KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

trimbolicelia Not bad little crime caper on the lighter side. Boston Blackie, a reformed jewel thief (or something of that nature) is suspected yet again of thievery and murder. This time the goings-on take place in Chinatown. The transfer is fine. The Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD-R is excellent quality. The DVD-R has absolutely no extras. Goes right into the movie. Other than that recommended for fans of the genre.

bkoganbing For the Boston Blackie series finale once again Blackie and the Runt are in wrong place, wrong time. They can't even check on the laundry without getting mixed up in some kind of escapade where fatalities occur. Chester Morris and Sid Tomack who plays the Runt in the farewell film leave a Chinese laundry where the laundryman is later murdered. Tomack is a good comic actor who occasionally essayed serious parts, most notably in the Humphrey Bogart classic Knock On Any Door. But he doesn't have that runt like quality that George E. Stone did.A little investigation and Blackie discovers a gem smuggling operation that is worked out of a tea shop owned by Philip Ahn with a Chinatown tour bus used as the shuttle. As usual while avoiding the ever suspicious Inspector Richard Lane and his faithful stooge Frank Sully, Blackie gets the goods.This was not a bad film, but the series was clearly getting stale. How many variations of Blackie and the Runt caught up in a situation not of their own making and be accused of homicide and him clearing himself can there be? Blackie would later appear on television briefly with Kent Taylor starring.Anyway Boston Blackie had a good run while it lasted.

Michael_Elliott Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949) * 1/2 (out of 4) The final film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series once again features Chester Morris in the role of the former thief always having to work himself out of trouble. This time out he gets caught up in the murder of a Chinese man so he has to investigate, which leads to Chinatown and an illegal gambling plot. This was the final in the series and it's also the weakest as the film really doesn't contain any excitement or laughs, which were two things even the weaker films had. Even Morris comes off very tired looking in this film and Richard Lane too seems bored. Sid Tomack takes over the role of The Runt and is horrid in doing so. He's very obnoxious and doesn't contain any of the charm or wit of George E. Stone.

Spondonman With this one Columbia closed down the Blackie series, the 14th in 8 years and a fairly satisfying conclusion. Times and tastes were changing and actors and technicians were spending more time working for TV, this type of b film series became popular TV series during the '50's. Chester Morris moved onto doing more TV and stage stuff - and Richard Lane already was a successful TV wrestling commentator! I can almost hear him now - his high speed buzz-saw of a voice must have been perfect for the job! Blackie and Runt (Sid Tomack for the once) get accused of murdering Chinese laundry shop boss, tracking down the real killers with Inspector Farraday and Sgt. Matthews on their heels leads them into a web of ingenious diamond smugglers. This involves a diamond-cutting Nazi refugee held against his will but who seems to put up a good fight when confronted with Blackie, a night club owner who might be good or bad, a redhead who seems to walk all over Chinatown with hot diamonds in tow, and plenty of tea. As usual the 57 minutes are taken at warp speed, meaning that even though I've already seen it a couple of times I'll still have to see it again to finally settle who murdered who. Favourite bits: The "sleazy" tour of Chinatown that is by turns cringe-worthy and hilarious and Farraday's continuous witty estimations of Matthews' intelligence.All in all I think the BB's are an enjoyable and unjustly overlooked series with some films of course better than others, but with the last being as good as the first makes me wish they'd gone on churning them out just a few more years!