FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Irie212 I sat bolt upright at the end of this movie because it looked as if there was a serious error in the credits. No, I thought, I must be wrong. But I'm not. The movie's streaming on Netflix, so you can see for yourself: 20th Century Fox reversed the names of the two African-American actors who provide some of the brightest points in this bright little movie. They often entertained as a team, and in this movie Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter play two theater janitors who first appear doing a sweet backstage dance sequence with their brooms while Mary Beth Hughes (too little of her in this movie) sings on-stage but off-screen. I loved it that the filmmakers ignored the girl singer for the greater talents of these two hoofers. Their characters are called Rusty and Sam, with the bigger part going to Rusty, who is played by Moreland, the more famous of the two. But in the final credits, the names are reversed with the roles, crediting Ben Carter as Rusty. Inexcusable. I doubt it ever happened to the Marx Brothers, and there were four of them, and they each had goofball names. Yet IMDb has it right in its Cast and Crew listing. I find that impressive.The movie's impressive, too-- a B movie with a ridiculously complicated plot with a lot of theatrics, quick-witted dialog, and sure-footed performances by Lloyd Nolan, William Demarest, Henry Daniell, Moreland and Carter, and Mary Beth Hughes-- of whom, as I said, there was far too little screen time. Far too little of her in movies in general, in fact.

secondtake Dressed to Kill (1941)There are several movies by this name, and this is one of the lesser of them, a comic detective yarn with an improbable murder and some fun settings. Key to its success--because it isn't half bad--is the leading man, Lloyd Nolan, who has an ease and likability that makes his scenes fun to watch. And he's in every minute of the movie.This is one of a series of Michael Shayne movies (that's the detective's name), and the first seven of the thirteen movie versions star Nolan. It says something that I'd be willing to see another, for sure. But I think this is a television level drama (before t.v., but that kind of budget and level of intensity). These aren't like the great detective movies of the 30s and 40s, and not a bit like the noirs of the 40s and 50s, just to be clear.One of the surprising high points is the script--very witty, and unrelentingly clever. NiceExpect very good production values, a decent supporting cast, and a kind of over-convoluted Agatha Christie kind of plot with lots of characters that are really hard to get to know in just over an hour. In the big picture these are a little like the Sherlock Holmes or the Mr. Wong movies with Boris Karloff. Fun, but no great shakes.

GManfred "Dressed To Kill" was an excellent murder mystery and the third entry in the Michael Shayne detective series of the 40's. It is the first one I've seen and I enjoyed the way Lloyd Nolan fit the title character like an old shoe. It had a great supporting cast and a story to match, unlike many B murder mysteries of this era which are often formulaic and predictable.This one took considerable thought, and both the denouement and deus ex machina are pretty clever. Shane/Nolan has to solve a double murder in which the victims are killed at a dinner table with two different guns, and along the way we get to meet some very interesting characters, played by some very interesting character actors. We also find out that he knows nearly everybody within shouting distance, which is a formidable number of people as this is New York City. It creates a cheerfully amiable atmosphere, despite the grumpy Chief Inspector, played by William Demarest in his customary bombastic style. Also on hand is Henry Daniell as a theatrical snob, and Mary Beth Hughes, maybe the prettiest B picture girl who never made the jump to more important pictures.I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I will buy the Shayne collection selling on Amazon. Always appreciate good, solid movie-making and "Dressed To Kill" is a sterling example. It played on FMC the other morning.

JohnHowardReid If ever a "B" could be said to have a surfeit of production values that movie is Dressed To Kill, the third in the seven-picture Fox series (that was then taken over for a further five films by Producers Releasing Corp). Just look at that cast! It's so richly extensive in name players that some of the top-billed people like Sheila Ryan are in and out before you can blink an eye. Mary Beth Hughes' fans are not well served either as she has an unsympathetic role (which she plays well). On the other hand, Mr Nolan exerts his fulsome presence in almost every scene and does his level best to squeeze the other players out of the action. Fortunately, it's mighty hard to steal scenes from a master of slapstick like William Demarest (the bit in which he falls into the orchestra pit is a hoot!) and director Eugene Forde is also on hand to see that actors like Henry Daniell get a fair shake. Forde even slows down his admirably fast pacing on occasions to allow his players time to breathe. Mystery fans will be pleased to note that the identity of the killer is very cleverly (but not unfairly) concealed. Beautiful camera-work and great sets add to the movie's appeal. In short, a most entertaining "B" that will appeal to everyone who can at least tolerate Lloyd Nolan.