A Close Call for Boston Blackie

Boston Blackie is led astray by a dame. The dame in this case being an ex-girlfriend of his played by beautiful Lynn Merrick. There's a baby, an extortion plot, and the inevitable murder charge for Blackie. One of these days Inspector Farraday might get the right suspect if he actually stopped to consider someone, ANYONE, besides Blackie! An enjoyable entry in the Boston Blackie series with lots of comedy. Blackie once again disguises himself as an old man. At least he doesn't wear blackface this time. Chester Morris, Richard Lane, and George E. Stone are all good as usual. Claire Carleton is fun as Runt's girlfriend Mamie. The baby is cute. Certainly not the best Boston Blackie movie but hard to dislike.

Chester Morris is "Boston Blackie" in this 1946 entry into the series. The Boston Blackie series is far superior to many others which seem to have less humor and move a lot more slowly. In this film, Blackie helps out a former girlfriend whose husband is recently out of prison - she's afraid he's going to kill her and their baby. Then the husband is murdered and Blackie is blamed, and he finds out his ex-girl has been using him as part of a plot to shake down her father-in-law for money so that she will give him the baby. Except it's not his grandchild; the child has been borrowed from a crook who has been cut into the scheme. It's up to Blackie to figure out all of this, keep a step ahead of Farraday and the baby out of the wrong hands.

"A Close Call for Boston Blackie" has a lot of humor in it as well as delightful performances from Morris, George E. Stone as The Runt and Claire Carlton as Mamie, The Runt's girlfriend. Viewers will also recognize Kathryn Card, who played Lucy Ricardo's mother and always called Ricky Mickey, at the apartment house reception desk. All and all, quite entertaining.

Every time we think that after so many hilarious and varied adventures, the writers of the 'Boston Blackie' movie series must be running out of ideas sometime, they surprise us with something ENTIRELY new: this time, the story seems to revolve around one of Blackie's romances at first, and when the husband of the girl Blackie was 'sweet on', just released from jail, is found dead in Blackie's apartment, Inspector Faraday comes to the conclusion that, while he's learned by now that Blackie wouldn't kill anybody for diamonds or money and neither is he a deranged strangler - for a woman he MIGHT commit murder...

But the case very soon becomes a lot more complicated: there's a 'borrowed' baby involved that the 'Runt' and his girlfriend Mamie try to hide in the most impossible places (a very talented baby, by the way - literally a BORN actor!), while Blackie once more is at the same time on the run from the police and after the real murderer... Another VERY entertaining and surprising entry in this wonderful series of 40s crime-comedy mix!

The eponymous "Blackie" (Chester Morris) and his sidekick the "Runt" (George E. Stone) rescue a woman assaulted outside their apartment. The former soon recognises the lass as "Gerry" (Lynn Merrick), an ex-girlfriend heiress and what's more, she has a baby with her too! Who's is it? Who assaulted her? Why? Well it doesn't take us long before the first gunshots ring out and good old "Insp. Farraday" (Richard Lane) and "Blackie" are competing to find the culprits before our intrepid cop, as usual, jumps to the wrong conclusion! It's a well oiled production process with well established characters going through the ultimate in formulaic detective mysteries with a few red herrings before an ending you can spot from space. The writing is adequate, the performances keep it interesting for just under an hour and there is just about enough to keep us guessing as to who did the shooting until quite near the conclusion. Morris was in his element with this series of films, charming and charismatic and with Stone doing his best Jimmy Durante impression the thing works fine.

While helping a friend out by looking after a baby, Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) is framed for murder.

The penultimate programme thriller featuring fast talking and wise cracking Boston Blackie. The character of Blackie is as annoying as ever and will most likely leave its viewers feeling irritable, certainly for those who survived the course of the film.