Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942)

A man sneaks up the fire escape and peeks through the keyhole into Boston Blackie's apartment (Chester Morris). He and the Runt (George E. Stone) are packing to leave on the train and hear the intruder. They call the police, and find the "criminal" hiding in the chimney. It turns out to be Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane). He tells him that the Monterrey diamond has been stolen. Blackie and the Runt are headed to Florida, but at the train station they get a telegram from Lloyd Corrigan in California asking them to go to his apartment. Lane has his assistant, Walter Sande, follow them. Corrigan tells them to get $60,000 dollars from his safe and fly it to him. Corrigan is being forced by a gang running an extortion racket. Just after they get the safe open, Lane and Sande come in and arrest them, but they later escape. (Lane let them escape on purpose.)

Blackie and the Runt go to see Cy Kendall to get disguises so they can get out of town. They dress as an elderly man and his boy in short pants. (Stone always got the strange-looking disguises.) At the airport they buy a "gift," which is an ant farm. Lane and Sande have stored away in the baggage compartment, and Blackie manages to empty the ant farm on them. In California, Corrigan is being conned by Forrest Tucker, John Tyrell and Constance Worth until he gets the money. Worth has made Corrigan believe she is in love with him. Blackie sends the Runt to the lobby with the money before he goes into the room where the crooks and Corrigan are. When Blackie senses they are running a con game, he tells Corrigan he did not bring the money. But the crooks see Runt in the lobby and rough him up for the money. Lane and Sande come in, but Blackie persuades the local police that he is really the Inspector, and they are hauled off.

Tucker and Tyrell come back and hold our heroes at gunpoint. Then William Wright comes in and disarms all of them and takes over the whole situation. He ties them all up and goes down the fire escape just before Lane comes in. Wright tries to commandeer a cab and has a shootout with Sande and Blackie. A rooftop pursuit follows, which transitions into a climb down an elevator cable and the obligatory fistfight deluxe on a stairwell and in the elevator. And, of course, the good guys win.




Corrigan


Worth