THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME

Chester Morris and George E. Stone as Boston and "Runt"

THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME (1943). Director: William Castle.

"You've seen too many bad movies, Boston." -- Nails Blanton.

Ex-con and adventurer Boston Blackie (Chester Morris of Red-Headed Woman) importunes the prison board to release several men -- none of whom are what he terms "habitual criminals" -- so they can aid the war effort. Twelve of these test cases get jobs in a factory owned by Arthur Manleder (Lloyd Corrigan) and move in to Boston's apparently spacious apartment. Unfortunately, one of these men, Dooley Watson (Erik Rolf), is allowed to see his wife and child and uses the opportunity to try to get some money he stole years before. Also covetous of the money is Nails Blanton (Douglas Fowley of Behind Locked Doors), leading to a gun battle and Boston being accused of murder. Naturally Boston escapes from Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) -- there's a good scene when he and his sidekick, the Runt (George E. Stone). descend in a dumb waiter as part of their getaway -- and later the two dress in drag to take the place of two inebriated scrub women (one of whom is Maude Eburne) to get at a safe in police HQ. An unusual feature of the flick is that aside from Dooley Watson's wife (Jeanne Bates of The Phantom) and Nail's briefly-seen, unnamed moll, there are no women in the film for Boston to dally with. Corpulent Cy Kendall, also briefly-seen, shows up as a character appropriately named Jumbo. The Chance of a Lifetime has an interesting premise but the film itself is tedious. As everything is spelled out for you in TV episode fashion, this has no surprises and hence little suspense.

Verdict: Sometimes the Boston Blackie movies work; sometime not. **.

THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU

Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre

THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU (1942). Director: Lew Landers.

In this black comedy that seems influenced by the Broadway show Arsenic and Old Lace  (which itself was filmed two years later) Boris Karloff plays a crazy scientist in a crumbling old inn and Peter Lorre is the sheriff and just about every other official in the area. Winnie Slade (the oddly named Miss Jeff Donell of Night Editor) is a kooky gal who decides to buy the inn even though it's off the beaten track, an idea which her ex-husband Bill (Larry Parks) thinks is nutty. Professor Billing (Karloff) seems to think he can imbue a man with the ability to fly by putting traveling salesmen into a machine he's invented, but they all wind up dead -- apparently. "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom plays a powderpuff salesman, Maude Eburne is a homicidal housekeeper, Frank Puglia [20 Million Miles to Earth] is "Jo Jo," an escaped lunatic, and Don Beddoe [The Face Behind the Mask] is a choreographer who takes a room at the inn. The cast is interesting, to say the least, with Parks and Puglia coming off best, but the material is far, far below the talents of the actors, and both Karloff and Lorre seem a mite uncomfortable, although everyone tries their best to make this funny and spirited, which it ain't. The movie has only a couple of titters and is mostly tedious.

Verdict: Makes a Bowery Boys film look intellectual. *1/2.