Time to Kill (1942)

A private detective is hired to retrieve a valuable antique coin that was stolen from its owner by her son, who used it to pay off a blackmailer. The private eye soon finds himself up to ... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert I. Leeds

Writers:

Clarence Upson Young (screenplay), Raymond Chandler (novel),

Stars:

Lloyd Nolan, Heather Angel, Doris Merrick

Cast

Cast overview:
Lloyd Nolan	...	Michael Shayne
Heather Angel	...	Myrle Davis
Doris Merrick	...	Linda Conquest Murdock
Ralph Byrd	...	Lou Venter, bodyguard
Richard Lane	...	Lt. Breeze
Sheila Bromley	...	Lois Morny
Morris Ankrum	...	Alexander Morny
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Murdock

Storyline

A private detective is hired to retrieve a valuable antique coin that was stolen from its owner by her son, who used it to pay off a blackmailer. The private eye soon finds himself up to his ears in fights, more blackmail, hysterical women and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | michael shayne | hole in shoe | based on novel

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Taglines:

Mike Shayne in a killer-diller of a chiller-diller... with no time out to count the corpses!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Murder, Murder Everywhere

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of The Brasher Doubloon (1947)

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Soundtracks

"I Had the Craziest Dream"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Music by Harry Warren

User Reviews

Fast-Paced and Exciting

Time to Kill is a fast-paced, thrilling Michael Shayne mystery adapted from a Raymond Chandler novel and sped up to fit just inside an hour. Mrs. Murdock hires Shayne to find her daughter-in-law, a chorus girl who stole a precious coin from her home. Murdock's son is an odd sort of fellow who appears now and then to create a sense that Shayne is being watched, not the sort of guy that could be trusted. When Shayne meets the daughter-in-law, aptly named Miss Conquest, he discovers a beautiful girl just as eager to get out of the Murdock family as Mrs. Murdock is to get her out. Something doesn't quite fit.

Don't blink your eyes or you'll miss something; you have to be able to keep up with this one to truly enjoy it. Maybe some practice with other Lloyd Nolan movies will do the trick.

Nolan gets some great lines and utilizes them well. His tough guy might not be as memorable as Edward G. Robinson's, Humphrey Bogart's, or Dick Powell's, but he gets the job done. He is flanked by a b-movie cast, including the lovely Heather Angel, but don't see b-movie and think you'll be losing out on quality. You don't want your murder mysteries to be polished anyway; the dirtier, the better.