''Shake Hands with Murder'' is a 1944 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Albert Herman Albert Herman (1887–1958) was an American actor, screenwriter and film director. Herman was a prolific director, working mainly on low-budget movies for companies such as Producers Releasing Corporation. He is sometimes credited as Al Herman. S ...

and starring

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage, film actress and dancer. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who ...

Frank Jenks Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films. Biography Early years Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...

and

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

. The film is a

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

released by the low-budget distributor

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...

.Dixon p.55

Plot

Patsy Brent runs a small

bail bond Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

company. Her ambitious but dull-witted partner Eddie Jones secures bail for Steve Morgan, a man accused of embezzling $100,000 from his bank. Brent is furious and is forced to track Morgan before he can skip the country. When the president of the bank is found murdered, she also suspects that Morgan may even be a killer as well. However he is trying to prove his innocence of the charge, and Brent is persuaded to assist him in finding the real culprit.

Cast

as Patsy Brent *

as Eddie Jones *

as Steve Morgan * Jack Raymond as Joe Blake *

Claire Rochelle Claire Rochelle (1908–1981) was an American film actress. She played the female lead A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer ...

as Miss Johnson, Secretary *

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

as John Clark *

Juan de la Cruz Juan de la Cruz or Maria de la Cruz (feminized form) is the national personification of the Philippines, often used to represent the "Filipino everyman." He is usually depicted wearing the native ''salakot'' hat, '' Barong Tagalog'', long pant ...

as Mr. Stanton * I. Stanford Jolley as Mr. Haskins *

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films. Early years Taylor was born in Bl ...

as Mr. Kennedy *

George Kirby George Kirby (June 8, 1923 – September 30, 1995) was an American comedian, singer, and actor. Career Born in Chicago, Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-show ...

as George Adams *

Gene Roth Eugene Oliver Edgar Stutenroth (January 8, 1903 – July 19, 1976), known profesionally as Gene Roth, was an American film actor and film manager. Early years Roth was born in Redfield, South Dakota. He was the son of a German father and ...

as William Howard * Anitra Sparrow as Waitress * Buck Harrington as Police Sergeant

References

Bibliography

* Dixon, Wheeler. ''Producers Releasing Corporation: A Comprehensive Filmography and History''. McFarland, 1986.

External links

* 1944 films 1944 mystery films 1944 comedy films 1940s comedy mystery films American comedy mystery films Films directed by Albert Herman Producers Releasing Corporation films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language comedy mystery films {{mystery-film-stub