Meet Boston Blackie (1941) User Reviews

Did everyone know Morse Code back then?

[Spondonman · 8/10 · 25 May 2005]

This was a good start to the Chester Morris Boston Blackie series of yarns at Columbia, the next 13 more or less maintained this frantic pitch of action and badinage. On the print I've got it looked like one of Blackie's magic tricks had been cut out in the first minute, not auguring well for the completeness of the rest of the film, but if there were cuts, they were expertly executed.

Blackie about to be pulled in by Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) for robbery gets mixed up with murders and spies and dames. On the way through the cast have a splendid assortment of patter eg dame to Blackie "Who are you?" - "At the moment a fugitive from an autopsy", or Blackie to Farraday "You'll be pounding the beat so far out of town you'll have to send smoke signals to report in", keeping just the right balance in what was, after all, a comedy-thriller. Rochelle Hudson as Cecilia looked extremely decorative, especially when she took that hat off! What were we supposed to be thinking she was thinking at the end of the film?!

Minor points: I preferred George E. Stone as the Runt to come, but all the cast were excellent, and the film could have done with 5 or 10 minutes more, but all the same basically I'm glad at what we've got. Not for serious people - if you like the genre as I do I recommend you watch the entire series, if you don't like the genre why not watch the entire series just to waste your time.

Fast-Moving Blackie Opener

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 3 April 2007]

This was my first look at this old-time crime "series," if you will, of hour-long tales starring Chester Morris as "Boston Blackie." I don't know enough about the character, since this was my first look, to make many comments on him but Morris reminds me a bit, with his smugness, of William Powell playing "Nick Charles" of "The Thin Man" movie fame.

In a nutshell, I found this movie surprisingly fast-paced and entertaining. I hope they all are similar to this with interesting characters and a good mix of crime, snappy dialog that includes humor, nice-looking "dames," chase scenes and the like. Yes, it's dated but that's okay for the most part although some scenes you shake your head with the implausibility. At the end, Blackie makes a throw that a Major Leauge baseball pitcher couldn't make, but despite the credibility it was a short, fun story that doesn't drag.

Rochelle Hudson filled the bill as the female lead. I remember her from a Shirley Temple film or two. Richard Lane was a bit odd as "Inspecor Faraday." He kept saying - or hinting - that he cared about Blackie but but at the same time he kept trying to put him in the electric chair. Some friend!

Overall, enjoyable, and I hope I see many of the 13 others in the series is they are as fast- paced as this one.

Fun beginning to the series

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 27 January 2007]

Chester Morris is Boston Blackie, and his first appearance was aptly titled "Meet Boston Blackie" in 1941. There were 14 films in all produced by Columbia. In this first film, Blackie finds a corpse, Martin Vestrick, in his stateroom when the steamer he traveled back to the states on docks. Blackie and Runt (Charles Wagenheim) remember seeing the victim with a woman (Constance Worth) on the ship. They follow her to Coney Island where, at a exhibit of freaks, spies are meeting. Blackie attempts to talk with the woman on the Tunnel of Horrors ride, but she's murdered - and the killers almost get Blackie. He hijacks a car being driven by Cecilia Bradley (Rochelle Hudson) to get away. Meanwhile, Inspector Faraday now wants Blackie in connection with two murders, and Blackie is after spies.

These are fast-moving films with some very witty dialogue. Morris is an expert at smooth comic delivery and cool under pressure, as well as Blackie's magic tricks, such as getting out of handcuffs. Hudson is very exotic looking and gives good support. Heartily recommended to put a smile on your face.

Chester Morris makes this series worth watching

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 25 November 2009]

I actually like some of the later Boston Blackie films better than this one, but it is a good enough opener to the series. Chester Morris usually played a hard-boiled tough guy whether he was portraying an actual criminal or just a remorseless cheating husband as he was in "The Divorcée". As Blackie he shows a good bit of finesse and range - he admits he was a thief, and apparently one that has never really been caught, but now he's going straight. He's tough when he has to be, he's a friend when he can be, a ladie's man when he gets the opportunity, and honest if possible. He is even trusted by Inspector Faraday, his nemesis, to not run away if he promises that.

