Boston Blackie

Boston Blackie is a half-hour detective series which follows the adventures of Boston Blackie, "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friends." Along with his sidekick, Shorty, and his girl, Mary, Blackie gets drawn into mysteries and adventures. Although having a strong concern for justice, Blackie's relationship with the law and with law enforcement is sometimes uneasy.

Boston Blackie originated in a series of short stories by Jack Boyle, whose own relationship with the law was uneasy. Indeed, he wrote the first Blackie stories in 1914 while serving a sentence in San Quentin. Boyle's Blackie is a safecracker and thief, an American Raffles without the social polish.

The stories led to movies, radio, and, later, television; in those versions, Blackie has abandoned his life of crime and works for justice, but, because of his record, is often threatened with arrest in connection with the crime of the episode. The shows in this collection come from the second Boston Blackie radio series, which aired from 1945 to 1950. Blackie is voiced by Richard Kollmar; his nemesis Inspector Faraday, by Maurice Tarplin; his lady friend Mary, by Jan Miner.

For more information, see the Boston Blackie website.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.