Confessions of Boston Blackie *** (1941, Chester Morris, Harriet Nelson, Richard Lane) – Classic Movie Review 13,308

‘BLACKIE’S BLACKMAILED BY A FEMALE… AND NEARLY BLACKED-OUT BY KILLERS!’ Columbia Pictures’ 1941 crime film Confessions of Boston Blackie stars Chester Morris in the second of his 14 B-movies as the notorious but honourable jewel thief Boston Blackie. 

‘BLACKIE’S BLACKMAILED BY A FEMALE… AND NEARLY BLACKED-OUT BY KILLERS!… in this famous rogue’s newest adventure!’

Director Edward Dmytryk’s 1941 Columbia Pictures black and white American mystery crime film Confessions of Boston Blackie stars Chester Morris in the second of his 14 B-movies (1941–1949) as the notorious but honourable reformed jewel thief Boston Blackie.

Confessions of Boston Blackie is a strong series entry, fast paced and entertaining, with plenty of humour and action, a lot of B movie crime film stuff in the way of atmosphere and detail, and a good cast and an energetic director to deliver it. With its pulpy feel, and spirited mood, it’s generally a bit of a treat for old-time crime buffs.

Harriet Hilliard also stars as Diane Parrish. George E Stone co-stars as Blackie’s assistant The Runt, taking over from Charles Wagenheim and playing him in all the subsequent films. A returning Richard Lane also co-stars again as Blackie’s friendly if dim nemesis, police Inspector Faraday.

Harriet Hilliard [Harriet Nelson] plays Diane Parrish, who hands a family heirloom, a statue of Augustus Caesar, over to a pair of unscrupulous art dealers to raise money to help her sick brother. At the auction, Joe Buchanan (Ralph Theodore), one of the art dealers, pulls out a gun to silence her after she notices the statue is a fake. Buchanan accidentally kills his partner and the fake statue’s sculptor, Eric Allison. But police Inspector Farraday arrests Blackie.

The unexplained title is one of the film’s mysteries.

It is the last of Edward Dmytryk’s six films in 1941: The Devil Commands (1941), Under Age (1941), Sweetheart of the Campus (1941), The Blonde from Singapore (1941), Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941) and Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941).

That’s impressive, but on the other hand, Richard Lane had an incredible 17 films released in 1941.

It follows Meet Boston Blackie (1941) and is followed by Alias Boston Blackie (1942).

The cast

The cast are Chester Morris as Boston Blackie, Harriet Hilliard as Diane Parrish, Martin Spellman as Jimmy Parrish, Richard Lane as Inspector Farraday, George E. Stone as The Runt, Lloyd Corrigan as Arthur Manleder, Joan Woodbury as Mona, Walter Sande as Detective Mathews, Ralph Theodore as Joe Buchanan, Kenneth MacDonald as Caulder, Walter Soderling as Eric Allison, Billy Benedict [William Benedict] as Ice Cream Man.

Boston Blackie films

The Columbia Pictures series films are Meet Boston Blackie (1941), Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941), Alias Boston Blackie (1942), Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942), After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943), The Chance of a Lifetime (1943), One Mysterious Night (1944), Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945), Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945), A Close Call for Boston Blackie (1946), The Phantom Thief (1946), Boston Blackie and the Law (1946), Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948), and Boston Blackie’s Chinese Venture (1949).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,308

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