This opener to the series has a patriotic theme, with Blackie's chivalry on board an ocean liner leading to the infiltration of a nest of spies. Made shortly before the beginning of World War II, a conflict that most people saw coming, movies with patriotism and spies were common up to two years before Pearl Harbor. I didn't find the story or Blackie's romantic lead particularly interesting, but I love watching Chester Morris at work here. Plus the other characters are fun too.

In particular, Charles Wagenheim as "the runt" manages to be Blackie's trusty if not very helpful associate who is reliable comic relief without becoming whiny or annoying. Inspector Farraday is no Keystone Cop, but I would think after the first half dozen times Blackie solves the crime, gift wraps the criminals, and hand delivers them to the precinct door, Farraday might begin to believe Blackie had changed.

Highly recommended as an entertaining vehicle for an underrated actor - Chester Morris.

Wit to spare

[csteidler · 22 August 2011]

When Boston Blackie leaves a room, he likes to leave a witty note for Inspector Faraday—written in soap in large letters across a mirror. I have to admit—ever since seeing this movie, I've been looking for an opportunity to leave somebody a soap-on-mirror note. That Blackie is indeed an irresistible character, a sharp wit who leaves a clean but clever mark.

Chester Morris is excellent in that title role—fast moving, confident, a magician and a sleuth. And possibly a jewel thief…though in this film we never really know that for sure.

Richard Lane is also strong as the police inspector who is Blackie's dedicated stalker, friendly rival or both. Blackie always outwits the inspector but never makes him look stupid; Inspector Faraday vows to catch Blackie and lock him up but never resorts to dirty tricks and is not grudging in his respect for Blackie's nerve, expertise and luck.

Rochelle Hudson is very good as Cecilia Bradley, properly impressed by this man Boston Blackie who essentially hijacks her car but does it in a very dashing manner. Hudson is just right, actually—romantically interested, yes, but still plenty sharp enough to follow events and lend assistance as needed. Her smart and attractive performance hits just the right notes.

Good script, excellent pace, just the right amount of humor…oh, and all the standard amusement park elements, including a Mechanical Man who figures snugly into the plot. A top notch series opener all the way!

Espionage on the Boardwalk

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 7 July 2007]

In the opening film of the Boston Blackie series, Chester Morris as Blackie and his pal Charles Wagenheim as the Runt are back from a long European vacation. Ready to greet them is his old nemesis, Inspector Farraday of the NYPD, still looking to pin some robberies on the smooth talking and very clever conman/jewel thief.

But homicide is not something Blackie does and when a dead body turns up in his stateroom, he's got himself in a real jam. As always there's a mysterious beautiful woman involved and Blackie trails her to Coney Island where she winds up good and dead. As Blackie escapes the men who killed her, another female turns up and helps him out as well.

Chester Morris who received an Oscar nomination in the early days of sound for his role in Alibi had gone down considerably in the Hollywood pecking order since then. The Boston Blackie character gave him a lease on life until television came along where he almost exclusively appeared until he died in 1970.

Blackie was one smooth talking charmer, but if you looked hard you could see he didn't come from any privileged background. He was clever and street smart and Meet Boston Blackie established his character who would do several films right into the Fifties. The Boston Blackie films weren't done on blockbuster budgets, but they were fast and entertaining and depended on Morris's charm which never failed.

What Blackie got himself caught up in was an espionage ring operating out of Coney Island. But of course all was righted in the end.

It had to be, Morris was signed for several more films.

