A Close Call for Boston Blackie

A Close Call for Boston Blackie is a 1946 American crime film directed by Lew Landers. It is the tenth of fourteen Columbia Pictures films starring Chester Morris as Boston Blackie. Plot Ignoring Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane)'s friendly advice to stop helping women, Boston Blackie goes to the rescue of a female being attacked by two men. She turns out to be Geraldine "Gerry" Peyton (Lynn Merrick), an old flame of his. She begs him to help protect her baby from her husband John (an uncredited Mark Roberts), who has just been paroled. When John finds them together, he assumes the child is Blackie's and pulls out a gun. A fight breaks out, during which an unseen third party shoots John. Acting on an anonymous tip, Farraday arrives soon after and assumes Blackie is responsible for the dead body. Blackie has his sidekick, "the Runt" (George E. Stone), hide the baby at the apartment of the latter's girlfriend, Mamie Carleton (an unbilled Claire Carleton). Blackie escapes from dimwitted Sergeant Matthews (Frank Sully). An investigation soon arouses his suspicions. It turns out that Gerry and Smiley Slade are trying to swindle her wealthy father-in-law, Cyrus Peyton. The child is actually her brother Hack Hagen's (an unbilled Charles Lane). They framed Blackie in order to get rid of John. When Hagen tries to back out, worried that he will not get his son back, Smiley guns him down.