Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion

Always willing to help his rich friend Arthur Manleder, Blackie goes into a 'racket' pretty strange for him: he agrees to impersonate the sick book expert at an auction of rare books for the bookstore Manleder has just taken over - and soon finds out that it's not only jewels that can be VERY valuable, but also rare old first editions: a Dickens book with the author's signature in it brings 50 000 dollars at the auction! Only that the buyer very soon finds out that it's a counterfeit - and following the first tracks, Blackie very soon finds himself once again with a body at his feet and a gun in his hand, and facing Inspector Faraday...

Another FANTASTIC performance by Chester Morris, who in the course of the series really developed into a first-class impersonator of the weirdest characters - and an absolutely NEW feature in the 'Boston Blackie' movies: a REAL, reckless femme fatale fit for any Film Noir! Be prepared for a LOT of surprises...

It's murder, this time, of which Boston Blackie is suspected—though, not surprisingly, Inspector Farraday never does get Blackie to the station to actually book him. Caught practically red-handed on a murder scene, Blackie has to resort to the old hiding-under-the-camera-hood gag, pretending he's the police photographer and backing slowly out of the room while the cops stand by watching. (Note to self to do some research: Did they still use those tripod cameras with the hood over the photographer's head in 1945?)

The story involves a counterfeit first edition of Dickens' Pickwick Papers, with Blackie in disguise early on as an elderly whiskered book dealer. Chester Morris is his usual breezy Blackie self, with Richard Lane as Farraday as determined as ever to pin something on Blackie. Lynn Merrick and Steve Cochran seem more unstable and thus more frightening than many of Blackie's villains; they both give performances that are somewhat more serious than the good-natured bantering of Morris and Lane and the other regulars.

Favorite scene: Farraday brushing off a gang of reporters by shouting, "I'm not Superman, I'm just a human being!" –and the reporters rushing out sarcastically shouting it as a scoop: "Oh-ho, he's not Superman!"

Up to now in the Boston Blackie crime drama series, the police could double for the Three Stooges and Blackie confidently and effortlessly sees through every mystery and dilemma. In this entry in the Boston Blackie series, the ever-suspected Blackie is not quite so omniscient - it takes hims some time to figure out who the real villain is - and the police are much more capable - they do figure out some things on their own.

The mystery revolves around a forged first edition of a copy of the Pickwick Papers sold at auction in a store owned by Blackie's good friend, the wealthy Arthur Manleder. When the police burst in on the storefront of the man who put the forged book up for auction, they find him dead with Blackie standing over his dead body, gun in hand. By this time in the series, Inspector Farraday has begun to believe that it's possible for Blackie to change, but he can't ignore what he sees with his own two eyes. However, the police can't find the 50000 dollars for which the book was sold. The problem is, the real crooks can't find that money either and they're not leaving town without it. This gives Blackie a chance to solve the crime and clear himself, handled with great charm, wit, and confidence as always by Chester Morris as Blackie.

Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Eighth film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series is one of the better films. This time out Blackie (Chester Morris) gets involved in a first edition book, which turns out to be a fake and soon a man is dead and Blackie is the main suspect. This 66-minute film flies by and manages to be quite good even though these story lines are starting to repeat themselves with minor issues. Morris is once again very energetic and fun to watch in the role. The supporting cast of George E. Stone, Richard Lane and Frank Sully adds a lot to the movie as does the femme fatale played by Lynn Merrick.

Is there no end to the suspicions of "Insp. Farraday" (Richard Lane)? If he could, he'd probably have "Blackie" (Chester Morris) down for the Lincoln assassination! Anyway this time around, it's a valuable Charles Dickens first edition that sells at auction for a whopping great $62,000. It turns out, though, that this is a fake folio - and naturally, our deductive genius concludes that it must be our erstwhile thief. As usual, "Blackie" and his long-suffering factotum "Runt" (George E. Stone), alongside his wealthy but rather bumbling friend "Manleder" (Lloyd Corrigan) have to get to the bottom of a scenario where a criminal network doesn't just stop at forgery, and the outwardly butter-wouldn't-melt " bookseller "Constance" (Lynn Merrick) is maybe not just as sweet as she seems. It's quickly paced, if predictable, and en route we have some fun in a dumb-waiter, some slapstick fisticuffs and a few red herrings before a denouement that is hardly a shock to anyone. One of the better films from this series, I think.