In the 1940s, Columbia Pictures made a series of Boston Blackie films starring Chester Morris. Each of these B-movies lasted about an hour and were consistently enjoyable. In 1951, the series was revived but with a different cast--and a time slot of only 30 minutes. Can the show work with such an abbreviated running time and unfamiliar faces? Well, in the case of "Cop Killer", the answer is YES--as the show manages to cram a lot into it and it seems almost like a mini-movie. In addition, while I still would have preferred to see Chester Morris, Kent Taylor and the rest were good and up to the task.
In this episode, Blackie is talking with a friend on the police intercom. The friend is a young cop on the beat and Blackie is horrified when the conversation is cut short because a routine traffic stop results in the cop's death! Oddly, the police inspector allows Blackie to help him investigate the case--and Blackie uses a clever ruse to get the criminals to begin fighting with each other. Well made and satisfying.
In this episode, Blackie is talking with a friend on the police intercom. The friend is a young cop on the beat and Blackie is horrified when the conversation is cut short because a routine traffic stop results in the cop's death! Oddly, the police inspector allows Blackie to help him investigate the case--and Blackie uses a clever ruse to get the criminals to begin fighting with each other. Well made and satisfying.
