Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture

Well, finally the writers of the 'Boston Blackie' crime adventures that entertained the audience so fabulously for a whole decade DID seem to run out of new ideas; or maybe this kind of crime movie just wasn't 'fashionable' anymore? The VERY long-running 'Charlie Chan' movie series ended the same year...

Of course, there is some solid suspense and quite a few good jokes in this last case of Blackie's (like when Sergeant Matthews 'keeps an eye' on Blackie walking up and down in his apartment all night - while it's really a cardboard figure tied to a toy train moving around!), and we get a glimpse of New York's Chinatown, where some very shady business is being done - but mostly by white people! It's not one of the best entries in the series, it's REALLY a swan song - but it's still better than many other 'average' crime movies.

George E. Stone, who had played the 'Runt' in almost all of the movies, is already missing here - and now it's curtains for the series as a whole. One of the most entertaining, inventive and funny crime movie series of all times, with one of the BEST protagonists: Chester Morris, alias Boston Blackie...

It doesn't seem to matter just how many times "Blackie" (Chester Morris) helps the police, they alway jump to the conclusion that he's the guilty party whenever there is a body! This time, he leaves a laundry only for the owner to be found dead. "Insp. Farraday" (Richard Lane) and his nice but dim "Sgt. Matthews" (Frank Sully) is on the case and with the blame looming, it falls to our erstwhile crook and his pal "The Runt" (newcomer Sid Tomack) to explore the underground antics of the Chinese community and find out if it's a dodgy gambling racket, or maybe some seamy private dancing, or perhaps the Tongs really are chasing around the basements wielding axes with menace. The intrigue grows more mysterious as "Mei Ling" (Maylia) enters the fray and for just shy of an hour we have an entertaining little crime thriller. It's quite well paced with some light comedy and precisely no jeopardy. Passes the time fine, though.

With this one Columbia closed down the Blackie series, the 14th in 8 years and a fairly satisfying conclusion. Times and tastes were changing and actors and technicians were spending more time working for TV, this type of b film series became popular TV series during the '50's. Chester Morris moved onto doing more TV and stage stuff - and Richard Lane already was a successful TV wrestling commentator! I can almost hear him now - his high speed buzz-saw of a voice must have been perfect for the job!

Blackie and Runt (Sid Tomack for the once) get accused of murdering Chinese laundry shop boss, tracking down the real killers with Inspector Farraday and Sgt. Matthews on their heels leads them into a web of ingenious diamond smugglers. This involves a diamond-cutting Nazi refugee held against his will but who seems to put up a good fight when confronted with Blackie, a night club owner who might be good or bad, a redhead who seems to walk all over Chinatown with hot diamonds in tow, and plenty of tea. As usual the 57 minutes are taken at warp speed, meaning that even though I've already seen it a couple of times I'll still have to see it again to finally settle who murdered who. Favourite bits: The "sleazy" tour of Chinatown that is by turns cringe-worthy and hilarious and Farraday's continuous witty estimations of Matthews' intelligence.

All in all I think the BB's are an enjoyable and unjustly overlooked series with some films of course better than others, but with the last being as good as the first makes me wish they'd gone on churning them out just a few more years!

... and let me say that I really miss George E. Stone as "The Runt" in this last Boston Blackie entry. Stone as The Runt was not that helpful in solving any of the crimes in the Boston Blackie series, but he had a naive charm and fierce loyalty to Blackie that made him a joy to have around. Sid Tomack's Runt is more like a gentleman's gentleman to Boston Blackie, an Alfred to his Batman. He's just not fun to watch.

The mystery is among the least compelling of the series too. The Chinese proprietor of laundry (eye roll) is found dead behind the counter at his business, and because Blackie is outside and has laundry at the establishment, Farraday accuses him? This seems a bit contrived versus where there were some entries where Blackie really DID look guilty. So Blackie sets out to solve the mystery as to who is the killer and what is the motive. The whole thing was rather dull involving jewel thieves hiding their wares in tea, and by the end of the film I needed some tea to stay awake.

Now the good. Chester Morris always satisfies as the suave cool reformed thief Boston Blackie. And there is a bit about a tour of "Chinatown" that does poke fun of the stereotypes people held at the time concerning Asian people. A tour guide promises to show a gullible tour group "the seamy side" of Chinatown. He shows them a "Chinese gambling den" (it is really just some Asian guys playing poker like anybody else might do) and "Chinese slave girls working their way to freedom" (again staged - as soon as the tour group leaves the women start talking about their college classes), and supposedly a "tong war" breaking out. Just one thing - didn't anybody in the group think of calling the police about the allegedly enslaved girls?

This one is really a take it or leave it proposition. Without Chester Morris in the lead, I would definitely have left it.

Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) is seen leaving a Chinese laundry moments before the owner is discovered murdered inside. Shockingly, Inspector Farraday does NOT arrest him but lets him go due to lack of evidence. Blackie investigates the case himself before Farraday realizes this time he actually did have just cause to take Blackie in.

The last of the Boston Blackie series is far from the best but still enjoyable. Chester Morris and Richard Lane are good as always but this time George E. Stone is missing. His character, The Runt, is here alright but he's played by Sid Tomack. Charlie Chan fans might like to know that two of the actors who played his sons, Victor Sen Yung and Benson Fong, have bit parts here. The humor is the best part of this one, such as the funny one-liners or the phony tour of Chinatown's underbelly. At least they had the sense to end the Boston Blackie series before it became pathetic like some of them did. I'm looking at you, Monogram Charlie Chan.