After Midnight with Boston Blackie

Now to be fair, this time, to "Insp. Farraday" (Richard Lane) he has marginally more to base his suspicions on when he apprehends "Blackie" (Chester Morris) red handed in possession of some gems! We know that he's just fetching them from a safety deposit box on behalf of the daughter of the man who pinched them in the first place. He was being coerced by his "associates" to return the loot, but when he is killed it falls to "Betty" (Ann Savage) to work with "Blackie" to prove his innocence and to apprehend the folks who killed her father. Again, it's a tightly cast and well paced drama with an on form Morris working well with the slightly more substantial role played by Savage and with Lloyd Corrigan and the soon to be married "Runt" (George E. Stone) contributing well as this wartime feel-good thriller keeps us entertained easily enough for an hour of predicable cat and mouse antics with a hint of diamond-laced legerdemain!

This one was played slightly more serious, but still packed with some sparkling repartee especially between Blackie and Farraday. The plot actually intrudes on the comedy! However a running gag is supplied by the Runt in the process of getting married to a six foot stripper but being continually thwarted, until the very end ...

I can even forgive some of the more Keystone moments: such as Blackie being escorted between Farraday and Matthews, simply backing off and making a run for it, Arthur immediately taking his place, and fooling the two dumb cops all the way to the station. A delicious moment was where F&M realise their police car has been stolen by Blackie and a baddie and everyone but them knew it.

Good effort, nice production values, and better script make this a welcome entry.

After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fifth film in Columbia's series is still going pretty well with Chester Morris returning as Boston Blackie. In this film, Boston tries to help out a friend but when that friend is murdered and his diamonds stolen, Blackie is the lead suspect by the always dimwitted Captain Flannigan (Richard Lane). This is no great masterpiece but if you enjoy the series then you should get enough kicks out of this entry even though there isn't anything new here. As usual, Morris is highly entertaining in the title role and he acts wonderfully well with Lane. The two of them add a lot of comedy to the mix, which is good since the actual case isn't all too strong. Ann Savage adds nice support as the friend's daughter. Lew Landers (The Raven) directs once again.

An old man named Diamond Ed Barnaby is released from prison and is reunited with his now-grown daughter. But the reunion is cut short when gangsters kidnap him and demand he reveal the location of some diamonds he stole years before. The daughter goes to Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) for help. Blackie figures out where the diamonds are but not before Barnaby is killed. When Blackie arrives to get the diamonds, Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) is waiting for him and convinced Blackie murdered the old man.

Pretty good Boston Blackie picture. Not the best but entertaining. Nicely fits in a WW2 backdrop (city-wide blackout drill) as part of the story. Morris, Lane, and George E. Stone as Runt are all in good form. There's one scene that will ruffle some feathers today. Boston Blackie smears soot all over his face in order to pass as a black man and slip by Inspector Farraday's moronic sidekick, Sgt. Matthews.

Oddly, one of the bad guys in this is played by Cy Kendall. Kendall played a criminal type named Jumbo Madigan who gave Blackie information in several other Boston Blackie films, including the ones before and after this picture. However, here he plays a similar but more evil character named Joe Herschel that is much more involved in the plot. I didn't even know they were different characters until one of Joe's goons called him by that name.

"After Midnight with Boston Blackie" is another fun entry into the Boston Blackie series, starring Chester Morris and George E. Stone. An old man, Diamond Ed Barnaby (Walter Baldwin) is freed from prison and intends to give some stolen diamonds to his daughter (Betty Barnaby). However, his old gang wants them. His troubled daughter appeals to involved with the police and proves himself smarter. Meanwhile, The Runt's marriage to one Dixie Rose Blossom (Jan Buckingham) keeps being delayed, and friend Arthur Manleder (Lloyd Corrigan) has to keep the intended entertained, since the wedding is taking place at his apartment.

These Blackie films follow the same formula over and over - the dumb Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) and the clever Blackie interfering with a police case - which is a good thing because without Blackie, the case would never be solved.

Nevertheless, these films always manage to be entertaining, thanks in large art to Chester Morris and George E. Stone. Morris has a lot of charm and a lighthearted attitude as Blackie. He manages to keep some of these tired plots going. Hard to believe that the woman who played the sweet daughter Betty is the same woman who played the hard-boiled femme fatale in Detour.