Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
Eric B
I ended up catching this on the Movies!network-the digital TV channel broad-casted by a lot of fox affiliates. I thought it was a fun movie. Lloyd Nolan was great. I knew him more from his character bits on TV in the 1970s. I really enjoyed him in the McCloud episode of the western cowboys that rob an armored car. This movie had a nice mix between comedy and a nice if not ground breaking mystery story. Great chemistry between Nolan and his costar. I had not seen others in this series but would not mind checking it out. The style reminds a little of the Thin Man series or some of the better written Abbott and Costello movies (I always liked their two mystery type movies Who Done It and Meet The Killer Boris Karloff).
GManfred
I was so impressed by "Dressed To Kill", the first Mike Shayne film I saw, that I decided to buy the boxed set of four other Shaynes. "The Man Who Wouldn't Die" was the first I watched and I was disappointed. For some reason it lacked the professionalism of the first in several areas; the script lacked the sparkle and cleverness of "Dressed To Kill" and the acting seemed forced and unnatural. The story is too far-fetched, about a magician who was married to the wife of an important Senator and who comes back to blackmail him through his wife. The magician is thought to be killed and buried, but comes back to collect his blackmail money... oh, never mind. It gets even more confused and loopy as the story continues. Through it all Lloyd Nolan, as the affable title character, tries to solve the mystery for his friend, played in over-the-top fashion by Marjorie Weaver. I thought her acting job particularly hammy and detracted from the movie, as she was an integral part of the story.Starting a new paragraph for Olin Howland, who was especially bad and out of place as the investigating Police Chief. It was poor casting on Fox's part as Howland acted as if he had wandered on to the set during a break from a Judy Canova picture. The damage, however, was already done with the weak, unbelievable script and plot.I rated this one a five, due mainly to the presence and efforts of Lloyd Nolan.
Terrell-4
Mike Shayne is back with us in The Man Who Wouldn't Die, one of the last of the seven Shayne movies Lloyd Nolan cranked out in a three-year period. While the acting for the most part is no better than you'd expect in a quickie B, it's got the old dark house cliché down pat. Mike Shayne is called upon to pretend to be the new husband of the daughter of a wealthy businessman, now under investigation back in Washington. The man has a lush, young wife, an obsequious male secretary, an older and discrete butler and a live-in, tall and handsome doctor/scientist. Most of all, the man has a huge, isolated mansion with lots of corridors and rooms. And at night, the shadows are dark, the grounds are scary, a murderer creeps about and a buried corpse has trouble staying buried. Shayne's job is to find out why someone took a shot at his female friend in her bedroom, and why everyone, including her father, insists that it was her imagination. Things get even more dicey when the young lady's real husband shows up.Lloyd Nolan brings all of Michael Shayne's wise-cracking confidence to life as he puzzles out a murderous mystery that involves revenge and slow breathing. Except for Nolan, the acting is B level clunky. Still, it's always fun to see Olin Howland do his gullible hayseed routine, this time as Police Chief Meek. In a small part as the town's coroner is Jeff Corey, a good actor when given half a chance. To see him at his best, watch his performance as Blinky Franklin in The Killers.Like all the Michael Shayne mysteries Lloyd Nolan made in the early Forties, nowadays the reason to watch them is Lloyd Nolan. Shayne's good-natured confidence and shrewd thinking is a perfect match for Nolan.
reve-2
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
