The Man Who Wouldn't Die

A young woman awakens at night to see a man with glowing eyes staring at her. This man shoots at her but misses and when she tells others, there's no evidence she was there! They act as if it's some sort of dream, but she's sure it isn't.

Now how Michael Shayne gets involved is pretty odd. This same woman later meets him along the road and asks him to pose as her husband. She is apparently married but wants to pass Shayne off as her new husband. None of this made sense--why didn't she just bring her real husband? Why didn't she just tell people that he was a private detective--especially when he found the bullet shot at her--proving someone DID shoot at her! Odd indeed!

In the midst of this mystery, a man takes off from the mansion and is chased by Shayne and the police chief. The car crashes and the man is thrown. The chief very quickly pronounces him dead. Inexplicably, the body disappears later! Was he really dead or did someone steal the corpse? This is all getting very strange and confusing (especially for the audience), as there are lots and lots of seemingly divergent plot points in the film. Supposedly, this is all related somehow to some strange magician, Zorah Bey.

This is an enjoyable Michael Shayne film, mostly due to the seemingly relaxed performance by Lloyd Nolan as Shayne. However, the story is a tad confusing and seems to perhaps have too many twists and turns...but it never is dull. For lovers of B-detective films, this one is certainly worth finding.

Lloyd Nolan is Michael Shayne, private detective in "The Man Who Wouldn't Die," a 1942 entry into this short series from Twentieth Century Fox.

A friend of Mike's, Catherine (Marjorie Weaver) gets him to pose as her husband while investigating a shooting at her family home. Her father (Paul Harvey) is in government and under investigation by the Senate, and one night, Anna is shot at. Mike finds plenty to investigate. He also has plenty to explain when Catherine's real husband shows up unexpectedly.

There's lots of humor and "dark stormy night" atmosphere in this neat programmer, which also features Henry Wilcoxon and Helen Reynolds as Anna, Catherine's stepmother.

Nolan is a delight as a singing, happy but very clever Shayne. I'm surprised that Marjorie Weaver didn't get further in her career, though by all accounts, she loved the career she had - she's very pretty and vivacious.

Very enjoyable.

Any movie from the Michael Shayne Detective series can be counted on to deliver an enjoyable mystery story. In this film Lloyd Nolan once again delivers a good performance as he works to solve a murder which took place at the estate of a wealthy US Senator. Everything wraps-up neatly in about 65 minutes which means that there is no wasted time with boring sub plots or long talky scenes ala todays' crop of over hyped and over long releases. A good supporting cast helps Nolan turn this into a fine stylish film. Olin Howlin does a great job and provides just the right amount of restrained comic relief as the police chief. Enjoy

This mystery has everything: dead bodies that won't stay buried, a weird laboratory, an old house during a thunderstorm, and a "phantom" (with "glowing" eyes) that appears in the house and attempts to kill someone!

The hero & heroine add both a comedic and suspenseful touch to the entire proceedings.

This film is difficult to find, but I highly recommend it!

Detective Shayne helps out an old girlfriend, following some mysterious happenings at her family mansion.

That Gothic opening is a real grabber. So what's going on with guys that are digging a nighttime grave in the middle of a storm with a sinister mansion in the background. It takes the rest of the 60-minutes to find out. Speaking of spooky effects, there're also the two glowing eyes in the dark looming over an hysterical Cathy (Weaver). No wonder she screams bloody murder.

But these creepy effects, along with the ever-reliable Lloyd Nolan as Shayne are probably the best parts of a sometimes murky narrative. The whodunit part is treated rather casually; at the same time, maybe you can figure out the solution-- I got lost. But that's okay, because the Shayne series depended more on characters than mystery. Here, Nolan and Weaver spark the proceedings with some lively dialog, including some surprisingly suggestive bedroom banter. Include Olin Howland as the addled hayseed sheriff, plus an ambulatory corpse, and it all adds up to an entertaining, if unexceptional, series entry.