Blonde for a Day (1946)
Hugh Beaumont stars as detective "Michael Shayne" in this 1946 B-film.
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Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike
Don't Believe the Hype
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
Unremarkable Mike Shayne programmer, the sort of assembly line product that kept post-war audiences entertained (1946). Mike (Beaumont) is trying to find who shot his reporter buddy Rourke (Bryar), leading him through a thicket of blondes, a brunette, and an ornery editor (Ferguson). Unfortunately, the handsome Shayne lacks an edge to go along with his impish charm that too often bleeds into a wise-guy manner. As an actor, Beaumont's much better as Beaver Cleaver's dad. Not much suspense builds as the story progresses, nor does the visual style add mood. Rather, the focus is more on personalities than plot. And in that regard, the hefty Kendall's chief inspector appears too dense to be either amusing or convincing. Nonetheless, the two statuesque brunettes, Adams and Hoshelle, are real eye-catchers, at the same time Adams swings a really mean right-cross that's perhaps the movie's high point. Anyway, if you don't require much from amateur detective flicks, it's an easy though forgettable 68-minutes.