Train trip to Valley Stream, L.I., NY

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 5 April 2007]

Always like Chester Morris, (Boston Blackie) who made sixteen (16) of these films and also was Boston Blackie on the radio during the 1940's. In this film Boston Blackie takes a cruise and winds up with a corpse in his stateroom and finds himself being arrested many times by Inspector Farraday (RIchard Lane) and also handcuffed over and over again. In one scene Boston Blackie takes the driver's seat of an auto owned by Rochelle Hudson, (Cecelia Bradly) who is very attractive and proceeds to drive the car onto a train traveling to Valley Stream, Long Island, New York. In the next scene he winds up in Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y. where he gets involved with a spy ring with Inspector Farraday always trying to arrest poor Boston Blackie who was an ex-con for being a safe cracker years ago. These Boston Blackie films were usually shown as a double features in the movie houses on Saturday nights during the 1940's. Enjoy

"Enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 29 March 2014]

Returning to America from Europe via ocean liner, notorious jewel thief Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) gets mixed up with a murder, a spy ring, and someone called The Mechanical Man. The first of Columbia's Boston Blackie series of B detective movies. I say detective because, despite Blackie being a jewel thief, he spends every movie solving crimes and helping people out. Usually he's the one accused of the crime and in order to prove his innocence, he must figure out the real culprits. Richard Lane plays Inspector Faraday, the cop forever on Blackie's trail who likes him despite their being on opposite sides of the law. Charles Wagenheim plays Blackie's sidekick Runt. George E. Stone would play the role later and was much better-suited for the part than Wagenheim. Rochelle Hudson and Constance Worth provide the pretty in this first film. The Blackie series always had lovely actresses. Fun start to a great series.

Movie Audience, Boston Blackie.... Boston Blackie, Movie Audience

[Mike-764 · 8/10 · 10 December 2004]

Blackie arrives back in the US (via steamer) only to find himself in trouble with the law again when he finds a corpse, Martin Vestrick, in his stateroom. Blackie trails Marilyn Howard, who was seen with Vestrick by Blackie and Runt on the ship, to Coney Island where a group of spies meet at the freak show exhibit. Marilyn is later killed when she goes on the Tunnel of Horrors ride with Blackie, and the same killers go after our hero. Blackie forces a ride with Cecelia Bradley, an innocent bystander, and the two manage to elude the killers. Inspector Faraday, in the meantime, goes after Blackie for the murder of Marilyn, while Blackie, Cecelia, and the Runt try to unravel the spy activities at the amusement park. Nice opening to this 14 film series, with Chester Morris providing the jovial attitude seen in his other movies and beneficial to the character (also nice to see some of Morris' magic tricks as well). Rochelle Hudson was very beautiful here and lent fine support. I was impressed with Florey's direction and Planer's camera-work giving us some interesting perspectives and camera angles. My beef with this film was that there was little action with the villains in the movie, seeing the case from Blackie's perspective. Next film in the series: Confessions of Boston Blackie. Rating, 8.

First of the Boston Blackie movies is a good start...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 28 March 2007]

CHESTER MORRIS and ROCHELLE HUDSON star in the first of the Boston Blacie series from Columbia, MEET BOSTON BLACKIE.

Inspector Farraday (RICHARD LANE) is Blackie's old friend. They run into each other aboard a steamship where Blackie finds a murdered man in his stateroom. A mysterious blonde (an international spy) is what Blackie has to follow and there's an amusement park scene that involves The Tunnel of Horrors and a Mechanical Man before the woman is murdered and he meets up with Rochelle Hudson.

With Farraday on his trail, Blackie has to prove that he's not the murderer even though his fingerprints were at the scene of the blonde's murder. With the spy element established, it seems that the Morse Code abounds everywhere in the plot, readily interpreted by one and all.

Spies, murder and an amusement park background makes for a lively little Boston Blackie caper.

