While I found "The Brasher Dubloon" to be a much better, more detailed film, I found this original version of Ray Chandler's novel to be equally as enjoyable, even if it is plagued with a sudden jarring ending that didn't work as well as its remake. That version restored Philip Marlowe to being the lead detective, while here, it's the final entry in a series of low budget programmers starring Lloyd Nolan as Michael Shayne. "The Brasher Dubloon" is highlighted by a flashy performance from character actress Florence Bates, and here, that part is played by veteran actress Ethel Griffies who would continue acting well into her old age in Hitchcock's "The Birds". She actually never looked young, having played old women throughout the 1930's and scoring with me as the evil matriarch of the hideously nasty Pringle family in "Anne of Windy Poplars".
As the overly aggressive Mrs. Murdock, Griffies is one of those feisty old dames who could do cartwheels, get back up on her legs, grab a gun, shoot someone and do another cartwheel before calling her attorney and telling him to get her off for murder. Griffies pretty much does that here (minus the cartwheels), hiding a sordid past and utilizing Shayne to locate the Brasher Dubloon, a valuable coin which has been stolen from her late husband's collection. This sends Nolan out on a wild turkey chase where he encounters a bunch of criminals, nearly ends up a corpse himself, and recovers enough after a nasty fall down the stairs ("I forgot to pull the ripcord", he wisecracks) to reveal the truth about the case.
While out and about, Nolan encounters Griffies' much hated daughter-in-law (Doris Merrick, an interesting femme fatale), questions her secretary (Heather Angel) and deals with such sordid types as Ralph Byrd and Morris Ankrum. There's also Shayne's girl (Sheila Bromley), Griffies' no good son (James Seay) and lieutenant Richard Lane, all of whom add complexity to this comic detective thriller with lots of comic elements and a bit of film noir. The moment Griffies mentions the dubloon, I knew exactly that I had seen this story done before, yet both versions are different enough to make them individually enjoyable on different levels. Griffies steals every scene she's in with her delicious unapologetic nastiness, yet Nolan gives back a bit of abuse to her as well, especially when he calls her "toots" and she looks off at him wistfully and repeats the word. In its compact hour, it provides plenty of excitement, laughs and mystery, but I still felt that it wrapped up jarringly which prevented it from getting a higher rating.
As the overly aggressive Mrs. Murdock, Griffies is one of those feisty old dames who could do cartwheels, get back up on her legs, grab a gun, shoot someone and do another cartwheel before calling her attorney and telling him to get her off for murder. Griffies pretty much does that here (minus the cartwheels), hiding a sordid past and utilizing Shayne to locate the Brasher Dubloon, a valuable coin which has been stolen from her late husband's collection. This sends Nolan out on a wild turkey chase where he encounters a bunch of criminals, nearly ends up a corpse himself, and recovers enough after a nasty fall down the stairs ("I forgot to pull the ripcord", he wisecracks) to reveal the truth about the case.
While out and about, Nolan encounters Griffies' much hated daughter-in-law (Doris Merrick, an interesting femme fatale), questions her secretary (Heather Angel) and deals with such sordid types as Ralph Byrd and Morris Ankrum. There's also Shayne's girl (Sheila Bromley), Griffies' no good son (James Seay) and lieutenant Richard Lane, all of whom add complexity to this comic detective thriller with lots of comic elements and a bit of film noir. The moment Griffies mentions the dubloon, I knew exactly that I had seen this story done before, yet both versions are different enough to make them individually enjoyable on different levels. Griffies steals every scene she's in with her delicious unapologetic nastiness, yet Nolan gives back a bit of abuse to her as well, especially when he calls her "toots" and she looks off at him wistfully and repeats the word. In its compact hour, it provides plenty of excitement, laughs and mystery, but I still felt that it wrapped up jarringly which prevented it from getting a higher rating.