Redundant and unnecessary.

Best movie ever!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is quite the entertaining picture, but boy oh boy, you really have to stretch the credibility factor to make it through the entire story. The main one for me, and there were many, was the way Cecilia Bradley (Rochelle Hudson) accepted her fate when Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) hijacked her auto and literally kidnapped her onto a train car. You would think a panic attack might be in order, wouldn't you? Yet Miss Bradley appears pretty much nonplussed, and even sticks around to take part in Blackie's frenetic dealings with Police Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane).What was pretty clever though were the three verbal clues left for Blackie by the dying Marilyn Howard (Constance Worth) - 'mechanical man, Skyland sign, and 2 1/2'. Making their way through a carnival freak show, Blackie and Ms. Bradley manage to put the pieces together in a way that lead them to bad guys sending messages to an off shore ship using lights and Morse Code. I had the same thought as another reviewer for this picture - just how common was Morse Code for so many characters in the story to be using or understanding it? Personally, I don't know how those who use it can keep up with the rapid pace of the clicks sending the message.I try to catch these Boston Blackie flicks whenever they make the rounds on Turner Classics, usually one at a time, so of necessity manage to see them out of original film release order. Of the ones I've seen, they're fairly representative of the era's detective type films which include Charlie Chan, Bulldog Drummond and Mr. Wong. The series borrows a gimmick from another detective franchise of the era, in as much as Boston Blackie's former career involved being a jewel thief, just like The Lone Wolf.

Returning to America from Europe via ocean liner, notorious jewel thief Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) gets mixed up with a murder, a spy ring, and someone called The Mechanical Man. The first of Columbia's Boston Blackie series of B detective movies. I say detective because, despite Blackie being a jewel thief, he spends every movie solving crimes and helping people out. Usually he's the one accused of the crime and in order to prove his innocence, he must figure out the real culprits. Richard Lane plays Inspector Faraday, the cop forever on Blackie's trail who likes him despite their being on opposite sides of the law. Charles Wagenheim plays Blackie's sidekick Runt. George E. Stone would play the role later and was much better-suited for the part than Wagenheim. Rochelle Hudson and Constance Worth provide the pretty in this first film. The Blackie series always had lovely actresses. Fun start to a great series.

When Boston Blackie leaves a room, he likes to leave a witty note for Inspector Faraday—written in soap in large letters across a mirror. I have to admit—ever since seeing this movie, I've been looking for an opportunity to leave somebody a soap-on-mirror note. That Blackie is indeed an irresistible character, a sharp wit who leaves a clean but clever mark. Chester Morris is excellent in that title role—fast moving, confident, a magician and a sleuth. And possibly a jewel thief…though in this film we never really know that for sure.Richard Lane is also strong as the police inspector who is Blackie's dedicated stalker, friendly rival or both. Blackie always outwits the inspector but never makes him look stupid; Inspector Faraday vows to catch Blackie and lock him up but never resorts to dirty tricks and is not grudging in his respect for Blackie's nerve, expertise and luck.Rochelle Hudson is very good as Cecilia Bradley, properly impressed by this man Boston Blackie who essentially hijacks her car but does it in a very dashing manner. Hudson is just right, actually—romantically interested, yes, but still plenty sharp enough to follow events and lend assistance as needed. Her smart and attractive performance hits just the right notes.Good script, excellent pace, just the right amount of humor…oh, and all the standard amusement park elements, including a Mechanical Man who figures snugly into the plot. A top notch series opener all the way!

In the opening film of the Boston Blackie series, Chester Morris as Blackie and his pal Charles Wagenheim as the Runt are back from a long European vacation. Ready to greet them is his old nemesis, Inspector Farraday of the NYPD, still looking to pin some robberies on the smooth talking and very clever conman/jewel thief.But homicide is not something Blackie does and when a dead body turns up in his stateroom, he's got himself in a real jam. As always there's a mysterious beautiful woman involved and Blackie trails her to Coney Island where she winds up good and dead. As Blackie escapes the men who killed her, another female turns up and helps him out as well.Chester Morris who received an Oscar nomination in the early days of sound for his role in Alibi had gone down considerably in the Hollywood pecking order since then. The Boston Blackie character gave him a lease on life until television came along where he almost exclusively appeared until he died in 1970. Blackie was one smooth talking charmer, but if you looked hard you could see he didn't come from any privileged background. He was clever and street smart and Meet Boston Blackie established his character who would do several films right into the Fifties. The Boston Blackie films weren't done on blockbuster budgets, but they were fast and entertaining and depended on Morris's charm which never failed.What Blackie got himself caught up in was an espionage ring operating out of Coney Island. But of course all was righted in the end.It had to be, Morris was signed for several more films.