MURDER IS MY BUSINESS

US, 1946, 64 minutes, Black-and-white.

Hugh Beaumont, Cheryl Walker, Lyle Talbot, George Meeker.

Directed by Sam Newfield.

One of a series of private detective stories, featuring Hugh Beaumont as Michael Shayne. There are several sequels. Hugh Beaumont had a number of short feature roles in the 1940s, his private detective but audiences also seeing him as both charming and psychopathic in the brief film noir, Money Madness. But, he was famous for the long-running series, Leave it to Beaver as the father of the family.

This film is both serious investigation as well as often being played for laughs. Michael Shayne is very happy-go-lucky, casual in his treatment of his assistant, Phyllis, relying on his friendship with his journalist friend, Eddie. And, clashes with of the police, especially Ralph Dunn as Rafferty, who appeared in a number of the films, wanting to get the better of Michael Shayne.

Beaumont plays Michael Shayne as rather happy-go-lucky, enjoying his detective work, a lot of oneupmanship, his being knocked out quite a lot, imposing on his secretary who wants to join in the investigations and has a crush on him, chewing a lot of peanuts and scattering the shells, a lot of littering, this time a woman wanting his services, being killed by her husband, a robbery arranged, and, for a time, Shayne considered a suspect.

And this pattern continued through the succeeding for Michael Shayne, Detective films.