Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion

Suspicion is something that Chester Morris as Boston Blackie lives with as a given. Inspector Richard Lane books him on suspicion of murder when he accidentally sells a forged first edition of the Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens who zealously fought for his copyrighted material his whole life would not have been pleased.

But Dickens might have been pleased at the way Boston Blackie works himself out of this frame. He would have been pleased at the way Morris disguised himself as a rare book dealer who actually has been ill and bedridden while all kinds of bad things are going on in his shop.

The villains are a husband and wife pair of crooks Lynn Merrick and Steve Cochran. Cochran who played slick villains in his prime gets a good showcase in Boston Blackie Booked On Suspicion. But the film really belongs to Lynn Merrick. She's one cool piece of work if there ever was one and a worthy antagonist for Morris.

Merrick is who you will remember if you see Boston Blackie Booked On Suspicion and you should see it.