Chester
Morris returns as reformed jewel thief-turned-sleuth Boston Blackie in his
tenth big screen adventure. (This was
the first of three Boston Blackie movies he made in 1946 alone.) This time out, Blackie tries to help a former
flame evade her jealous jailbird husband. When her hubby catches them alone together, he
mistakes her baby for Blackie’s, and pulls a gun on them. Before the hotheaded husband can pull the
trigger, he winds up getting gunned down by a shadowy figure. Blackie is blamed for the crime by his old nemesis
Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) and with the help of his faithful sidekick
Runt (George E. Stone), he sets out to clear his name.
Director Lew Landers (a veteran of several other Boston Blackie adventures) ensures A Close Call for Boston Blackie gets off to a crackling good start. The mystery is solid and twisty, and there’s a handful of humorous moments to keep things moving along at a steady clip. Landers gets a lot of mileage out of the cute baby, not to mention a pack on ornery dogs that cause quite a commotion in one of the movie’s best scenes. My favorite moment though involves Blackie disguising himself as an old man to pull the wool over the villains’ eyes.
These
little asides help to balance out some of the plot hiccups that occur in the
third act. The climax lacks sparks too,
but fans of the series will be pleased by the breezy pace, snappy banter, and
energetic performance by Morris. He’s in
fine form once again and his verbal sparring with Stone and Lane is often
amusing, making this one of the better Boston Blackie adventures.
AKA: Lady of Mystery.
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