Three on a Ticket

It is for the the most interesting films made by Sam Newfield about private detective Michael Shayne. The topic itself is fun, fast paced, and also light hearted. Not really a pure crime story. Somekind of a treasure hunt thru a puzle like cluedo. It is short anyway, so there is only a few chances that you get bored. From Poverty Row Corporation, it is agreeable to watch and the cast on the right line of the story. I advise you at least to try if you can. Because this movie seems not to be available on you tube channels. It should anyway, because worst movies are. Sam Newfield fans should enjoy this one.

A private investigator Mike Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) knew ten years ago walks into his office and drops dead, shot in the chest. He's got a piece of a baggage claim. After the police clear the corpse out, Louise Currie comes in, asks Beaumont to get her escaped-convict ex-husband off her back, hopefully by shooting him, kisses him, and leaves. Soon the police and the FBI are on Beaumont's back about a mysterious set of plans stolen presumably for resale to an unnamed foreign government.

There are lots of swerves in Sam Newfield's last movie directed for PRC. It moves at a good clip, which serves to cover up the holes and obvious red herrings in Fred Myton's typically ham-handed script. It's based on Brett Halliday's novel THE CORPSE CAME CALLING. A good cast, Jack Greenhalgh's camerawork in a good print, and good location shooting also help. With Cheryl Walker, Ralph Dunn, Douglas Fowley, and Brooks Benedict.

I like Hugh Beaumont's medium-boiled version of Mike Shayne. In this one, he forces a third of a baggage check out of a dead man's hand. People become interested in this piece of cardboard which means it must be valuable. This story also entails Shayne accused of being unpatriotic. It's just that he doesn't trust the penetrating stare of Gavin Gordon as a federal investigator. Shayne's secretary (Cheryl Walker) manages to get herself kidnapped in this one. She's out to ward off a dangerous blonde and walks into a trap. This is a very lively Shayne outing with plenty of smart dialogue. The print I watched of this was good and I believe that all five of Hugh Beaumont's Michael Shayne mysteries have been restored. I can't decide if Hugh Beaumont or Richard Denning, in the later TV series, is my favorite Shayne.

Originally, Mike Shayne was a character played by Lloyd Nolan in a string of films for Twentieth Century-Fox. However, after the series ended, tiny PRC made more episodes...all starring Hugh Beaumont of "Leave it to Beaver" fame. Here is why I assumed this B-mystery movie would be terrible....nearly every film I've seen from PRC stank! The studio was among the cheapest of the cheapo studios and they produces a lot of crap! Fortunately, I was wrong...the film was very enjoyable and makes me want to see more of the Beaumont films if I can find them.

The story begins with another private detective making an appointment with Shayne. However, the guy soon stumbles into Shayne's office...dropping dead. Soon all sorts of awful people begin slapping Shayne around and his secretary. What's next?

I appreciated this story because unlike most other detective films, Shayne is a bit amoral...which makes him unpredictable and much more interesting than most detectives. The story also is pretty interesting and the film is a fine example of cheap but enjoyable filmmaking.