A Close Call for Boston Blackie is one of just three Boston Blackie movies starring Chester Morris that are official releases.

In this film, a man is murdered in Blackie’s apartment and his widow escapes, leaving the baby in the care of Blackie and his sidekick Runt. Blackie has to stay one step ahead of Inspector Farraday and his minions.

Chester Morris is charming and funny as Blackie and has a very convincing turn in his disguise. Some of the early scenes reminded me of the radio show but this played things for comedy more than the radio show did and not all of the humor worked. The baby is cute, however most of the humor centering around the child falls flat. Frank Sully (who plays Sergeant Matthews) seems to be trying to be a poor man’s Red Skelton but ultimately doesn’t work. The pace of the first half of this hour-long film drags as it takes forever to get out of Blackie’s apartment. However, the film does become more engaging in the second half.

Overall, the film isn’t bad, but it’s essentially an average detective B movie from the 1940s. It is entertaining due to a strong performance by Morris more than anything else.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0