It could be better

[netwallah · 4/10 · 28 March 2007]

The first installment of a third-rate detective series, featuring a former safe-cracker, Blackie (Chester Morris), his sidekick the Runt (Charles Wagenheim), and the impatient Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane). Crimes get pinned on Blackie so he has to sort them out. This time he acquires a pretty lady (Rochelle Hudson) when he commandeers her car, and she's almost a match for him. With a modicum of witty repartee, some excellent carnival locations, and an unusual villain (a master spy whose cover is playing a sideshow mechanical man), this one might have ascended from third to second rate, were it not for Morris's acting (mostly a matter of flashing a grin that looks too wide for his face) and his hat (its too-small brim accentuates his big square face and makes him look stupid amongst all the elegant, wide-brimmed hats worn by everybody else, even the weaselly villains).

Boston Blackie, the safe cracker hero!

[binapiraeus · 8/10 · 8 February 2014]

Now if THAT wasn't a novelty, especially in the 40s, in the middle of the Production Code reign (which EXPLICITLY says: "The treatment of crimes against the law must not... make criminals seem heroic and justified"!): Columbia Pictures took the hero of Jack Boyle's stories from the 1910s - 'Boston Blackie', a jewel thief and safe cracker! - and made him the protagonist of a whole series of 14 movies; a bigger number than quite popular and utterly decent 'Ellery Queen' or the highly moralistic 'Whistler' stories ever reached.

And from the first movie on, this safe cracker hero, thanks to Chester Morris' wonderful, charming as well as cheeky and clever performance, but also to the way the script models him, certainly IS heroic, and has the audience's FULL sympathy despite his illegal 'hobby' that has made him widely known to the police - he's even got something like a feud-friendship with Inspector Faraday.

Well, the reason his 'petty crimes' are forgivable is that, when it comes to CAPITAL crime, Boston Blackie becomes a REAL help for the police: because he's not only enormously smart and quick, but he also knows magical tricks and a lot of other things the average cop has got no idea of.

So, in this case, he himself becomes a murder suspect, and at the same time has to clear himself, to escape the assaults of the real murder gang AND to blow up a spy ring! With him is his friend and 'colleague' called 'the Runt', and a beautiful young lady whose car he 'hijacked' while fleeing from the gangsters - and sometimes with him, sometimes against him is Inspector Faraday...

You just CAN'T help loving this cheeky, wisecracking, smart rogue, and feel the suspense throughout the movie where he is almost constantly on the run from someone; this wonderful movie, full of excitement and fun, is the beginning of a wonderful film series of which you shouldn't miss a single one!

"You thrive on this sort of excitement, don't you?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 18 January 2017]

This is quite the entertaining picture, but boy oh boy, you really have to stretch the credibility factor to make it through the entire story. The main one for me, and there were many, was the way Cecilia Bradley (Rochelle Hudson) accepted her fate when Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) hijacked her auto and literally kidnapped her onto a train car. You would think a panic attack might be in order, wouldn't you? Yet Miss Bradley appears pretty much nonplussed, and even sticks around to take part in Blackie's frenetic dealings with Police Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane).

What was pretty clever though were the three verbal clues left for Blackie by the dying Marilyn Howard (Constance Worth) - 'mechanical man, Skyland sign, and 2 1/2'. Making their way through a carnival freak show, Blackie and Ms. Bradley manage to put the pieces together in a way that lead them to bad guys sending messages to an off shore ship using lights and Morse Code. I had the same thought as another reviewer for this picture - just how common was Morse Code for so many characters in the story to be using or understanding it? Personally, I don't know how those who use it can keep up with the rapid pace of the clicks sending the message.

I try to catch these Boston Blackie flicks whenever they make the rounds on Turner Classics, usually one at a time, so of necessity manage to see them out of original film release order. Of the ones I've seen, they're fairly representative of the era's detective type films which include Charlie Chan, Bulldog Drummond and Mr. Wong. The series borrows a gimmick from another detective franchise of the era, in as much as Boston Blackie's former career involved being a jewel thief, just like The Lone Wolf.

May I Call you Boston, or Do You Prefer Mr. Blackie?

