Spoiler Alert. I must be the only person in the world who doesn't like Lloyd Nolan. I find him intensely annoying and totally unbelievable as private detective Michael Shayne (who originally was a hard-boiled type). And in "Sleepers West," he just seems inept. A guy is on trial for his life, but he's innocent, and the real murderer is the governor's son (I think -- this was a very confusing movie). But a single witness can blow everything open. Naturally all the forces of evil will do everything to keep this witness from testifying. So what does Shayne do to protect her on a train en route to the trial? He sticks her in a compartment, says "Keep your door locked," and leaves her totally unattended as he wanders around the train and swaps sarcasms with his old flame, an eager girl reporter who wants the story. The witness has no other protection. And evidently Shayne doesn't even carry a gun. If the witness was so vital and her life so endangered, why wouldn't she have been guarded by lots of people, including a couple of heavies armed to the teeth right there in the compartment with her? I also didn't buy the witness's abrupt change of heart, from a tough alcoholic who didn't care about saving a guy's life to a girl with a heart of gold. I would've given this mess one star, but I added a couple of stars because I love trains. If you want to see a vastly superior comedy train mystery, find "Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone."

While this film flies by like an express train in the night, it is filled with so many eye-rolling clichés that it just comes off as entirely unbelievable. A night train from Denver to San Francisco doesn't result in any murders, and the only real plot is if Detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) will get an important witness (Mary Beth Hughes) to San Francisco to clear an ex-con of murder and not get killed, kidnapped or put in a coma herself. Shayne's object is to keep her sober as she is probably one of the most healthy looking alcoholics in film history. While preparing to get on the train, he runs into an old flame (Lynn Bari), a reporter who discovers his mission and schemes to get an interview with the tipsy Hughes who has made friends with a mysterious man (Louis Jean Heydt) running away from his own problems.While the plot line that exists leaves enough tension to keep the viewer hooked, it is the execution of the dozens of characters thrown in and out of the plot that leaves something to be desired. Every cliché in the book is present, and in the case of the black porters on the train, the results are down-right mind boggling that even in 1941 such blatant racism could be so obvious. That part of the plot line surrounds porter Ben Carter (as Leander Jones, no less) who discovers thousands of dollars in Heydt's sleeping car when he accidentally knocks over his suitcase. Carter immediately cries out what he could do with that in a crap game, and regrets the fact that he was born without any larceny in his heart. The amount of the money increases as the other porters begin to spread the gossip until they are all conversing stereotypically about the cash-filled suitase. The only purpose in this is for private detective Edward Brophy to overhear, and thus throw a wrench into the growing romance of Hughes and Heydt.While the film explodes (literally) with the inclusion of a train crashing into the cab of a stalled van, it turns totally corny with the introduction of an overly friendly European farm woman (Ferike Boros) who welcomes everybody involved in the plot into her home as if she was throwing a spontaneous hoe-down. This shows a total lack of imagination on the part of the writers, as does the subplot of the engineer speeding the train up just so his last trip before retirement will show him with a perfect record. While the comedy is amusing, the film is not played as a spoof, so the plethora of unbelievable characters and outrageous situations just may cause you to roll your eyes. In my case, I was afraid my eyes would get stuck in the back of my head if I rolled them back any further.

In terms of suspense and action, this is one of the weaker entries in the Shayne series. Most of the storyline is confined to a train ride carrying a secret witness to a west coast trial, who Shayne is supposed to protect from those who don't want her to appear. Unfortunately, not much use is made of the confined conditions to build suspense. Then too, we know early on the identity of the witness and who's on board to silence her, so there's not much mystery, either.Fortunately, there is a sparkling cast, led by the breezy Nolan, along with a brassy Hughes and a bumptious Bari. In fact, Bari and Hughes are natural personality rivals, setting off some delicious undercurrents. Then there's an unheralded threesome of black porters, who contribute humorously to the overall lightweight mood. Look also for Louis Jean Heydt, a familiar face from that era, who does well with a larger than usual role. All in all, it's an entertaining 70-minutes, but not up to the series' trademark mix of suspense plus humor.

"Sleepers West" is a very enjoyable Michael Shayne mystery from 1941. Lloyd Nolan is Shayne, of course, and Mary Beth Hughes is the surprise witness he's trying to get to court before anyone can get at her.He doesn't have a tremendous amount of luck there, as he runs into his ex-fiancé, reporter Kay Bentley, at the train station, and she's going to be on the same train. And Helen Carlson, the witness, isn't very cooperative. After being brought on board on a stretcher in a black wig, she rips off the wig and wants a drink.Neat and fast-moving story with Shayne working to clear a criminal who, for once, is innocent, while other people have their own agenda for wanting him found guilty.Nice, energetic film with the likable Nolan and wisecracking Lynn Bari.