Blue, White and Perfect

Lloyd Nolan is Mike Shayne again. This time he's headed to Honolulu after some stolen diamonds -- industrial ones which are not blue-white and perfect.

This Fox second feature clearly shows it doesn't waste money, but everything about it -- except the script -- is first rate. It has Glenn MacWilliams as cinematographer -- beautiful, sharp, high lighted images -- and some solid talent in the ranks: George Reeves as a suspicious shipboard passenger, Curt Bois as a ship's steward and even Mae Marsh in a sizable role. The story is a mystery, with its curves disguised by Nolan's wise-cracking. In short, it's a fine little B movie.

Detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) boards a Hawaii-bound ocean liner on the trail of stolen industrial diamonds and a Nazi smuggling ring.

I have never heard of the Michael Shayne series, and I know by starting here I am jumping in the middle. Hopefully I didn't miss much, but the story still makes plenty of sense. And actually, it is really, really good. I get the feeling this was something of a B-picture, but today (2017) it feels more fun and fresh than some of the A-pictures of the time.

It serves as an interesting blend of detective fiction and spycraft, and has the interesting distinction of being set at least partially in Hawaii. As I understand it, the film was released in 1942 but was probably filmed in 1941... thus they had no idea just how crucial Hawaii would be to the World War II story. In fact, if this was filmed prior to Pearl harbor, America was not technically even in the war yet!

All in all, this was a good series - better than average, all things considered. Plots, production values, supporting casts all top-of-the-line. Lloyd Nolan is an excellent detective hero as the charismatic Mike Shayne. Funny how Nolan acts and sounds like a New Yorker, even though he was from the West Coast. Here he is involved in a wartime espionage story involving Nazis, but they aren't as big a part of the plot as they could be a couple of years later.

It's a good mystery, well written and you won't guess the murderer. But I thought it was interesting to note the bag tag on the steamer trunk that a reviewer alluded to. It says Honolulu - Dec. 6, 1941, the day before Pearl Harbor. I have to think it was just chance that this date was used, because the film was released in Jan. 1942 - but it had to have been made 6-8 months previous, so I don't think there was any intent to be sensational here (unless I misread the reviewer's comments).

Anyway, this is a good, worthwhile show in a noteworthy series. But I still think the last one, "Just Off Broadway" (1945), is the best.

This entry in 20th Century Fox's Michael Shayne series has Lloyd Nolan working on a case of espionage involving industrial diamonds. The war has eliminated mining them for a while and those we have now are guarded and prized by both us and the bad guys.

With the breezy insouciance typical of his character Nolan follows a lot of false leads and has to bamboozle his put upon girlfriend Mary Beth Hughes for money to follow his trail on an ocean voyage to Honolulu. The trail he's on is that of fashion designer Helene Reynolds.

Nolan also makes a big mistake in assuming something about passenger George Reeves ever the dapper playboy and Curt Bois the ever helpful ship steward.

I didn't particularly like the way the confrontation scene with the chief villain was handled in the end. On the other hand Nolan's final exit as the film closes is pretty funny.

Most entertaining B film from 20th Century Fox.

Diamond smugglers lead detective Michael Shayne to shipboard intrigue and danger.

A lively cast, good production values, and an intriguing mystery, add up to a superior entry in the Michael Shayne series. Lloyd Nolan is so good as the brash detective, injecting real spark into his scenes. Ditto the brassy Hughes as his long-suffering girlfriend. But it's really Superman George Reeves who surprises as the mustachioed bon vivant, O'Hara. He's looser and more charming than I've seen him—no "Man of Steel" here. And I wonder what became of Helene Reynolds who also shows flair, as a shady lady, but appears to have left the business soon after. Too bad.

Anyway, it's a TCF production, which means even B-pictures get quality attention, as the well stocked crowd scenes show. Plus, the suspense part keeps you guessing, like who's trying to drown Shayne and O'Hara aboard ship— a really well thought out and nail-biting sequence. Then too, all the ingredients are wrapped into a neat fast-moving package by director Leeds. In passing-- note how the politics of the diamonds remains curiously unclear. It looks like the movie was produced around Pearl Harbor time, but no mention is made of the Japanese. Instead, Nazi's are mentioned as behind the diamond smuggling, even though America is not yet at war with Hitler. I wonder what the story is here.

Nonetheless, this energetic little programmer still manages a solid degree of entertainment plus.