MEET BOSTON BLACKIE (1941). Director: Robert Florey.
When Boston Blackie (Chester Morris of The She-Creature) comes to the rescue of a lady, Marilyn Howard (Constance Worth), being bothered by a man on a cruise ship, the man is later found dead in Blackie's cabin. A worse fate befalls the lady herself in the Tunnel of Love, where spies and low lives are operating on the midway and especially around the freak show where a "mechanical" man (James Seay) provides a clue. Fleeing from Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane), Blackie commandeers the car of Cecelia Bradley (Rochelle Hudson of Strait-Jacket), and the two -- along with Blackie's associate, Runt (Charles Wagenheim) -- attempt to get to the bottom of things. Morris makes a swell Blackie, Hudson is perky if undistinguished, and the movie is an inauspicious debut to what would turn out to be a long-running series. Florey directed much better pictures, such as The Beast with Five Fingers.
Verdict: A lot of mostly uninteresting running around. *1/2.
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