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 24 November 2009]

These unprepossessing and inexpensive detective entertainments appeared on the screen in droves during the 30s and 40s. The lead characters ranged from the street wise (Michael Shayne) through the somewhat dandified (Philo Vance) to the exotic (Charlie Chan). They were ground out like franchise hamburgers, with similar plots and many of the same characters, and they must have kept the writers, crew, and actors steadily employed.

Boston Blackie is typical. Blackie, played by Chester Morris, is an ex safe cracker who helps out the police while maintaining the properly ambivalent relationship with Inspector Faraday. Blackie has the usual comic sidekick, here called "Runt." There is usually a young woman swept up in the plot, whose identity varied from one film to the next.

On the social scale, Blackie registers as High Prole. Chester Morris always has his lips compressed. He has a jutting jaw. He's of modest height and walks in quick strides, swinging his brief arms vigorously, his chest puffed out. He could hardly be a Fancy Dan but the script gives him mock-eloquent locution. Who's trying to kill him? "Oh, just some former acquaintances." The plot isn't really worth describing in any detail. Something to do with an unidentified mob trying to steal "the new Navy bombsight." The mob is probably German but this was shot before Germany declared war on us so naming the heavies was noch verboten.

The studio setting include a kind of interesting carnival or amusement park, probably meant to be suggestive of Coney Island, since the story is set in New York. There are some modestly exciting moments but no brutality -- just the occasional clip on the jaw, the screeching car pursuing the screeching car, the dart in the back of the neck. I kind of enjoyed the mechanical man, although at times it was hard to tell him from the other actors.

The genre ended around 1950 when similar mystery stories, often based on the same characters and starring the same performers, began to appear on weekly television.

Out of the cave and looking for more.

[Byrdz · 31 January 2017]

OK, the truth is out in the open. I have obviously been living in a cave for far too long. How else can I explain never having seen a Boston Blackie film? Not a single one of all those that are out there plus the radio and TV shows ? Oh, I had heard of them but never saw one.That problem has been fixed and I'd like to see more of them.

Fun story with many fast paced wise-cracks that actually further the plot. Interesting relationship between cop and crook and our crook hero and the girl he car-jacks (it's complicated, so don't ask, find and watch the film).

We're just sort of dumped into the tale and have to catch up on back-story as we go but it's not all that difficult. We also are expected to ignore those mountains that seem to be in the vicinity of what claims to be Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Minor details.

There are side-show performers vital to the story. Among those shown are "Schlitze" appearing as a "Princess". Looking up his filmography, I learned about this gentle soul who also appeared in Tod Browning's Freaks. The bio is worth a read.

And ... the picture is worth a watch. It's funny and a good 1941 crook-cop-spy story.

"Electrocution is so permanent"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 5 November 2023]

An entertaining start to the 'Boston Blackie' series with Chester Morris playing the titular character and he does it well with a winning mixture of charm, determination and humour. In this one Blackie returns from abroad and gets involved in foiling a foreign spy conspiracy, helped by his aide The Runt while being harassed by Inspector Faraday of the New York police. He also has the help of Cecilia Bradley (played by the delightful Rochelle Hudson) whom he 'meets cute' by basically stealing her car! All the actors are suitable for their roles and the movie zips along not wasting any moment in its sixty minute runtime. It looks good and the scenes in the amusement park are particularly well staged.

The great Byron Foulger has a brief appearance as a blind man who isn't really, always a welcome face in any film.

