Trapped by Boston Blackie

Blackie and his sidekick, The Runt, are up to their usual tricks again, this time assuming various disguises in TRAPPED BY BOSTON BLACKIE, one of the better entries in the series. GEORGE E. STONE as The Runt has less whining and less forced comic moments than usual and even CHESTER MORRIS is less of a wise guy although he still has some overly cute moments with wisecracks.

The story concerns stolen pearls and opens at a costume party where Blackie and The Runt are assigned by a wealthy woman to keep watch over her pearls. From there on, it becomes a straightforward Blackie adventure peppered with a musical segment and the usual run-ins with the police and Inspector Farraday (RICHARD LANE) and his bumbling assistant. Farraday, too, has been toned down for this entry and is less sarcastic than usual. JUNE VINCENT provides some eye candy as a blonde beauty.

There are no real surprises but the ending wraps things up neatly with the usual explanations offered by Farraday.

Summing up: Better than usual Blackie.

Easily the darkest or most serious Blackie film, the penultimate in the series and Stone's last as the Runt. It has comedy as usual mixed in with the detective work, but this was post War and people seemingly didn't want to laugh so much at the movies, if at all. This descent is still ongoing, todays films aren't considered good unless brim full of violence, filth and cynicism - what will tomorrows bring?

A string of pearls is stolen at a society fancy dress party and naturally suspicion falls on Blackie and the Runt both disguised as Indian fakirs. In turn the murky pasts of some of the guests and main characters are uncovered by Blackie as he strives yet again to clear his name. Farraday and Matthews come across lower key than before, but the Inspector's witticisms still past muster. Doesn't the ballet scene remind you of "Hellzapoppin"?! Eventually the jigsaw puzzle starts to take shape and pieces fall into place, but not before Blackie and Runt trot out the old man and woman disguise one more time - like old friends in themselves by now!

A superior entry with a more satisfying climax than I expected, as a fan. On the other hand if you hate the genre but watch this anyway what do you expect?

Fun stuff, easy on the mind after working all day. Chester Morris fits Blackie to a tea! Blackie and Runt do a great Ma and Pa disguise. They are just as I remembered them. I look forward to watching more of Boston Blackie.

Penultimate Boston Blackie movie starring Chester Morris. This time Blackie is accused of stealing a pearl necklace at a costume party. Inspector Farraday is as big a jerk as ever about it. He does have the movie's funniest line, though: "In the dull, blank expanse of your face I can read the dismal promise of the years to come."

This isn't one of the better films in this series. There are the usual "Blackie in disguise" gags, including one with his sidekick Runt in drag. I'm not a big fan of these costume gags. They're rarely funny to me and seem like an example of a type of comedy that isn't timeless. Anyway, this is fine I guess for a B picture of its type. The cast is solid but neither the mystery nor the comedy is much to get excited about. Check out the scene with that huge dog and the Runt. Poor George E. Stone looked like he was scared for his life!

This film starts off at a costume party where Boston Blackie,(Chester Morris) and his sidekick Runt, (George Slone) are attending in order to protect a very expensive necklace on one of their clients. This pearl necklace is stolen and Police Inspector Faraday, (Richard Lane) suspects Boston Blackie of stealing these pearls. There is the usual run around with all kinds of suspicious characters who claim to be innocent and still Inspector Faraday feels that Boston Blackie is responsible for this crime. Doris Bradley, (June Vincent) plays the role as a very pretty blonde who puts charm to her supporting role. This is one of the better Boston Blackie films.