The 12 Days of Iris Adrian Shake Hands with Murder (1944)

Patsy Brent is a quicktalking bounty hunter, content with going after small fish, until her dope of a partner takes a $100,000 bond from headline-making embezzler Steve Morgan. Knowing full well he's going to skip his bond and leave their business bankrupt, Patsy is determined to find the criminal. But in the process she discovers a conspiracy of murder and corruption...

Shake Hands with Murder is a real treat-A starring vehicle for Iris Adrian! Not only that, but it's a fun bail bondsman story, which I can't imagine were super common back then (correct me if I'm wrong), and starring a female bounty hunter! It reminded me a bit of Stephanie Plum, but beating Janet Evanovich to the punch by 50 years.

As expected for a 1940s picture, there's some snappy dialogue here, with one highlight being "We're sitting' on top of the world!" "Yeah, well go on before we fall off.". People back then sure knew how to have more fun with the way they spoke.

The biggest problem with Shake Hands with Murder is that there are too many characters and not enough time. With only 4 suspects that's not a lot, but there's also Patsy and her crew, Steve, his murdered boss, and the whole setup in general. For an hour long movie it's a lot to get rolling before you can start exploring the mystery.

This is most evident in the climax, which has no actual deduction from the heroes, but instead has them literally invite the suspects one by one into their trap to see if it works! I might complain if it wasn't so amusing and against type. Normally you'd never see this, since it's not a very 'filmic' way of doing things.

The acting here is fun. Iris Adrian makes for a natural lead. She's pretty, spunky, and loud in all the right ways. Her co-stars are all decent enough, from Douglas Fowley as the potential villain and definite love interest, Frank Jenks as her savvy partner, Jack Raymond as a dim but loyal thief, and a stable of reliable old character actors for the suspects.

Shake Hands with Murder isn't anything special for the most part, but it's not trying to be. It's just a fun caper, and in terms of its main character, it is pretty ahead of its time!...