Michael Shayne Mystery Compilation #1 (1960) | Richard Denning | Herbert Rudley | Jerry Paris

Michael “Mike” Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday. In 1960, the 32-episode Michael Shayne television series began on NBC, with Richard Denning, formerly of the series Mr. and Mrs. North, in the title role. Patricia Donahue originated the role of Lucy Hamilton, Shayne’s secretary.

Stars: Richard Denning, Herbert Rudley, Jerry Paris

00:00. THIS IS IT MICHAEL SHAYNE (1960) Shayne regrets taking a day off to go fishing when he learns that a would-be client, a hard-charging investigative reporter, who urgently begging for his assistance, was murdered before he could contact her. Taking the case personally, he ignores proper procedure and begins his own investigation into her murder and learns that a gambling racketeer, her estranged husband and a man accusing her of blackmail all had reason to kill her.

54:06. SHOOT THE WORKS (1960) Lucy asks Mike to investigate the murder of her friend’s husband. An apparently loving spouse, he been discovered with his bags packed, two airplane tickets for Paris in his pocket and a love letter lying by his body. Mike learns that $100,000 in negotiable bonds are missing from the office safe and the dead man’s partners have a motive for murder.

1:46:09. MURDER PLAYS CHARADES (1960) Mike is hired to investigate the murder of Voltane, a magician appearing at a charity event. He soon discovers that the magician and his lovely assistant, Kara, where married and simultaneously engaged in extra-marital affairs. His list of suspects expands to the men and women trysting with the show people, the jealous boyfriend and girlfriend of those who were running around with Voltane and his wife and a former magician who Voltane had once carried on a torrid affair.

2:43:48. MURDER IN WONDERLAND (1960) An accountant working for a notorious racketeer is murdered while talking to Mike Shayne on the phone. Police believe that the man was carrying a list of all of the racketeers business contacts, but the only thing the man had in his locked briefcase was a copy of “Alice in Wonderland”. Although Captain Gentry finds no evidence that the list was hidden between the books pages, a thug kidnaps Shayne’s secretary and orders Mike to steal the novel from the police or else the pretty blonde will be killed.

3:35:33. MURDER AND THE WANTON BRIDE (1960) A man is found murdered in an alley. The only clue to his identity is a note scrawled inside a matchbook cover regarding an appointment with Mike at 9:00 a.m. on the following day. Since Mike had no such appointment, and never makes them so early in the morning, he’s intensely interested in the discovering who killed his would-be client and why the dead man thought he had arranged for a meeting. When the misaddressed letter – complete with substantial retainer – arrives requesting the aforementioned appointment, Mike decides to take the dead man on as a client.