In this entry in the Michael Shayne series at 20th Century Fox Lloyd Nolan is about to be married to Mary Beth Hughes. The plan is to go to Niagara Falls just as soon as he can dig up a proper suit to be married in for the wedding pictures at City Hall.But Nolan and Hughes stumble into a murder of a theatrical producer and his leading lady at the next door theater where the producer had a private entrance to his suite at the hotel and a few other hideaways and by ways. The man led quite a busy life with the ladies.In fact the whole thing revolves around a show he produced 25 years earlier and a performer whose wife he stole at the time. But being that the victim was an all around rat there are no shortage of suspects.Nolan makes a deal with one of the newspapers for an exclusive if he beats the cops to the solution. Not that it is all that hard because William Demarest the chief inspector is from the Keystone Academy of Police. Still there are laws about interfering with a police investigation. Stuff that private detectives like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe or even Jim Rockford avoid doing or at least get caught at doing Shayne does with abandon.Other than the fact that the perpetrator commits a third murder of a witness you do feel kind of sorry for him. Nolan fits the role better than the glove fit OJ.

The third Michael Shayne film Lloyd Nolan made for Fox. This one has hard-boiled detective Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) set to marry his sweetheart (Mary Beth Hughes) but a double homicide in a theatre draws his attention away. Nolan is great in this role. He was made for delivering the snappy dialogue that was the best part of the Michael Shayne films. Mary Beth Hughes is very cute but doesn't get much to do here. She appeared in two other Shayne movies, playing a different character in each one. Nice supporting cast includes William Demarest, Henry Daniell, and pretty Sheila Ryan. Demarest is especially fun. Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter also provide some comic relief. It's a good B detective picture helped by healthy doses of comedy. I also liked the moments of weirdness such as when Shayne first discovers the murder victims in their bizarre costumes. It's a good way to pass the time if you like detective stories.

"Dressed To Kill" is, in my opinion, the least interesting of the first three Michael Shayne movies. The mystery is not bad, but it's not that gripping either, and it has no character depth, unlike the previous entry, "Sleeper's West". The most telling example of that difference can be found in the return of Mary Beth Hughes, who was a three-dimensional woman in "Sleeper's West", but here she plays an entirely different character - the nagging soon-to-be Shayne's wife. She has virtually nothing to do. Third-billed Sheila Ryan has precisely two (2) scenes in the film. The character whom Shayne has the most natural chemistry with is the frustrated police inspector played by William Demarest. One of their best exchanges goes like this: "You saved my life!" - "Think nothing of it. I don't!". ** out of 4.

Lloyd Nolan's Michael Shayne is a refreshingly human private detective, jumping to wrong conclusions and once not even being able to say his own name correctly (you'll see why). The two policemen assigned to the case are delightfully dense.Shayne is within hours of being married when he and his bride-to-be hear a scream that he investigates. He has to spend the rest of the movie not only attempting to solve the crime but placating and putting off his impatient fiancée. Secret passageways and trapdoors, people who have changed their identities, magicians' sleight of hand, and a hilarious singing-telegram scene add to the tasty mix.I really enjoyed this and found the humor a welcome addition to the murder investigation.