Meet Boston Blackie

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 10 December 2023]

This is one of the better outings for our eponymous reformed and charming thief-turned-sleuth (Chester Morris) who on his constant quest to stay on the straight and narrow here ends up embroiled in a nefarious web of espionage amidst the arcades and rides of Coney Island. What doesn't help his staying one step ahead of the relentlessly pursuing "Insp. Farraday" (Richard Lane) is that everywhere he has been, "Blackie" seems to leave a corpse behind! Add to his complications an accidental hook-up with the very familiar looking Rochelle Hudson ("Cecelia") whom he ends up "persuading" to assist, even abet, him. The puzzle itself is a bit of a cleverly constructed jigsaw - he is left some pretty obscure clues by a dying woman and only by piecing them together can he hope to solve the conundrum, apprehend the killers and finally get the handcuffs off. A working knowledge of Morse code will help here - it works way better than semaphore in the dark!

"I'm not in the habit of entering a house . . . "

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 10 April 2019]

" . . . until all the lights are out," says title character "Boston Blackie" about 40:10 into his sorry saga. Sounds innocent enough, on paper at least. But when they hear Blackie leering this line at his car-jacked kidnapping victim "Cecilia Bradley," perceptive viewers are likely to get the same sort of queasy gut reaction resulting from a stray "Hey, hey, hey!" penitentiary shout-out on the part of America's favorite "date rape" dad. Just as HE was loathe to enter conjugal (or spouse-style) "housing" until his latest pharmaceutical "conquest's" dilated pupils indicated "lights out," Blackie holds sway over Cecilia throughout MEET BOSTON BLACKIE to such a mesmerized-automaton degree that a "Roofie" provides perhaps the only plausible explanation. Because the writers of MEET BOSTON BLACKIE provide no "back story" for Cecilia, viewers never learn exactly what type of childhood sexual trauma has left her so defenseless, pliable, and at the total mercy of such a deviant predator. When Blackie pins her to a bed and then crams her--box springs and all--into a wall, anyone still watching will wonder how this bit could have gotten by the contemporary Ecclesiastical Censors. My best guess is that these crows had tuned out to peck at greener corn by this point in the flick.

The Safe-Cracker and the Foreign Spies

[profh-1 · 6/10 · 7 January 2023]

Returning from Europe too early following a pearl theft, notorious-yet-charming Boston Blackie is acosted by his "friendly" nemesis Inspector Farraday, who wants to take his downtown for questioning. However, a murder gets in the way, and Blackie has to flee to clear his name of a crime he's never been known for. Before things are over, he runs into a whole ring of foreign spies, unintentionally kidnaps a woman to escape certain death, locks a pair of cops in a high-rise elevator, winds up wanted for two murders, slowly figures out a complex series of codes and just barely manages to hand the spies over to the police before he's arrested by a cop so single-minded and thick-headed all he can think of is sending Blackie to the electric chair. Fun stuff, EHH?

Following a 14-YEAR break, Columbia decided to revive the BOSTON BLACKIE series, with what modern audiences would probably call a "reboot". Unlike too many such series, this one features a pretty stable main cast, with Chester Morris & Richard Lane playing Blackie & Farrady 14 films in a row, while George E. Stone played his sidekick "The Runt" in 12 films (starting with the 2nd installment). Sadly, that kind of consistency was also to a degree a downside to the films, as in each and every movie, Blackie would be accused of some crime, and have to spent the stories trying to clear his name by nailing the real culprits-- and then being accused AGAIN in the following film. I know a lot of police departments these days go out of their way NOT to hire intelligent applicants who can think for themselves, but Richard Lane's Farraday almost manages to make Thurston Hall's Inspector Crane in the LONE WOLF series seem brilliant by comparison. THE SAINT's Inspector Fernack or Inspector Teal were NEVER this stupid! (Well, except sometimes on the Roger Moore tv series.)

I understand that, for some unspecified reason, the Morris BLACKIE films were completely out of circulation for decades, which explains why I grew up and never saw a single one of them, until TCM brought them out of obscurity in January 2007. I taped every one of them I could back then, and am re-watching them now, as part of a much-bigger 1930s-1940s marathon I'm doing with my collection. MEET BOSTON BLACKIE was my 1st exposure to the character, and while there were some good follow-ups, this one may still be my favorite. Among other things, its "formula" hadn't run itself into the ground thru repitition yet, the plot was rather different from most that followed and at times was difficult to guess, and around half the film was NON-STOP high-speed action of the likes one usually didn't see in "B"-movie series.

