Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) goes undercover as an expert on rare books and winds up accused of murder by Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane). You could pretty much write your own Boston Blackie plot description similar to this and not be far off from the real thing. For example: Boston Blackie goes to the grocery store and finds the clerk dead. Inspector Farraday shows up and immediately thinks Blackie is the murderer. That's how the basic plot to every Boston Blackie movie breaks down. It's even more silly when you consider that Blackie was a renowned jewel thief, not a killer, so there's no real basis for Farraday to always assume the worst about him.My gentle criticisms of the series aside, they were always pretty entertaining movies. Yes they were one of the more repetitive detective series made in the '30s and '40s. They were also lots of fun with a likable cast and typically a brisk pace. In addition to the regulars, this one also features pretty Lynn Merrick. One other criticism is that this film reuses a gag from a previous Boston Blackie film where he smears soot on his face and masquerades as a black man to slip past the dimwitted cops. Of all the tacky gags to reuse they choose that one!

It's murder, this time, of which Boston Blackie is suspected—though, not surprisingly, Inspector Farraday never does get Blackie to the station to actually book him. Caught practically red-handed on a murder scene, Blackie has to resort to the old hiding-under-the-camera-hood gag, pretending he's the police photographer and backing slowly out of the room while the cops stand by watching. (Note to self to do some research: Did they still use those tripod cameras with the hood over the photographer's head in 1945?) Chester Morris is back as Boston Blackie in "Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion," from 1945.In this one, a counterfeit first edition of Dickens' "Pickwick Papers" is sold at auction and soon leads to murder. Blackie disguises himself as the elderly bookstore owner, even dealing with Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) while in disguise. Hard to figure how he gets away with these disguises - it's obviously Blackie every time.Lynn Merrick plays the book expert who works at the rare book shop, and a young Steve Cochran is her boyfriend. As someone pointed out, these two play for real, whereas Morris and The Runt (George E. Stone) are usually pretty flip. So this Blackie entry is a little more serious; also Blackie isn't at the top of his game.Enjoyable. One of the better ones in the series.

Up to now in the Boston Blackie crime drama series, the police could double for the Three Stooges and Blackie confidently and effortlessly sees through every mystery and dilemma. In this entry in the Boston Blackie series, the ever-suspected Blackie is not quite so omniscient - it takes hims some time to figure out who the real villain is - and the police are much more capable - they do figure out some things on their own.The mystery revolves around a forged first edition of a copy of the Pickwick Papers sold at auction in a store owned by Blackie's good friend, the wealthy Arthur Manleder. When the police burst in on the storefront of the man who put the forged book up for auction, they find him dead with Blackie standing over his dead body, gun in hand. By this time in the series, Inspector Farraday has begun to believe that it's possible for Blackie to change, but he can't ignore what he sees with his own two eyes. However, the police can't find the 50000 dollars for which the book was sold. The problem is, the real crooks can't find that money either and they're not leaving town without it. This gives Blackie a chance to solve the crime and clear himself, handled with great charm, wit, and confidence as always by Chester Morris as Blackie.

Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945) *** (out of 4) Eighth film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series is one of the better films. This time out Blackie (Chester Morris) gets involved in a first edition book, which turns out to be a fake and soon a man is dead and Blackie is the main suspect. This 66-minute film flies by and manages to be quite good even though these story lines are starting to repeat themselves with minor issues. Morris is once again very energetic and fun to watch in the role. The supporting cast of George E. Stone, Richard Lane and Frank Sully adds a lot to the movie as does the femme fatale played by Lynn Merrick.