Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949)

Blackie is seen leaving a Chinese laundry where the proprietor has been murdered, and must track down the real killer in Chinatown.

Director:

Seymour Friedman

Writers:

Maurice Tombragel (story and screenplay), Jack Boyle (based on character by)

Stars:

Chester Morris, Maylia, Richard Lane

Cast

Cast overview:
Chester Morris	...	Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Maylia	...	Mei Ling
Richard Lane	...	Inspector William R. Farraday
Don McGuire	...	Les - the Bus Guide
Joan Woodbury	...	Red - the Bar-Girl
Sid Tomack	...	The Runt
Frank Sully	...	Detective Sergeant Matthews
Charles Arnt	...	Pop Gerard
Luis Van Rooten	...	Bill Craddock (as Louis Van Rooten)
Philip Ahn	...	Wong Chung Shee

Storyline

Blackie is seen leaving a Chinese laundry where the proprietor has been murdered, and must track down the real killer in Chinatown.

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Plot Keywords:

laundry | killer | chinese | chinese laundry | manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

BLACKIE CATHES A RED-HEAD RED-HANDED! (original poster)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last of fourteen "Boston Blackie" films starring Chester Morris released by Columbia Pictures from 1941 to 1949.

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Goofs

When The Runt knocks out Les (again) and he, Blackie and Mei Ling leave the room and walk down the hall, the camera pushes forward to follow and then a moving shadow of the camera becomes visible on the boxes in the hall to the left.

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Connections

Follows The Silk-Lined Burglar (1919)

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Soundtracks

Love by Implication
(uncredited)
Music by Hugo Friedhofer

User Reviews

Merciful Ending

Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture marks the end of the 14 movie series starring Chester Morris. The film remains true to the BB formula. The falsely accused Blackie & Runt being wrongfully suspected of a murder they didn't commit. Blackie must clear himself by solving the crime for Inspector Faraday and his dopey assistant Mathews.

Morris is one of my favorite actors, but this movie like all the other Boston Blackie movies tends to get very predictable and very boring. The well dressed Blackie lives with the Runt in a luxury apartment yet has no visible means of support. I also never understood why the handsome Chester Morris was never provided with a love interest in any of the BB films. What does this reformed ex-convict do for a living and why doesn't he have a girlfriend?

In one of the scenes Blackie and Runt disguise themselves as Chinese. It's so obvious that they are both wearing masks yet they slip right by Faraday and Mathews. In another scene a diamond cutter being held captive is forced to cooperate with the jewel thieves yet when given a gun and told to keep an eye on Blackie and Runt he remains loyal to the gang only to get shot in the back by it's leader.

Sid Tomack replaced George E Stone in the role of the Runt. I never cared for George E Stone's portrayal of the Runt. I didn't find him very funny and he was all too whiny. Tomack offered relief from the childish whiny portrayal of George E Stone. It's unfortunate that Sid Tomack only played the part once.

The lovely Joan Woodbury is featured as a villainous shill in this movie, but her part is too small and her talent is wasted. I believe Chester Morris should have starred in the Dick Tracy series. If you study his profile I think you'll agree that he looks just like him. As Tracy he would have had Tess Trueheart as a love interest too.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Boston Blackie's Honor

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1