One very odd thing I might as well point out ahead of time here... a running plot thread in this one is the idea that Farraday has never gotten Blackie's fingerprints, and therefore, presumably, he's never been in prison. Yet a few films later, Blackie is referred to as an EX-CON, totally contradicting this! I'd like to see someone "explain" that.

MEET BOSTON BLACKIE was actually the 12th BLACKIE film made, but the first during the sound era. At the moment, it seems only ONE of the silents is currently in circulation-- the 11th, THE RETURN OF BOSTON BLACKIE (1927), with Raymond Anthony Glenn (alias "Bob Custer") in the lead role. That film seems to have suffered over the years, as at some point it was cut from 77 to 57 minutes. I've seen the shorter version, from Grapevine Video, which has a lot of damage to the print, but a VERY nice organ score. The story, in which Blackie is released from prison and then finds some former associates trying to coerce him back into crime (and failing that, frame him for their crimes) is actually a lot of fun, and, funny enough, like "MEET...", also takes place partly on an amusement pier. The film is also more or less "stolen" by his canine friend, "Strongheart The Dog", who apparently predated Rin Tin Tin as a movie dog hero. I highly reccomend people search this out, and I only wish the other 10 films would turn up one of these days.

The first and probably best of the series

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 6 April 2007]

Recently, Turner Classic Movies has shown most of the Boston Blackie films and after having seen just about about all of them, this first appears to be the very best. I think much of this is the freshness and originality of the script. If you see it and remember it was the first of the series starring Chester Morris, the movie seems very fresh and exciting for the genre--with a great script and good doses of humor and excitement. However, many of the the wonderful things about this film were repeated again and again in later films and this is when the series began to wear a bit thin. The stupidity of the inspector and especially his assistant is funny, but not by the fifth or sixth or twelfth film--by then, it just seems....stupid. Plus, it makes sense that these two bumblers think that Blackie committed the murders--after all, Blackie had spent time in prison. However, when film after film after film Boston Blackie proves he is a good guy and solves the crimes, it really makes no sense at all that the original plot outline is STILL being followed--practically to the letter. As a result, I honestly think the average viewer is better off seeing just a few films from the series and not bothering to see them all.

Now even if this formula is a bit too strict throughout most of the series, MEET BOSTON BLACKIE is still a very good film because it has an exciting plot. Instead of a movie about a jewel theft (a theme often repeated), it involves several murders and a spy ring--something very timely since the film was made just before the US entered WWII. Snappy dialog, great action and some amazing originality (at least in this point in the series)---all these come together to make an excellent B-detective film that's every bit as good as the best of Charlie Chan or The Saint.

kind of entertaining, but oh so dumb (spoilers at bottom)

[cherold · 5/10 · 7 May 2007]

This is pretty typical of 40s b movies. The pacing is good, the acting is breezy and there's some nice light patter. At the same time, the movie doesn't even attempt to give characters believable reactions to events and no one does anything any real person would do. Which to some extent is just how movies are, but I thought this one is at least a little more absurd than many of its fellow movies. The worst examples I list as spoilers below.

**************** BEGIN SPOILERS ********************* I think the oddest thing is Cecelia's reaction to being kidnapped by a strange man. She's pretty darn calm about it. Never panics, never gets upset; it doesn't even pop into her head that this guy could be dangerous and might hurt her. And after spending 20 minutes with him she is smiling and flirting and totally invested in helping him even though she thinks he might be a murderer. Realistically a character that reacted like this would have to be pretty emotionally damaged and have a history of abusive relationships; at least that's the only explanation I can think of that would make any sense. Hitchcock used to like a similar scenario but he would always work to have it make at least some vague sort of sense.

