One Mysterious Night

Boston Blackie and the Runt finally get recognition of a sort in One Mysterious Night. This time when a jewel robbery is perpetrated instead of immediately suspecting them, Richard Lane as Inspector Farraday seeks their assistance in apprehending the real crooks. Chester Morris and George E. Stone even get badges.

Of course they give Lane a few anxious moments as he has second thoughts that they might really have been the thieves who stole the Star of the Nile diamond from an exhibition for war relief. And as usual the cops are more of a hindrance than help in Blackie's mission.

Sultry and sexy Janis Carter plays a sob sister reporter looking to become Lois Lane and who has more on the ball than the cops. Morris gives her more than a passing glance.

Future Oscar winner Dorothy Malone is in this as well as the sister of the guy who was the inside man in the robbery. Her brother is killed by his accomplices making this a homicide as well as a robbery.

Breezy entry in the Boston Blackie series, I think viewers will like it.

The Chester Morris Boston Blackie films are always good for a laugh, and although this one is a little shorter than usual it sure ate up the 58 minutes (UK TV running time). Time was never wasted with these potboilers and the action and repartee was necessarily relentless, so making a drink might be fatal - for someone!

Blackie is accused by the police of stealing a diamond simply to get him to show up and find the real robbers for them... He seems to nose out the real culprit and his method in seconds, but as might be expected complications arise when the baddies pulling the strings don't like it. He promised to protect Dorothy Malone's brother from harm, 30 seconds later was stepping over his corpse - what poor old Dot thought of Blackie after that we'll never know. I think this was her first film, and to look at she's the real gem in this picture!

Some wonderful moments - Blackie and Runt tied upside down to a cupboard bed; some brain-dead moments - the 2 crooks hiding a yard away in plain view from 4 or 5 cops in Jumbo Madigan's small shop as tailors dummy's. They weren't Hope and Crosby, they'd just shot Jumbo and were already murderers on the lam!

This was no 7 in the 14 film series, all well worth watching - more or less!

One Mysterious Night (1944)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Seventh film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series features the directorial debut of Budd Boetticher and features future Oscar winner Dorothy Malone is a small role. In the film, thieves steal a diamond right in front of the police so Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) calls in Blackie (Chester Morris) for help. With Boetticher directing I was really expecting something special but in all honesty his direction is probably the weakest I've seen in the series. The film runs 61-minutes so there's never a slow moment and as usual, Morris and Lane do a great job together. The story itself is pretty good but again, the director doesn't do anything special with it. Janis Carter is good in her supporting role as well.

The entry is mainly for fans of the Blackie series. I dropped in because of cult actress Janis Carter and cult director Buddy Boetticher. However, not much of classic Boetticher shows in the pacing or proceedings, but Carter does show her brand of spunk as an ace newspaper reporter. The plot revolves around a stolen diamond that may or may not be a fake.

But the real appeal, such as it is, is with the characters. Lane does his bit as a fast-talking Inspector Farraday, while Morris tries on a few colorful impersonations in pursuit of the culprits. Still, I wish we saw more in a bit part of the gorgeous Dorothy Malone, who's clearly on her way up the Hollywood ladder. Then too, more of Carter would have added more spice to a plot pretty much lacking in suspense. As things stand, the movie is an occasionally humorous programmer but nothing more.

"One Mysterious Night" is a Boston Blackie film starring Chester Morris and made in 1944. In this one, Inspector Farraday accuses Blackie of stealing a valuable diamond, in the hopes of bringing him to the police station so he can get his help in recovering it. It works, and Blackie and the Runt (George E. Stone) are put on the case. Meanwhile, Blackie is dogged by a good-looking reporter (Janis Carter) who sees through a couple of his disguises.

What makes this series is the good fun provided by Chester Morris as Blackie. It's not much of a mystery - in fact, we know at least one of the participants in the robbery from the beginning.

The attractive Janis Carter stands out as the reporter.

Entertaining if not great.