Acensbart
Excellent but underrated film
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
mark.waltz
There's a nice mix of comedy and intrigue in this thriller about stolen diamonds that brings Chester Morris's Blackie up against future "Detour" star Ann Savage. Actually, she's a heroine here, kidnapped by the bad guys so they can get Blackie to bring them the diamonds. Once again, George E. Stone and Lloyd Corrigan are the comic relief, joined by Dick Elliott in a hostage situation. It's a debate as to which fat man is the cheeriest: the eternally smiling Corrigan or the constantly laughing Elliott. Stone gets a great gag moment as well, as his character ("the runt") cuddles with the gigantic Jan Buckingham to get his hands on a diamond broach caught on her waste. It became apparent to me with this entry in the series that it hit its height with the first two films, but evened out to 5-6 rating four films, forward, into the series. At the end of each film, police lieutenant Richard Lane and his dumb stump of a sidekick, Walter Sande, kept insisting that the case they completed might not have been solved without Blackie's help, but by the beginning of the next film, they were at odds again. This maintains enough action and intrigue, mixed with the right amount of comedy, to maintain its dignity and a proper pace, making this an acceptable, decent, entry in the series, although far from the near excellence of the first two.
binapiraeus
There's Boston Blackie again getting mixed up with other people's diamonds: an old pal from jail days, who's just been released himself, asks him to collect the very valuable diamonds he'd stolen and hidden in order to secure his daughter's future. But, of course, there are other crooks as well who want to get their hands on the jewels - and so, there are the familiar chases again, Blackie's caught once more by Inspector Faraday in front of an open safe; arrests, escapes, murders... And which day out of all does he (or rather, the gang that tries to track him and the diamonds down) pick for all those asphalt jungle adventures? His friend's, the Runt's wedding day! So you can just guess how many times the ceremony is delayed... until a VERY surprising ending! Another very entertaining - and VERY inventive on the part of the authors! - Boston Blackie tale, with Chester Morris in GREAT shape: this time he even does a short black face comedy to get into the top gangster's house! And all this hokum mixes surprisingly well with some 'tougher' crime movie moments; a great treat not only for 'Boston Blackie' addicts!
bkoganbing
This entry in The Boston Blackie series finds Blackie's companion and factotum the Runt about to get married to statuesque Jan Buckingham. But the wedding can't seem to come off because an old prison pal of Chester Morris's gets out and starts looking for the swag he robbed before getting pinched.After Midnight With Boston Blackie has Morris, George E. Stone, and their playboy pal Lloyd Corrigan on the run again because the cops and a gang of crooks are tailing said prison pal Walter Baldwin to locate the hidden jewels. When the bad guys bump of Baldwin and grab his daughter Ann Savage, it's up to Morris to rescue Savage and locate and return the jewels before the police do. Because as always the cops suspect Morris of being the perpetrator.The police are once again represented by Richard Lane and Walter Sande and between them they seem to have less working brain cells than usual. A wartime blackout drill aids and abets Blackie in eluding cops and crooks.After watching several Boston Blackie features I can't believe any self respecting police force keeps Lane and Sande employed.
Michael_Elliott
After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Fifth film in Columbia's series is still going pretty well with Chester Morris returning as Boston Blackie. In this film, Boston tries to help out a friend but when that friend is murdered and his diamonds stolen, Blackie is the lead suspect by the always dimwitted Captain Flannigan (Richard Lane). This is no great masterpiece but if you enjoy the series then you should get enough kicks out of this entry even though there isn't anything new here. As usual, Morris is highly entertaining in the title role and he acts wonderfully well with Lane. The two of them add a lot of comedy to the mix, which is good since the actual case isn't all too strong. Ann Savage adds nice support as the friend's daughter. Lew Landers (The Raven) directs once again.