The relationship between Blackie and the cop is similarly peculiar. He takes Blackie's word for it that he won't run for it but after he does the cop doesn't call out an all-points bulletin but instead goes to wait for him at his apartment. A real cop would be fired for this sort of thing (at least today; perhaps they had lower standards in the 40s.

There was some other absurdity I noticed during the movie but it's slipped my mind. Basically this is a movie in which the scriptwriter wanted certain things to happen and didn't care if it made any sense or not; pure hack work. ******************END SPOILERS **********************

He escaped from the tunnel of death!

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 24 April 2017]

Now this the way to start a long running mystery series! Superb in every way, this B thriller introduces Chester Morris in the role of the already popular pulp novel series, a precursor to film noir, filled with shadowy locations, sinister men and mysterious women. Like other series, it didn't get any better (often a lot worse), and by the time the writers threw in the towel or moved it to radio and eventually TV, it was showing its age. But back to the beginning, long after the sophistication of Nick and Nora, and just as America was heading to war. Audiences really needed villains to hiss, and the antiheroes like Boston Blackie, the Saint, the Falcon, the Shadow, the Whistler and a few others who were actually given names, not adjectives.

Already notorious with the police for alleged crimes, Blackie is on the run for two murders, one committed on a cruise ship, the other in the tunnel of love. Being there makes him automatically guilty in the eyes of the law, and when Rita Hayworth lookalike Rochelle Hudson ends up accompanying him, he finds an all too convenient accomplice. Together, they truly are dynamite, but like another popular film detective, the Lone Wolf, he's better off on his own, giving a ton of starlets the opportunity to get their feet wet in leading roles. With Richard Lane as the perplexed lieutenant desperately trying to find something on him, this moves at a speedy space, making me looking forward to what comes up next.

Good Series Entry!

[TVrepairman-2 · 10/10 · 25 November 2000]

This is the first Boston Blackie with Chester Morris playing the lead role. I saw several of this series films years ago on public tv and it would be nice to see more on tv with films like these. If you are an old mystery/crime/funny movie buff then you will enjoy it.

Start of the Series

[Michael_Elliott · 26 February 2008]

Meet Boston Blackie (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

First entry into Columbia's Boston Blackie series with Chester Morris. In this film, the ex-thief tries to track down a group of spies hiding out in Coney Island. This was a pleasant enough little film with some nice laughs and decent action. With my first viewing of the series Morris struck me as merely good but nothing great ala some of the other crime series like Holmes, Chan and Moto. There were some very good moments and the film got better as it went along but there were a few too many "cheap way out" moments where pieces of the mystery are put together and they seemed too easy. Richard Lane is also very good as the Inspector who never believes Boston has gone straight. Directed by Robert Florey.

Excellent beginning to a thoroughly entertaining series.

[pronker · 8/10 · 22 April 2019]

Boston Blackie may have been formulaic, but since the formula is a good one, why quibble? We can all root for the unjustly accused or even unjustly suspected and our man gets that distinction each and every time. The debut in sound flm stands out as a well made and fast moving film, moving from ocean liner to train boxcar to amusement park with gusto. Blackie's been accused this time of both theft and murder so naturally he enlists the aid of a woman who seems trusting from the getgo of his motives and ultimate innocence. Would that everyone could have such a friend! The plot points of Morse code secret communications, blinking lights signalling to ships at sea and Faraday's ever present frenemy status served to make this a fine entry in the series. The emphasis on spies made me edgy in realizing that America was not yet in the war, but certainly taking notice via Hollywood.

I have a glimmer what Rochelle Hudson's smile meant at close of film: just friendship, that's all, a friend who came into her life whom she helped because she believed in him and his cause of Truth, and that was all that was ever going to come of it and that's okay. There are folks like that in real life, too.

Morris' talent carries the whole series, fully enabled by Lane and crew; I admit to being fond of George E. Stone, who is waiting in the wings to take over the part of the Runt.