Just as I ran out of re-runs from blog HQ, this appeared on YT and at first I found “Laura”, which had good reviews … too good in fact … after putting the review here, YT told me it was not available in this country. Well of course. This below seems a fairly good movie.

“Dressed To Kill” was an excellent murder mystery and the third entry in the Michael Shayne detective series of the 40’s. It is the first one I’ve seen and I enjoyed the way Lloyd Nolan fit the title character like an old shoe. It had a great supporting cast and a story to match, unlike many B murder mysteries of this era which are often formulaic and predictable.

This one took considerable thought, and both the denouement and deus ex machina are pretty clever. Shane/Nolan has to solve a double murder in which the victims are killed at a dinner table with two different guns, and along the way we get to meet some very interesting characters, played by some very interesting character actors.

We also find out that he knows nearly everybody within shouting distance, which is a formidable number of people, as this is New York City. It creates a cheerfully amiable atmosphere, despite the grumpy Chief Inspector, played by William Demarest in his customary bombastic style.

Also on hand is Henry Daniell as a theatrical snob, and Mary Beth Hughes, maybe the prettiest B picture girl who never made the jump to more important pictures.