To all Boston Blackie fans out there...

Did you know that the Prez of our Boston Blackie Fan Club is also the muse for a soft toy dog called 'Bobo' that paints himself in the style of many great artists of our time?
Byron Bay needs Boston Blackie on a case with the help of the new Inspector Rex. Introducing 'Bobo'.
Bobo, as an artist, is great for mug shots, painting or drawing witness impressions and excellent capability for casing the joint and sniffing out the crims.

Fabulous new site for Chester Morris

Thanks to Barrie we have found this fantastic new site for all fans of Chester Morris playing Boston Blackie. Have a look here.
Lots of photos and information about the star of the Boston Blackie movies.

Chester Morris and Boston Blackie

We have started a Chester Morris website.
Chester was the actor who played Boston Blackie and now he will be immortalized on his own website. Barrie, a dedicated fan in the USA, contacted me and wanted to create a dedication to the life of Chester Morris.
Barrie was taken to Chester Morris movies as a child by his father in the 1930's and 1940's. He became passionate about Chester Morris and recently found our Boston Blackie Fan Club blog.

Pat Boone and Boston Blackie

Pat Boone and Boston Blackie may appear to have nothing in common. But crime fighting and the fight for the Lord can be equally hard. Hear Pat sing about Tears of a Clown.
And Boston knows 'Kiss in the Kitchen' is the way to keep the little woman happy!

ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE

From Boston Blackie.com

BOSTON BLACKIE

"Enemy to those who make him an enemy. Friend to those who have no friend."

Silent Movies

Boston Blackie made his first screen appearance in the 1918 production of Boston Blackie's Little Pal for Metro, This was the beginning of a string of silent movies for several different studios. Blackie was played by different actors including Bert Lytell, Lionel Barrymore, Raymond Glenn, David Powell, William Russell and Forrest Stanley. In these films, Blackie was a professional thief with a heart of gold. The last silent Blackie film was in 1927.

40's Movies



In 1941 Chester Morris starred in the first of of a series of fourteen very successful Boston Blackie films for Columbia Pictues, thus began new adventures of Boston Blackie. The first movie Meet Boston Blackie sets Blackie up as a former professional thief now working as a sort of freelance adventurer/detective. Adventurer, yes. Detective, ???. On the right side of the law, he preferred not to get too involved with the police (did I just hear Jack Boyle roll over in his grave). Blackie is now evolving into a new character that turns out to be very interesting and entertaining. According to critic Leonard Maltin, Chester Morris provided an amiable, charming hero in all episodes. Morris "brought to the role a delightful offhand manner and sense of humor that kept the films fresh even when the scripts weren't."

Radio

In 1944, Blackie made his radio debut on NBC. This series was an outgrowth of the popular Boston Blackie movies. Chester Morris and Richard Lane brought to the radio the characters of Boston Blackie and Inspector Farraday. The series was originally a summer replacement for The Amos and Andy Show. It was scheduled to run from June 23, 1944 to September 15, 1944 for a total of thirteen episodes. There is some disagreement on how many episodes actually aired. The series turned out to be very popular and on April 15, 1945 it returned to the air in its own time slot on NBC. This time the star was Richard Kollmar who played Blackie for 220 episodes.

Television


In 1951 Boston Blackie came to television for a total of 58 30-minute episodes during its run that ended in 1953. The TV version starred Kent Taylor as Boston Blackie. Surprisingly 32 of the 58 Blackie episodes were filmed in color. This was unheard of in the early 50's, however, the producers saw the future of color was coming and also a new term, "reruns." When color TV did arrive there was a huge demand for color programs. Boston Blackie, Superman, The Cisco Kid, these were were among the few ready for color.

Hollywood Boston

Here's a link to the Thrilling Detective website, where all the Boston Blackie adventures are catalogued. Films, books, radio and TV shows are listed and linked. With more incarnations than a Hindu god, Boston was certainly a popular character in all his manifestations.



Click here to listen to B.B.