The best Chester Morris’s crime movies
We present our ranking of the best Chester Morris’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Chester Morris.
Unchained
6.2/10
This fact-based prison drama tells the tale of a band of prisoners living in the innovative 2,600-acre prison at Chino, California. The place takes a humanistic approach to reform and there are no armed guards, no lockups and no uniforms. The underlying philosophy is that if these things are not there, the prisoners will not want to escape, and will instead accept their punishment. A new inmate arrives and soon accustoms himself to the new idea. The story includes the Oscar nominated song Unchained Melody.
Blondie Johnson
6.6/10
A Depression-downtrodden waif uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.
The Big House
7.1/10
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.
Gambler's Choice
5.9/10
The professional gambler Ross Hadley is the owner of a posh gaming establishment in the heart of New York...
Alibi
5.7/10
Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice.
Public Hero Number 1
6.6/10
G-Man Jeff Crane poses as a crook to infiltrate the notorious Purple Gang, a band of hoodlums which preys upon other hoodlums. Orchestrating the jailbreak of the gang's leader, Crane joins him in a Dillinger-like flight across the country.
Blind Alley
6.3/10
A gangster takes a doctor and his family hostage.
The Phantom Thief
6.4/10
Boston Blackie, in the 11th film of the Columbia series, indulges in some wit-trading with a squirmy spiritualist who deals in blackmail, murder and the occult. "Blackie" out to help his pal, "Runt," recover some jewels, finds himself involved in the homicides, and also finds himself as the prime suspect, and now has to find the real culprit in order to clear himself. So "Blackie,", a man of many talents and already a proved magician from cases past, shows he knows a little bit about dancing skeletons, walking phantoms and spiritualism himself, and holds a séance to unmask the murderer.
Woman Trap
5.5/10
In Woman Trap, Hal Skelly is hard-bitten police sergeant Dan Malone, whose mission in life is to rid his community of gangsters. The revelation that Dan's own brother Ray (Chester Morris) is the secret head of all local criminal activities does not weaken Dan's resolve in the least. The barely relevant title is a reference to "heroine" Kitty Evans (Evelyn Brent), the wife of a minor gang functionary. Screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz, presumably on a dare, makes a brief appearance as a crime reporter.
After Midnight with Boston Blackie
6.4/10
Blackie is arrested when retrieving stolen gems from a safety deposit box for a friend.
Smashing the Rackets
6/10
Jim 'Socker' Conway, former boxer and FBI hero, is maneuvered for political reasons into a do-nothing job in the district attorney's office. Meanwhile, he meets wild debutante Letty Lane, girlfriend of mob mouthpiece Steve Lawrence; and Letty's much nicer sister Susan. Now the slot machine gang brutally beats Jim's friends Franz and Otto. And Jim finds a way to use his nominal position to go into the racket- busting business. But his success puts Letty in deadly peril...
The Bat Whispers
6.3/10
Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale, a bank employee, and police detective Anderson. When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.
The Gay Bride
6.4/10
Mary wants to marriy a gangster because that is where the money is. Unfortunately, the life expectancy and finances of a gangster are unstable.
One Mysterious Night
6.1/10
After a rare gem is stolen from an exhibition at a posh hotel, Inspector Farraday decides to recruit former thief Boston Blackie to find the stone. Along with his assistant, "The Runt", Blackie focuses his investigation on the hotel manager, George Daley, and his sister, Eileen. Through disguises and ruses, Blackie and the Runt try to trick their way to discovering the thieves.
Trapped by Boston Blackie
6.4/10
Blackie is the natural suspect when an expensive pearl necklace is stolen while he is supposed to be guarding it.
A Close Call for Boston Blackie
6/10
Blackie runs into a woman he formally loved who now is married with a kid. When her husband gets out of prison he's killed in Blackie's apartment and of course the police thing Blackie pulled the trigger. Blackie must set out to prove his innocence as well as capture the real killers.
The Chance of a Lifetime
6.1/10
A mad scramble for stolen loot ensues after Boston Blackie has prisoners released for work in a wartime defence plant.
King for a Night
6.8/10
A prizefighter is convicted of a murder that was actually committed by his sister.
Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood
6.2/10
Blackie receives a call from a friend who asks him to retrieve some money from his apartment and deliver it to him in California. Performing this good deed, he is accused of theft, but is allowed to proceed to Hollywood to help the police find a lost diamond.
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
6.1/10
Blackie is seen leaving a Chinese laundry where the proprietor has been murdered, and must track down the real killer in Chinatown.
