Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942)

Film Title: Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood
Released: November 5, 1942
Directed by: Michael Gordon
Written by: Paul Yawitz based on the character created by Jack Boyle
Starring: Chester Morris, Richard Lane & Constance Worth

Plot: When his good friend Arthur Manleder needs help in California, Boston Blackie doesn't hesitate to jump on the first airplane. But Inspector Farraday doesn't trust Blackie one bit and follows him out west.

IMDb: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: No score
My Score: 3/5

Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood, Columbia Pictures' fourth Boston Blackie movie, changes up the scenery by transferring most of the action to California from New York. The gang's all here again: Chester Morris as Blackie, Richard Lane as police Inspector Farraday, George E. Stone as Blackie's sidekick the Runt, Walter Sande as Farraday's dim-witted assistant Detective Matthews, Lloyd Corrigan as lovable but gullible millionaire Arthur Manleder, and Cy Kendall as pawnbroker Jumbo Madigan. Just as he and Stone are preparing to go to Florida on vacation, Morris receives a telegram from Corrigan letting them know that he's in trouble. After some misadventures they head to California with Lane and Sande right behind them. This was the first film in the series that I was actually annoyed with, particularly the writing. Normally Farraday keeps an eye on Blackie to make sure that every action he performs is on the up and up, ready to nab him the moment he goes back to his life of crime. This time however, Farraday actually breaks into Blackie's apartment looking for evidence to use against him, obviously breaking the law in the process. This goes against everything that the character stands for and makes Farraday out to be the crook. Aside from this glaring bit of poor writing, the rest of the film is pretty fun, with Morris and Stone donning disguises and confronting gangsters in traditional Boston Blackie fashion. Co-starring Constance Worth (who had a small part in the series' first film, Meet Boston Blackie) and Forrest Tucker (who is probably best known as Sgt. O'Rourke on the 1960's sitcom F Troop). This marked the feature length directorial debut of Michael Gordon, who would go on to direct Cyrano de Bergerac with José Ferrer, who an Oscar for the titular role, and Pillow Talk, which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, with Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Watch the opening sequence below (the burglar turns out to be Farraday).