I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I hope writer Jack Boyle got some of the money that was made off his man "Boston Blackie"... there were TONS of films made with that character. Chester Morris was probably the best known. In this chapter, Blackie is the chaperone for some work release prisoners, and one escapes to dig up some stolen dough. Things go haywire, as they always do, and the caper is on! Blackie has to track down the guy who knows the truth, but the police are after HIM, so he has to stay one step ahead. The usual antics, and boy, the cops were silly back then. The story kind of goes all over the place, but its okay. And it's only a 65 minute shortie. Currently showing on Turner Classics. My favorite line in here is when the desk clerk sees the guy with the beard, and says "Hey, you with the chin drapes!" Most of it is pretty average, and for the last five minutes, the fistfight takes place in the dark... rather pointless. meh. Directed by William Castle, known for low budget yet fairly successful films.

A prison work release program Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) is pushing is endangered by one of the prisoners being implicated in a murder. So what does Blackie do? He takes the blame for the murder, of course. I realize this sounds beyond idiotic but keep in mind that the formula of literally every Boston Blackie movie is that Blackie is the prime suspect in whatever murder occurs in that film. By the end of every film, he manages to catch the real killer and prove his innocence to dogged Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane). So, in a way, it makes perfect sense that Blackie would take the blame since his track record is pretty good with the threat of a murder arrest hanging over his head.Seriously, though, the plot to this one is pretty far-fetched and tough to swallow. But somehow it's still enjoyable thanks to the solid cast of regulars that the Boston Blackie series had. Yes, the series was extremely formulaic and this works against it, especially when you view the films back-to-back. But if you just happen to catch this one on TV one day, without any critical context, it will surely entertain you. Not the best of the series but still fun. There's a character named Dooley who throws just about the wildest overhand punch I've ever seen. That alone is worth checking it out.

America is at war, and even happy-go-lucky types like Boston Blackie have to become a little bit more serious; and so he does, coming up with the idea that prisoners with minor sentences should be released on parole so that they can work in factories to help the war effort. In fact, the opening scene, where he pleads with the government official for his cause - and his 'friend' Inspector Faraday, literally on the other side, opposes it so strongly that for the first time, instead of a slightly dull cop, he seems like a real stubborn 'law-and-order' type out of the Wild West - , looks VERY serious for a 'Boston Blackie' movie; and when Blackie can finally convince the authorities and the 'experiment' begins, it almost seems we're in for a pretty nasty and not at all funny gangster story this time...One of Blackie's old friends is allowed to see his wife and kid the first night he's out (all the others stay in his apartment, sleeping on camp beds in his living room) - but the next morning, he doesn't show up at the factory: he's gone to collect the hidden 60 000 dollars from the robbery he'd committed with two others (two REALLY dangerous mugs) and for which he'd been sentenced. But the two guys follow him into his apartment and demand their share; they threaten his family, and he fights with them, killing one of them accidentally, while the other one gets away.And what does Blackie do? In order to save his project and to protect the others from going back to jail, HE takes the murder rap, but of course eludes the police as usual - but meanwhile, the surviving mug has kidnapped his friend's family, still demanding the money, which lies safely in the police headquarters' safe... So - the only thing for Blackie to do in order to lure the gangster into a trap is to 'steal' the money from the police!...And so the good old familiar fun begins again: everyone is hunting each other, Blackie makes his famous escapes (he even uses the good old-fashioned trick of the turning bookshelf that was so popular in 30s' mysteries!) - and in the end, he and his ex-convict friends, together with the factory owner, capture the crook, and let him dangle on a rope from a 14th floor window until he confesses how his gangster friend was killed. And now Inspector Faraday really changes his mind about the whole thing - because Blackie gives him all the credit for 'his' ingenious work! This is indeed something more than an average 'Boston Blackie' adventure: it doesn't only deal with patriotic issues, but also with social ones - the reintegration of former criminals into society. (After all, Blackie himself is an example!) But don't be afraid it'll get too moralistic - there are still plenty of opportunities for Blackie and his friends to entertain us as usual with their clever, cunning, astonishing tricks!

Chance of a Lifetime, The (1943) *** (out of 4) William Castle made his directorial debut in this sixth film in the Boston Blackie series. This time out Blackie (Chester Morris) gets ten convicts out of prison to work in a factory for the war relief. One of the convicts end up killing a man in self defense but this is enough to get all ten thrown back in prison so instead Blackie takes the blame but breaks away from Captain Farraday (Richard Lane) to find the real bad guy. Castle's direction is a little bland but the screenplay is full of wonderful gags and nice action, which makes this one of the better films I've seen in the series. Once again Morris delivers a wonderful character and I've really enjoyed this character enough to say it's probably my favorite of all these detective/mystery type films. The interplay between Morris and Lane is as fast and sharp as ever and the supporting cast playing the convicts make good.