Chester Morris really found a home in his role as Boston Blackie, the former jewel thief who has turned over a new leaf but still has Inspector Faraday always believing him to be the perpetrator of every crime Blackie is within ten square miles of.
Usually, the first film in a series is the best and then it is often downhill from there. I didn't care a great deal for the plot of the first Boston Blackie film, but by this third one the series had really hit its stride. This time Boston Blackie is taking a theatrical troupe to entertain the convicts on Christmas Eve. One of the girls in the troupe is the sister of a wrongly convicted man (Larry Parks) who wants nothing more than to escape and wreak revenge on the two thieves that set him up for a fifteen year stretch in the big house. Of course, when the man escapes, Faraday believes Blackie is behind it all.
There's good action, a pretty good mystery, interesting characters, and of course Chester Morris at his dapper witty best as Boston Blackie along with his faithful sidekick The Runt (George E. Stone).
The one mystery that is never solved - and maybe I just missed it - is how Boston Blackie now makes a living. He seems to have plenty of money, dresses well, and lives in a well-furnished spacious apartment, yet no mention is ever made of his current occupation. No wonder Faraday is suspicious. But I digress. Great entertainment for lovers of the fast-paced crime films of the 40's.
Usually, the first film in a series is the best and then it is often downhill from there. I didn't care a great deal for the plot of the first Boston Blackie film, but by this third one the series had really hit its stride. This time Boston Blackie is taking a theatrical troupe to entertain the convicts on Christmas Eve. One of the girls in the troupe is the sister of a wrongly convicted man (Larry Parks) who wants nothing more than to escape and wreak revenge on the two thieves that set him up for a fifteen year stretch in the big house. Of course, when the man escapes, Faraday believes Blackie is behind it all.
There's good action, a pretty good mystery, interesting characters, and of course Chester Morris at his dapper witty best as Boston Blackie along with his faithful sidekick The Runt (George E. Stone).
The one mystery that is never solved - and maybe I just missed it - is how Boston Blackie now makes a living. He seems to have plenty of money, dresses well, and lives in a well-furnished spacious apartment, yet no mention is ever made of his current occupation. No wonder Faraday is suspicious. But I digress. Great entertainment for lovers of the fast-paced crime films of the 40's.