Wed 2 Sep 2009
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: TIME TO KILL (1942).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[6] Comments
TIME TO KILL. 20th Century Fox, 1942. Lloyd Nolan, Heather Angel, Doris Merrick, Ralph Byrd, Richard Lane, Sheila Bromley, Morris Ankrum, Ethel Griffies. Screenplay by Clarence Upson Young based upon Raymond Chandler’s The High Window and Brett Halliday’s character, Michael Shayne. Director: Herbert I. Leeds. Shown at Cinevent 41, Columbus OH, May 2009.
Fox would remake The High Window as The Brasher Doubloon, with George Montgomery as Philip Marlowe, but although I must confess I have not seen that film or read the novel, I can’t imagine a more entertaining version — albeit performed at express train speed — than the sixty-one minute treatment in Time to Kill. Nor can I imagine a more effective and sympathetic protagonist than the always entertaining Shayne as incarnated by Lloyd Nolan.
The plot is something of a mess, with enough characters and red herrings for two, maybe even three short films. For the life of me, I couldn’t give you a coherent summary of the film, but I can assure you that I wasn’t bored for a minute. It ends rather abruptly, but Nolan never msses a beat as he exits from the series, most appropriately in a taxi with his latest flame. Mike, we still miss you.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Fine entry in a great series. Historically the Shayne films are an important early version of the Hollywood pi and strictly from an entertainment point of view Nolan is a delight.
Only one of the series is based on a Shayne novel (the first), but others are based on novels by Clayton Rawson, Richard Burke, and Fred Nebel, plus the play that became Just Off Broadway. Hopefully Time to Kill and the remaining Shayne films will be released by Fox in a second volume of Shayne films.
John Brahm’s Brasher Doubloon is not bad, but it has to take a back seat to this one. For all it’s complexities The High Window is probably Chandler’s best mystery from a formal detective story point of view.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm
When I looked up TIME TO KILL on the Internet while getting Walter’s review ready to post, at least one website was pretty pessimistic about the rest of the Shayne films showing up in a Volume Two.
The idea they had was that the first set was priced too high and sales were too low for Fox to consider putting a second one out.
It could be so. List price was almost $30 for four movies on two two-sided disks, but you can buy sets described as new on Amazon for around $10.
I’d love to be contradicted on this!
— Steve
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:12 am
Luckily I have copies of the films not on the original release, still we should be grateful for that one. Extras included a good bio of David Dresser/Halliday, a gallery and bio of cover artist Robert McGinniss, a bit about the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang based on a Shayne novel, and a good piece on Nolan.
Whatever else Fox did a good job on this and the Chan and Moto sets, a model for everyone else.
September 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Walter, you must get around to reading THE HIGH WINDOW, probably Chandler’s best. As a Philip-Marlowe-type, Lloyd Nolan is miles ahead of George Montgomery.
Hey, Trivia point! Nolan played a Marlowe-substitute here and a bad guy in an actual Marlowe film (LADY IN THE LAKE.)
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I second Dan on The High Window. It is probably Chandler’s best detective novel, and a good many critics rate it one of his best period. It’s not my favorite, but it tends to get unfairly crowded out by the early hits and some of the later books.
Agreed, Nolan was ideal in the part, never could warm to that mustache they pasted on Montgomery as Marlowe, though he did look the part.
For it’s length the Nolan film gets a surprizing amount of the plot into sixty something minutes, a model of how to adapt a complex plot to the screen.
If I remember correctly The Brasher Doubloon was Chandler’s choice for a title, and The High Window was forced on him.
October 23rd, 2021 at 11:55 pm
Michael Shayne should have confronted The Saint sometime on a complicated, international case. They should have maneuvered against each other for some dangerous blonde vamp.
The hot-headed, two-fisted Irishman versus cool, cultured, Simon Templar would have made sparks like flint on steel.
Better than Green Hornet meets Batman.