The Man Who Wouldn't Die
An Empty Grave... A Cunning, Gunning Ghost... And Michael Shane!
1942 | 65m | English
Popularity: 0.8 (history)
| Director: | Herbert I. Leeds |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Arnaud d'Usseau, Clayton Rawson |
| Staring: |
| A man believed to be dead and buried escapes from his grave and returns to the scene of the crime seeking revenge. | |
| Release Date: | Apr 27, 1942 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Herbert I. Leeds |
| Writer: | Arnaud d'Usseau, Clayton Rawson |
| Genres: | Crime, Mystery |
| Keywords | detective, stepdaughter, stepmother |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 (Update) Entered: Apr 20, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Lloyd Nolan | Michael Shayne |
| Marjorie Weaver | Catherine Wolff |
| Helene Reynolds | Anna Wolff |
| Henry Wilcoxon | Dr. Haggard |
| Richard Derr | Roger Blake |
| Paul Harvey | Dudley Wolff |
| Billy Bevan | Phillips |
| Olin Howland | Jonathan Meek |
| Robert Emmett Keane | Alfred Dunning |
| LeRoy Mason | Zorah Bey |
| Jeff Corey | Tim Larsen |
| Francis Ford | Caretaker |
| Harry Carter | Call Boy (Uncredited) |
| Mary Field | Maid (Uncredited) |
| Charles Irwin | Gus / The Great Merlini (Uncredited) |
| Ruth Warren | Peggy (Uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Herbert I. Leeds | Director |
| Brett Halliday | Characters |
| Arnaud d'Usseau | Screenplay |
| Clayton Rawson | Novel |
| David Raksin | Original Music Composer |
| Joseph MacDonald | Director of Photography |
| Fred Allen | Editor |
| Lewis H. Creber | Art Direction |
| Richard Day | Art Direction |
| Thomas Little | Set Decoration |
| Herschel McCoy | Costume Design |
| Joseph E. Aiken | Sound |
| Harry M. Leonard | Sound |
| Emil Newman | Music Director |
| Charles Bradshaw | Orchestrator |
| Frank L. James | Technical Advisor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Sol M. Wurtzel | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 7 | 25 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
We start with a sinister scene in the grounds on an eerie country mansion. A burial - but of whom, and why in the dead of night? Well, it doesn't take us long to find out why and soon daughter of the house "Cathy" (Marjorie Weaver) engages the services of the sleuthing "Shayne" (Lloyd Nolan) to find ... out just what is going on. Have Burke & Hare moved into the neighbourhood? Snag for "Cathy" - her wealthy father "Dudley" (Paul Harvey) is no fan of cops, so the two have to pretend that they are... married...! Maybe not the easiest of disguises but as the story gathers pace there develops quite a fun dynamic between the two trying to stay one step ahead of their increasingly sophisticated and menacing nemesis. It's quite a decent little crime-noir, with a gradually accruing sense of menace helped by the basic, but effective, dark photography and some quite clever close ups on the eyes of our perpetrator (almost Karloff-esque, at times). The denouement is a touch far-fetched, but there's enough in the story to keep in interesting for an hour.