The show had three different iterations and titles: Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1944-47), The New Adventures of Michael Shayne (1948-49), and from 1952 until its demise in 1953 simply The Adventures of Michael Shayne. While each show had a different lead actor playing Shayne, many will say their favorite was probably film actor Jeff Chandler (1918-1961, photo below right), who played Shayne in The New Adventures of Michael Shayne, from which this week’s episode is taken. It should be noted that due to syndication the precise first air dates for these programs are difficult to pin down, so we have used the date for this episode as given by the Old Time Radio Researchers Library.

The character of Michael Shayne, Detective was the brainchild of Davis Dresser (1904-1977, photo top right) who used the pseudonym of Brett Halliday for his mystery novels. Rather prolific, he would also pen a number of westerns as well as many stories for other genre pulps using a variety of other pseudonyms, but it is the work bylined with the Brett Halliday pen name that has had the most enduring legacy of all of Dresser’s works. His first Michael Shayne novel, Dividend on Death (and first novel of any kind) was turned down by 21 publishers until Henry Holt & Co. bought and published it in 1939. Dresser would go on to write 30 Michael Shayne novels for the next 25 years or so, turning over the reins  to others in 1958, leaving the series in the capable hands of the ghost writers. Some of these “ghost writers” (many quite popular in their own right as mystery novelists, or having proved themselves in other genres, including science fiction and/or fantasy) include Sam Merwin, Jr., Robert Arthur, Frank Belknap Long, and Bill Pronzini.

The Shayne character is of the hard-boiled detective school, and does not exhibit the highest ethical standards when it comes to catching the bad guys. Known as “the reckless, red-headed Irishman,” Shayne is no doubt derived from many of Dresser’s own life experiences. From his wikipedia page: “Dresser was born in Chicago, Illinois, but mostly grew up in West Texas. Here he lost an eye to barbed wire as a boy, and thus had to wear an eye patch for the rest of his life. At the age of 14, he ran away from home and enlisted in the U.S. 5th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, followed by a year of Border Patrol duty on the Rio Grande. After his service, he returned to Texas to finish high school. In search of adventure, Dresser traveled throughout the Southwest working at various odd jobs, including that of muleskinner, farm hand, deckhand on a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico, laborer in the California oilfields, etc. Eventually, he went to Tri-State College of Engineering, where he received a certificate in civil engineering. Back in Texas, he worked as an engineer and surveyor for several years before turning to writing in 1927.”

While Shayne’s given residence and base of operations in the novels was Miami, for the radio versions the script writers played a little fast and loose with his hometown and had him solving mysteries in Oakland and New Orleans before eventually returning to Miami. This story, for instance, has Shayne working out of New Orleans. It is also worth noting that police detective Lieutenant Lefevre is played by none other than Jack Webb, who is probably most famous for both his radio but especially TV roles as Sergeant Joe Friday on Dragnet (1951-59, 1967-70).

Dresser/Halliday was one of the founding members of the Mystery Writers of America and in 1954 he and his wife were honored with Edgar Awards for their critical work in the field. Dresser’s/Halliday’s Michael Shayne character was a multi-genre character, appearing not only in novels and on radio, but in films (7 films starring Lloyd Nolan, and 5 with Hugh Beaumont who would later star in TV’s Leave it to Beaver), a television show (1960-61), and even a comic book spinoff tie-in to the popular television show. And last but not least was the Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine, begun in 1956 and lasting for almost 30 years, which for several years was edited by Frank Belknap Long.

This episode is one that numismatists will enjoy, for the high-priced twins of the title do not refer to a pair of expensive escorts. An old man dies with only a single living relative. She believes him to be rich and anticipates the reading of the will for any possible inheritance. To her dismay, the old man is nearly broke but leaves an enigmatic message about the Twins, whatever that refers to. Hardly into the story it is learned that the “twins” are identical coins from long ago that are worth $35,000, the problem being that no one knows where they are. So Michael Shayne puts on his detective hat and begins the arduous task of tracking them down with nary a clue, his wheelhouse being to solve murders, not hunt down old coins. A major impediment presents itself when an unknown person is also on the trail of the twins, and is willing to kill for them—or anyone who finds the coins before he does. Thus the search becomes a potentially deadly enterprise and puts the pressure on Shayne not only to find the coins but preserve his life in doing so. The fun is in learning how this caper works itself out, with the twists and turns thrown in Shayne’s way and how he  discovers the identity of the would-be thief and that of a murderer, and the location of twin rare coins that make up “The Case of the High Priced Twins.”

(The linked CD at the top includes this episode and 15 others, with a Program Guide by esteemed old time radio historian, and friend of this weekly program, Karl Schadow.)

Play Time: 26:48

{With only 5 days until Thanksgiving and a short school holiday, the neighborhood gang made their way to the corner newsstand for some danger and adventure in a few of their favorite detective pulps. Detective Mystery Novel Magazine (1935-51) began as a weird menace pulp but after a few years a change was made to reflect a more traditional detective magazine. The switch being quite successful (but with a few name changes along the way) the magazine ran for a healthy 88 issues over its run. It was a quarterly in 1948. G-Men Detective (1935-53) began as just G-Men, but when the interest in federal government cops waned the title became G-Men Detective and a focus in the stories followed the change. It ran for a total of 112 issues before its demise and was a bi-monthly in 1948. Even though it was nearing the end of its 18-year run, The Shadow (1931-49) was still a favorite of the neighborhood gang, an old favorite not to be overlooked. Its first 4 issues in 1948 were bi-monthlies with the 5th, shown below, being a quarterly, It would be the first of the final four quarterly issues of The Shadow, the final three before its presses shutdown for good seeing print in 1949.}

[Left: Det. Mystery Novel, Fall/48 – Center: G-Men Detective, 11/48 – Right: The Shadow, Fall/48]

To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.