-booster by film stars Bette Davis and John Garfield. The Canteen was established so that Our Boys on leave in Tinseltown could have a good time with good food and good dancing -- and, as a bonus, rub shoulders with their favorite movie personalities, who functioned as waiters, chefs, busboys and dancing partners. Since the 1944 all-star flick Hollywood Canteen was produced by Warner Bros., it was only to be expected that the celebrities seen herein would consist mostly of Warner Bros. contract players. The frail plot concerns a soldier on medical leave (played by Robert Hutton) who falls in love with lovely leading lady Joan Leslie (played by Joan Leslie) while visiting the Canteen. Bette Davis and John Garfield are on hand to emcee the Canteen's variety acts, and to act as cupids for the Hutton/Leslie romance. The "supporting cast" includes the likes of The Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Cantor, Sidney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Roy Rogers, S.Z. Sakall, Barbara Stanwyck, and the Jimmy Dorsey and Carmen Cavallaro musical aggregations. Virtually everyone involved donated their salaries to the Canteen fund--even Jack Benny. As with most of these patriotic wartime star rallies, the results are a mixed bag: the best sequences include Benny's violin "duel" with Joseph Szigeti and Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers introducing Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In. Hollywood Canteen won three Oscar nominations, more for its good intentions than its inherent excellence. Still, don't pass up the opportunity when this "movie star salad" shows up on cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Jack Benny, (more)
- 1956
This is one of the last episodes of the long-running Bowery Boys film series. This time the trouble begins when a spoiled child television star swipes their car. They go to get it back and in so doing teach the kid a lesson or two. TV executives, frustrated from trying to deal with the youth on their own are so impressed that they hire the boys to keep the kid in line. Of course, that's not nearly as easy as it sounds, especially after the little star gets kidnapped. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Like many American International films of its era, How to Make a Monster was sold to distributors on the basis of its title alone: only after theatrical play dates had been established did anyone get around to writing a script! Robert H. Harris plays Pete Drummond, who according to the script has been chief makeup man at American-International for 25 years, or approximately 20 years before the studio was actually established. When the studio is sold, Pete is brusquely informed that neither he nor his monster creations -- notably the Teenage Werewolf and Teenage Frankenstein -- will be required any longer, inasmuch as American International is going to concentrate on musicals from now on. Angered and humiliated, Pete takes revenge on the callous studio heads by hypnotizing a couple of actors (Gary Clarke and Gary Conway) into believing that they're genuine monsters. Under Pete's control, the two thespians begin committing murders left and right, wreaking havoc throughout the American International lot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert H. Harris, Gary Conway, (more)
- 1947
This was the second entry in Pine-Thomas' film series based on the popular radio show Big Town. Philip Reed and Hillary Brooke return respectively as Steve Kilgore, crusading editor of the Illustrated Daily Press, and Steve's plucky Gal Friday Lorelei Kilbourne. In this one, Steve suspects that hard-luck Harry Hilton (Frank Wilcox) has been framed on a murder rap. Investigating on his own, our hero uncovers a conspiracy to bring financial ruin to a construction firm. He also discovers that the person behind it all is the actual murderer. A few scattered laughs are provided when Lorelei faces male chauvinism upon taking over the responsibilities of the Daily Press' police-beat reporter. To avoid confusion with the television version of Big Town, I Cover Big Town was retitled I Cover the Underworld for TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phillip Reed, Hillary Brooke, (more)
- 1946
Set at a major newspaper, this crime drama centers on a fellow who returns to newspaper reporting after he bombs as a playwright. Believing his grown son is in danger of marrying a gold digger, the paper's publisher assigns his new reporter to expose her. In order to do so, he cons the gal's maid into letting him into her apartment. There he hides a camera. Later that night, the gold digger is murdered there. Fortunately, the reporter's camera caught the killer in the act. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Gwynne, Robert Shayne, (more)
By 1958, director Roger Corman had switched from making low-budgeters like Apache Woman to movies like the gangster flic I, Mobster that might be found outside of the drive-in setting. The ungrammatical title refers to Joe Sante (Steve Cochran) and his career of climbing the ladder in the hierarchy of organized crime. Now at the top rung, Sante is taking the Fifth Amendment before a Senate subcommittee on racketeering and as he does so, his life is recalled in flashbacks. His first job was working for a bookie, next he becomes involved in a drug ring, and then he expands into intimidating striking workers. Since the last rung of the ladder is open game for any ambitious gangster, Sante would do well to also recall how homicide got him where he now stands. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Lita Milan, (more)
- 1951
Columbia's Colorado Uprising was neither expensive enough to qualify as an "A" picture nor inexpensive enough to qualify as a "B." It was simply a "programmer," and as such was eminently suitable for solo playdates or double-feature berths. George Montgomery stars as cavalry captain McCloud, whose job it is to keep the peace between Indians and Whites. McCloud's efforts are undermined by gold speculators Alsop (Hugh Sanders) and Taggert (Douglas Kennedy), whose underhanded activities foment the Indian uprising of the title. Placed under house arrest by Indian-hating Major Stark (Robert Shayne), McCloud escapes, racing against time to mollify Geronimo (Miguel Inclan) and prevent an all-out massacre. Indian Uprising was one of several economical Columbia films produced by Edward Small, who'd been one of the founders of the studio back in the mid-1920s before striking out on his own as an "independent." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Audrey Long, (more)
