''Blue, White and Perfect'' is a 1942 American

mystery film A mystery film is a 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 of clues, ...

directed by Herbert I. Leeds and starring

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor who rose from a supporting player and B-movie lead early in his career to featured player status after creating the role of Captain Qu ...

Mary Beth Hughes Mary Elizabeth Hughes (November 13, 1919 Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 586. – August 27, 1995) was an American film, television, a ...

, and Helene Reynolds. It is part of

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Michael Shayne Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s in a series of novels written by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Llo ...

film series. The basis of the plot came from ''Blue, White, and Perfect'', a six-part serialized story by

Borden Chase Borden Chase (January 11, 1900 – March 8, 1971) was an American writer. Career Early jobs Born Devin Borden, he left school at fourteen went through an assortment of jobs, including driving for gangster Frankie Yale and working as a sandho ...

that was published in '' Argosy'' magazine. The story was subsequently published as ''Diamonds of Death'', a paperback novel. The

film set A set is artificially constructed scenery used in film and television. In the last two cases there are many reasons to build or use a set instead of travelling to a real location, such as budget, time, the need to control the environment, or the ...

s were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

s Lewis Creber and Richard Day. The film was released for home video as part of the Michael Shayne Mysteries Collection, Vol. 1, DVD set from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Plot

Cast

as Michael Shayne *

as Merle Garland * Helene Reynolds as Helen Shaw *

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Superman, Clark Kent/Superman in the television series ''Adventures of Superman (TV series), Adventures of ...

as Juan Arturo O'Hara * Steven Geray as Vanderhoefen *

Henry Victor Henry Victor (2 October 1892 – 15 March 1945) was an English–American character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in his native Britain, before emigrating to the United States ...

as Rudolf Hagerman *

Curt Bois Curt Bois (born Kurt Boas; April 5, 1901 – December 25, 1991) was a German actor with a career spanning over 80 years. He is best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca'' (1942) and the poet Homer ...

as Friedrich Gerber, alias Nappy Dubois *

Marie Blake Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...

as Ethel *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Charlie *

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Warne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress whose career spanned over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Warne Marsh i ...

as Mrs. Bertha Toby *

Frank Orth Frank Orth (February 21, 1880 – March 17, 1962) was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series ''Boston Blackie''. Career By 1897, Orth ...

as Mr. Toby *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev (), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his novel, ''Legion of Dishonor'', was published. Biography ...

as Alexis Fournier *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Judge *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films from 1915 to 1958 principally playing patrician authority figures. Biography Trowbridge was born in Verac ...

as Capt. Brown *

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

as First Officer Richards *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Inspector Peterson *

Arthur Loft Arthur Loft (born Hans Peter Loft;"Obituary: Arthur Loft"
''The Los ...

as Joseph P. McCordy *

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as Carol Stark, the mother of James "Jim" Stark (James Dean) in '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Scre ...

as Miss Hoffman * Charles Williams as Theodore H. Sherman Jr.- Printer

References

External links

* 1942 films 1942 mystery films American mystery films Films directed by Herbert I. Leeds 20th Century Fox films Films set in Hawaii American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language mystery films {{mystery-film-stub