Meet Boston Blackie (1941)

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Jack Boyle (character)
Jay Dratler (story)

Release Date:

20 February 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

When a murder occurs on an ocean liner docked in New York, the trail leads to Coney Island and a spy ring. |

Plot Keywords:

Taxi Driver | Ship | Police | Secret Code | Amateur Detective

Cast

Chester Morris	...	Boston Blackie
Rochelle Hudson	...	Cecelia Bradley
Richard Lane	...	Inspector Faraday
Charles Wagenheim	...	The Runt
Constance Worth	...	Marilyn Howard
Jack O'Malley	...	Monk
George Magrill	...	Georgie
Michael Rand	...	Mechanical Man

Runtime:

60 min (copyright length) (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #7045)

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Richard Lane's character name is spelled Faraday in this film; in all subsequent films it is spelled Farraday.

Goofs:

Continuity: Blackie uses a round-back chair to lock Cecelia in her wall bed. When the police arrive and free her, they remove a different square-back arm chair.

Quotes:

Cecelia Bradley: You thrive on this sort of excitement, don't you?
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black: Well, it's better than vegetating.
Cecelia Bradley: Couldn't anyone ever make you live like other people do?
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black: You mean a normal life with a social security number and a bank book?
[Chuckles]
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black: I'm afraid not.
Cecelia Bradley: Not anyone?
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black: Unh-unh.
Cecelia Bradley: Why?
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black: Because she'd probably want to wait up for me nights with a light burning in the window.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Followed by Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942)

Soundtrack:

Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)

Did everyone know Morse Code back then?

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.