Boston Blackie

Description

Boston Blackie is a story bound character originated by writer Jack Boyle. Blackie, a jewelry burglar and safecracker in Jack’s tales, became a private eye in versions for movie, radio and television, an “enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend.”

Actor Chester Morris was the most popular Blackie, performing the character in 14 Columbia Pictures films (1941-49) and in a 1944 NBC radio series. Boston Blackie is the character for which Chester is most recognized.

Author Jack Boyle was raised in Chicago, Illinois. While employed as a newspaper correspondent in San Francisco, he was an opium addict, was tugged into felony, and was imprisoned for issuing illegal checks. Then sentenced of robbery, Jack was serving a term in San Quentin when he wrote the story of Boston Blackie. The first four books were seen in The American Magazine, with Jack authoring using the pseudonym, No. 6066. From 1917 to 1919, Boston Blackie volumes were seen in The Red Book magazine, and from 1918 they were reworked for films.

When Boston Blackie started to look for fame on the screen, Jack edited the Red Book magazine tales into a book, Boston Blackie (1919). He modified and reorganized the sequence of the tales to make a consistent storyline, a typical practice during those years. This was the only presence of Boston Blackie in a form of a book, but his exploits remained to be seen in publications.

The first Boston Blackie motion picture versions were silent, from 1918 to 1927. Columbia Pictures restored the property in 1941 with Meet Boston Blackie, a quick, 58-minute B motion picture featuring Chester Morris. Though the running time was short, Columbia gave the film good production assessments and an ingenious director, Robert Florey. The movie was profitable, and a series came after.
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