Dressed to Kill (1941)

Lloyd Nolan was quite good as the slightly acerbic detective “Shayne” and this one moves along amiably for an hour or so as he has to investigate a very am-dram version of “The Phantom of the Opera”. All of this isn’t impressing “Joanne” (Mary Beth Hughes) who just wanted to get him, replete in his brand new suit, away for long enough to get themselves married. These theatrical types prove ripe for his investigation not least arch-ham “Julian” (Henry Daniell) and the deaf-as-a-post porter “Carlo” (Erwin Kalser) who work together with the hapless but entertaining cop “Pierson” (William Demarest) who possibly couldn’t find his own teeth in his own mouth as our quick-witted sleuth lays a cunning trap to ensnare the murderous felon - complete with a secret passage! There are a few red herrings here to keep it intriguing and the story doesn’t quite follow the line I was expecting. Essentially this is a vehicle for the on-form Nolan to deliver an amiable crime drama very much in the vein of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch it too. You might spot the long-suffering comic foil to “Charlie Chan” - Montand Moreland in here, too, as it sails along effortlessly.