A man framed as an accomplice by two crooks escapes prison during a Christmas show put on by ex-convict Boston Blackie-- and NATURALLY, Inspector Farraday (who was there when it happened!) accuses Blackie of being behind it all. But rather than simply inform the cops as to what went on, Blackie decides to help the escapee avoid increasing his prison term, tries to prevent a murder, and then determines to nail the real criminal. Along the way, Blackie, The Runt and the convict's sister are involved in one cat-and-mouse game with the cops after another.
My favorite bit in the whole film was when Blackie escapes from Police HQ. When it happened, I said to myself, "I saw that coming." THEN I found out what he was REALLY doing-- which I hadn't seen coming! I couldn't stop laughing for a whole minute. This installment really managed to mix mystery, high-speed action, intense crime drama and flat-out COMEDY in equal doses, and was a major step up from the previous film.
I think one of the things I appreciated the most about this one was that Farraday (and even Matthews) did NOT come across as complete idiots (nor did any other police in the film), which, to me, makes Blackie's antics stand out even more. It's easy to look smart when you're surrounded by morons-- when you're not, you wind up looking EVEN smarter!
In addition to returning regulars Chester Morris, George E Stone, Richard Lane, Walter Sande and Lloyd Corrigan, this one also saw the debut of Cy Kendall as "Jumbo Madigan", a fence who has his ears to everything going on in the underworld. I usually see Kendall playing some form of criminal or corrupt official, and have seen him in CRIME SCHOOL, YOUNG DR. KILDARE, THE ANGELS WASH THEIR FACES, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939), THE GREEN HORNET, THE SAINT TAKES OVER, TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE, THE CHINESE CAT, SECRET AGENT X-9, and LADY IN THE LAKE. Oddly enough, he'd return as Jumbo in 2 more films, but appear in another playing someone else, while other actors would replace him as Jumbo. (That's Hollywood film series for you.)
I also recognized Lester Dorr as the hotel manager (I mostly remember him from THE SAINT IN NEW YORK); Lloyd Bridges as a bus driver; and Paul Fix as a cab driver who winds up more involved than he pretends. With a long resume, I'll probably always remember him as "Dr. Piper" in the 2nd STAR TREK pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (he was the ship's doctor in between John Hoyt & DeForest Kelley).
One mystery I can't figure out is that in this film, Blackie is clearly portrayed as having spent time in prison. Yet, this totally contradicts what we're told in MEET BOSTON BLACKIE 2 films earlier. Since Blackie in the books and the silent films was always in and out of prison, I have to conclude that MEET BOSTON BLACKIE is the film that violates "continuity". He certainly DIDN'T do several years in jail between Morris' 1st film and this one!
During the Police HQ sequence, mention is made of "concentration camps" and "Gestapo". That 2 films in a row they did this in this series!
I really need to get the Onesmedia BOSTON BLACKIE FILMS box-set; my copy recorded off TCM back in January 2007 was nearly-perfect, until the last 60 seconds when the tape somehow got MANGLED. Oh well, one series at a time!