Blue, White and Perfect *** (1941, Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, Helene Reynolds, George Reeves, Steve Geray, Curt Bois, Marie Blake, Mae Marsh, Frank Orth) – Classic Movie Review 12,152

The tough-nosed 1941 noir crime film Blue, White and Perfect stars Lloyd Nolan as private eye Michael Shayne, who chases secrets agents who are flogging diamonds to the Nazis.

The 1941 noir film Blue, White and Perfect stars Lloyd Nolan as private eye Michael Shayne, who battles industrial diamond smugglers, in a World War Two mystery thriller story lifted with lively handling and colourful performances.

The ideally cast Nolan turns in a sturdy and effective performance as Brett Halliday’s cocky private detective in the slick and satisfying fourth of seven capable 20th Century Fox support thrillers made from 1940 to 42.

In a tough-nosed wartime crime story, Shayne chases secret agents who are flogging industrial diamonds to the Nazis for use in the manufacture of aircraft, with the diamonds going to German factories being smuggled from New York to Honolulu. Shayne has promised his exasperated girlfriend Merle Garland (Mary Beth Hughes) that he will give up his detective work and gets a job as riveter in an aircraft factory. But he is soon investigating the theft of industrial diamonds from the plant’s safe, leading him to a dodgy dress factory and then to board a Hawaii-bound ocean liner on his way to uncovering a Nazi smuggling ring.

The underrrated Nolan is excellent in this very solid, quick-moving thriller, using its war theme and underlying propaganda intentions well. Blue, White and Perfect is near top of the range of its Forties B-movie kind. Slack comedy moments aside, the script is smart and snappy, with a twisty far-fetched crime mystery plot that suits the star and the series.

The four outstanding support performances come from Helene Reynolds as femme fatale Helen Shaw, George Reeves as smirking lounge lizard O’Hara, Henry Victor as dress factory boss Rudolf Hagerman, Curt Bois as liner steward Nappy, none of the characters actually as they seem. Mary Beth Hughes has another thankless role as Shayne’s spurned fiancée Merle Garland, after appearing in Sleepers West as Helen Carlson and Dressed to Kill as Joanne La Marr. Even on its low budget, it looks smart too, thanks to the attractive sets designed by Lewis Creber and Richard Day.

It is written by Samuel G Engel but the basis of the plot comes from Blue, White, and Perfect, a six-part story by Borden Chase serialised in Argosy magazine, and later published as the paperback novel Diamonds of Death.

The cast are Lloyd Nolan as Michael Shayne, Mary Beth Hughes as Merle Garland, Helene Reynolds as Helen Shaw, George Reeves as Juan Arturo O’Hara, Steven Geray as Vanderhoefen, Henry Victor as Rudolf Hagerman, Curt Bois as Friedrich Gerber, alias Nappy Dubois, Marie Blake as Ethel, Emmett Vogan as Charlie, Mae Marsh as Mrs. Bertha Toby, Frank Orth as Mr. Toby, Ivan Lebedeff as Alexis Fournier, Wade Boteler as Judge, Charles Trowbridge as Capt. Brown, Edward Earle as First Officer Richards, Cliff Clark as Inspector Peterson, Arthur Loft as Joseph P. McCordy, Ann Doran as Miss Hoffman, and Charles Williams as printer Theodore H. Sherman Jr.

The film was released on DVD as part of the Michael Shayne Mysteries Collection Vol. 1 from 20th Century Fox.

Blue, White and Perfect is directed by Herbert I Leeds, runs 73 minutes, is made and released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Samuel G Engel, based on a story by Borden Chase, is shot in black and white by Glenn MacWilliams, produced by Sol M Wurtzel, and scored by Emil Newman. The sets are designed by Lewis Creber and Richard Day.

The film series is: Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1940), Sleepers West (1941), Dressed to Kill (1941), Blue, White and Perfect (1942), The Man Who Wouldn’t Die (1942), Just Off Broadway (1942), and notably Time to Kill (1942), the final Michael Shayne film starring Lloyd Nolan made at Fox, which then closed down their popular B-movie unit.

Just Off Broadway is the only one of the seven films based on an original screenplay. Time to Kill is notable because it is based on the novel The High Window by Raymond Chandler.

In 1940 Mary Beth Hughes was offered a contract with 20th Century-Fox, who did not renew it on expiry in 1943.

Helene Reynolds had a very short film career for 1939 to 1944.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,152

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