A Close Call for Boston Blackie

1946 film by Lew Landers

January 24, 1946 (1946-01-24)

Running time

60 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

A Close Call for Boston Blackie is a 1946 American crime film directed by Lew Landers. It is the tenth of fourteen Columbia Pictures films starring Chester Morris as Boston Blackie.

Plot

Ignoring Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane)'s friendly advice to stop helping women, Boston Blackie goes to the rescue of a female being attacked by two men. She turns out to be Geraldine "Gerry" Peyton (Lynn Merrick), an old flame of his. She begs him to help protect her baby from her husband John (an uncredited Mark Roberts), who has just been paroled.

When John finds them together, he assumes the child is Blackie's and pulls out a gun. A fight breaks out, during which an unseen third party shoots John. Acting on an anonymous tip, Farraday arrives soon after and assumes Blackie is responsible for the dead body. Blackie has his sidekick, "the Runt" (George E. Stone), hide the baby at the apartment of the latter's girlfriend, Mamie Carleton (an unbilled Claire Carleton).

Blackie escapes from dimwitted Sergeant Matthews (Frank Sully). An investigation soon arouses his suspicions. It turns out that Gerry and Smiley Slade are trying to swindle her wealthy father-in-law, Cyrus Peyton. The child is actually her brother Hack Hagen's (an unbilled Charles Lane). They framed Blackie in order to get rid of John. When Hagen tries to back out, worried that he will not get his son back, Smiley guns him down.

Disguised as Cyrus, Blackie goes to see the pair. He manages to overcome Smiley, only to have Farraday break in, arrest him, and let Gerry and Smiley go free. However, it is all a joke on Blackie. For once, Farraday has figured out who the real crooks are; when Blackie goes downstairs, he sees the pair in handcuffs.