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Alias Boston Blackie (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Third film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series has Blackie (Chester Morris) tracking down a prison escapee who escaped during one of Blackie's shows. Lew Landers (The Raven) returns to direct this entry and like the previous film in the series, this one here moves at a very fast pace but for some reason most of the comedy is left out of this film. The mystery isn't all that compelling either, although the first half of the film works the best with the second half losing some of its fire. Morris is really good here as he seems to really have the role down to ease.

It's Christmas at the Boston Blackie household, which means that Blackie is trimming the tree and the Runt is telling him that Christmas trees are bad luck. Will a Christmas mystery ensue? Well, a mystery there is, but oddly little time is devoted to the season aside from that opening and then a bit at the end.

Blackie rounds up a gang of theatrical friends, including Adele Mara as Eve, and buses them out to the prison for a Christmas show for the inmates. Eve's brother Joe (Larry Parks) is an inmate who is hot for revenge on two hoods who lined him up for this prison stretch; during the show, Joe steals a costume/disguise from one of the entertainers and escapes with the troupe on their way out. It isn't long before one of said hoods turns up murdered, and our old friend Inspector Farraday seems to have Blackie dead to rights for aiding in the escape, the murder, or both.

Less comic relief than expected in this one, though the banter between Blackie and Farraday is, as always, crisp and catchy. Chester Morris and Richard Lane both look very confident in their third film in the roles.

The accent is more on comedy than mystery in Alias Boston Blackie, as Chester Morris spends more time making fools of the local law enforcement than in actually solving the case. For the 67 minute running time of Alias Boston Blackie, Morris only spends about 10 minutes or so toward the end in actually apprehending the criminal.

Morris and his valet George Stone are taking a trip to prison with a revue show as a Christmas treat for the inmates, many of which Morris did some time with. In the revue is show girl Adele Mara who has a brother, Larry Parks, among the inmates.

What she doesn't know is that Parks is planning to use the show to crash out and settle with the two guys that framed him for a robbery. When he makes it, Blackie's watchful nemesis Inspector Richard Lane assumes as he always does that Morris had something to do with it.

So Morris has to clear himself and in doing so help Parks find his quarry. That's made even more complicated by one of the two showing up dead in a hotel room.

But before Boston Blackie can get to work he has to constantly avoid the police who seem to have graduated from the Keystone Academy. In fact Lane's partner Walter Sande is the second dumbest detective in the world, only exceeded by William Bendix in Who Done It. The way that Morris keeps constantly making a fool of Sande, you can almost feel sorry for the poor slob.

The pace is quick in Alias Boston Blackie with this definitely being one of the funnier of that mystery series.

These BOSTON BLACKIE movies are the kind that demand your attention never strays from the screen lest you are unable to follow the convoluted plot. They tell their tales in a brisk, no-nonsense way and seldom run ten minutes over an hour.

ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE has Blackie finding himself implicated in the escape of a convict from a prison magic show at a Christmas celebration. LARRY PARKS (before he played Jolson in THE JOLSON STORY) is among the supporting players as the escaped convict. ADELE MARA is his worried sister who knows he wants to break out in order to seek revenge on two pals who put him there.

Blackie has to evade the detective work of Inspector Farraday (RICHARD LANE) and track down the escaped convict who becomes implicated in two murders. Along the way, he's constantly outwitting the inspector with a bag of tricks that leave him being hotly pursued by the police.

It's an entertaining enough entry in the Boston Blackie series, but nothing special.

Trivia note: Watch for an uncredited LLOYD BRIDGES as driver of the bus headed for prison. He hasn't a word of dialog.

Its just entertainment and was meant to be just that. I give it a solid "7" vote because is accomplishes what it sets out to do- it entertains you and will hold your attention. No lofty pretensions, no Oscar awards were expected here.

Sit back and watch, be entertained, its fast and cute in a well-edited, quick sort of way.

The cops are always hard-working, but a step behind Blackie. Richard Lane is good in the Insp. Farraday role, and Walter Sande is great as a thick-headed cop who is easy to outwit.

It should be noted that this film is very well edited, very professionally acted by an ensemble cast, and is a pro piece of work all around. Yet it doesn't take itself seriously at all. Therefore, it couldn't possibly put off anyone, and anyone can enjoy this film for what it is- light entertainment.

Chester Morris was very talented at delivering a strong, energetic lead actor presence while maintaining a sort of good-natured wink in his eye. Fine actor who you could watch all day, yet you would never really tire of his act.