Alicia I love this movie so much

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

GazerRise Fantastic!

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

binapiraeus 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!

LobotomousMonk "Your logic is simply hypnotic" says a "dumb copper" to Boston Blackie in The Chance of a Lifetime. I can't help but feel the logic of William Castle's directing follows in turn. Castle certainly developed his stylistic system and method of directing across his career, but this early entry characterizes his lack more than anything else (a lack he wold make up for in time). Diegetic space is constructed through shot scale cut-ins for an otherwise static camera. Later, Castle would develop his system with more mobile framing and angular contrapuntal direction (Ohmart in the Emergo scene in Haunted Hill is captured in a multiple of angular shots). In The Chance, the camera is positioned with frontality as the dominant. When groups of characters are framed, they huddle symmetrically staged in front of the camera lens creating balanced tableaux. The staging and blocking does not have the oblique quality prominent in later Castle films. The story itself involves Blackie's proposed plan to the state's Governor to parole ex-cons in order to aid in munitions manufacturing for the war. Recidivism and risk assessment are the name of the game as Blackie gets tangled up in the loose ends of an old crime of one of the paroled cons. There is good suspense and characterization but at times the acting is stilted while the dialogue is a little on-the-nose. As is characteristic of Castle "B" status films, plot contrivances abound. An earlier reviewer seemed to express that the contrivances are an asset or perhaps aid, while I cannot agree. The "cigarette gag" and "secret panel" gag have the lameness that makes narrative progress move forward with an awkward gait. The buffoonery of the police was an issue with the critics upon release as far as it concerns the status quo. For me, the portrayal of the police as stooges gets tired and leads to the story dragging somewhat (others may disagree). The ending involves confessions under extreme duress and although neat, are also an element of convenience at service for the production and not the audience. The flaws in directing would be repeated several times by Castle as he worked slowly to develop a more sound stylistic system.

csteidler Inspector Farraday seems nastier than usual in this Boston Blackie picture. Sure, Blackie is used to Farraday hounding him constantly, but now Farraday is out to pounce on Blackie's new convict reclamation project. The project is for the war effort, of course: Blackie has lined up jobs for ten early parolees at a tool and die works, and the convicts are talented welders and craftsmen, their skills much in demand in 1943. Farraday is having none of it, and lurks on the edges of the project, looking for the slightest slip-up. Come on, Inspector, show a little patriotism! The mystery plot here is solid and the action is fast-moving, though overall the film is perhaps not quite as sharp or quick-hitting as some in the Blackie series. Still, there's disguises (Blackie and the Runt as cleaning ladies, one of whom needs a shave); tight squeezes (Blackie and the Runt on a dumbwaiter); and poor detective Matthews taking insults (Farraday to his officers: "You cover the fire escape, you take the service entrance, and I'll go in the front way alone." Matthews: "Alone! Hey, chief, I'll be with you." Farraday: "It's the same thing.").Some hilarious newspaper headlines chronicle Farraday's attempts to capture and hold Blackie and a wad of $60,000 that everyone is concerned with.Good entertainment for us Blackie fans. Chester Morris, as always, is smooth and steady.

Neil Doyle Once again Boston Blackie puts one over on the police who wrongly accuse him of a crime he never committed. He uses his wits and ingenuity to outwit them at every turn--each episode more incredible than the one before. But it's entertaining in a formula way, with CHESTER MORRIS obviously enjoying himself as Blackie and Inspector Farraday finally congratulating him on capturing the real criminal.DOUGLAS FOWLEY as Nails gives his usual hard-bitten performance as the villain, enjoyable as always in whatever supporting role he assumes.It's a low-budget entry, designed to fit the second half of a double bill, and moves at a brisk pace in little more than hour. Morris is surrounded by the usual Columbia cast of "Blackie" performers.