Blue, White And Perfect (1942)

Starring Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, Helene Reynolds, George Reeves, Steven Geray
Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Michael Shayne promises his fiancee he'll give up detective work for a less dangerous career, but after starting a job at an aircraft plant, he stumbles across a diamond-smuggling plot.

We have here another enjoyable entry in the Michael Shayne series of films for Fox, with a good balance of humor and grim goings-on.  Nolan is as always fun to watch, and Hughes returns as his long-suffering girlfriend, ready to hurl breakables at him when he uses her for his own ends.  Among the guest cast this time around is future TV Superman, George Reeves, who pours on the charm as a man with mysterious motives aboard a ship Shayne pursues the smugglers aboard.  It's a shame that the talented Reeves was typecast and met with such an unfortunate end, as he's quite enjoyable here.  Reynolds and Henry Victor admirably round out the principals, along with plenty of familiar character actors in small parts, including Mary Gordon taking a break from playing Sherlock Holmes' Mrs. Hudson to essay Shayne's landlady.  The mystery is well-concocted, combining Shayne's domestic investigations with some international intrigue, making the film well worth your time.

The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1942)

Starring Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Helene Reynolds, Henry Wilcoxon, Richard Derr
Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Detective Michael Shayne is hired by a young woman to discover if a ghost really tried to kill her in her father's home, but insists that he pose as her husband.

A fun and entertaining entry in the Michael Shayne series, the picture boasts a mystery that kept me guessing for some time, and another engaging turn by Nolan as the amusing and clever detective.  Surprisingly this entry even has some horror elements, with a character feared to be a zombie, "the ghost" possessing eyes that seem to light up, and a laboratory in the basement with Kenneth Strickfadden-like electric equipment.  Familiar character actor Olin Howland plays the dimwitted local chief of police, outsmarted by Shayne at every turn, and other familiar faces like Richard Derr, Billy Bevan, and Jeff Corey pop up as well.  The film's a quality mystery, and well worth your time.