Three on a Ticket

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.