Premier Collections:
Boston Blackie
Liner notes written by Elizabeth McLeod

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"Enemy to those who make him an enemy...Friend to those who have no friend!"

That's Boston Blackie, safecracker turned crime fighter and a long-running favorite with fans of straight-ahead detective fiction in a wide range of media. Beginning inauspiciously in a 1919 short story by author Jack Boyle, Blackie progressed from the printed page into silent films, then into talkies -- and finally, in the 1940s, into radio.

The first radio Blackie was Chester Morris, who played the role in a long series of B movies during the 1940s. Beginning in 1944 as a summer replacement series for "Amos 'n' Andy," Morris brought a certain wrong-side-of-the-tracks charm to his portrayal and gave the character a well-crafted introduction to the broadcast medium.

But the longest-running radio Blackie was an odd casting choice: Broadway and sometime soap opera actor Richard Kollmar, best known to radio fans along the Eastern seaboard as the urbane Dick of WOR's "Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick," a morning show which also featured his wife, newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen. Beginning in 1945, Kollmar starred in a series of 220 syndicated episodes of "Boston Blackie," produced at WOR and distributed by the Frederic W. Ziv Company of Cincinnati. The programs were solid, workmanlike products of the WOR dramatic staff and remained in distribution well into the 1950s -- becoming a reliable feature for small-town stations across the US. Kollmar is joined in these syndicated episodes by two other familiar WOR voices: Maurice Tarplin -- the "Mysterious Traveler" himself -- as Inspector Faraday, and Jan Minor as girlfriend/inconvenience Mary Wesley.

There's no tormented noir drama here, no deep layers of introspection -- just good old-fashioned crime solving fun. And you can enjoy the clean, crisp sound of these newly restored episodes in this latest Premier Collection from the First Generation Radio Archives - ten full hours of light-hearted detective action and adventure, transferred directly from original 16" transcription discs.

(Note: The broadcast dates listed are the dates on which these shows were originally heard over the Blue Network of the American Broadcasting Company. Local broadcast dates varied widely from station to station.)

Uncle Frank Murdered By Joe Parker (#64)
Joe Parker kills his uncle in cold blood, but a seemingly airtight alibi and a lack of witnesses may prevent his arrest.
Tuesday, July 2, 1946

The Skating Rink Murders (#65)
A young woman is found strangled at the roller skating rink with a $50,000 ring on her finger -- but the ring doesn't belong to her.
Tuesday, July 9, 1946

The Murdered Truck Driver (#66)
Truck driver Mark Crane is found murdered after a late-night delivery is hijacked. But there's something strange about the crime: the truck was empty when the hijackers struck.
Tuesday, July 16, 1946

The Murdering Cuckoo Clock (#67)
The son of a clock shop owner is killed by a gunshot...from a cuckoo clock!
Tuesday, July 23, 1946

Mutiny Leads to Murder Aboard the Freighter Swan (#68)
There's murder on the high seas after the crew of a freighter decides to mutiny and seize the ship's cargo for themselves.
Tuesday, July 30, 1946

Jerry Williams Fixed Court Case (#69)
Crime boss Jerry Williams is found not guilty after his criminal associates pay off the witnesses to a murder he committed. But now he's on trial for another murder...and the prime witness is Boston Blackie.
Tuesday, August 6, 1946

The Diamond Smugglers (#70)
An aging bookstore owner and his wife seem like good, honest citizens...but they actually run a front for diamond smugglers.
Tuesday, August 13, 1946

Jealous Partners and Arson (#71)
Jim Parker and Robert Gardner are business partners and co-owners of a large building full of machinery. For an unknown reason, Parker decides not to renew the insurance policy on the building. In the meantime, Gardner is broke and desperate to borrow $25,000.00 from anyone who will lend it - including Blackie.
Tuesday, August 20, 1946

The Rockwell Diamond (#72)
A young woman identifies Blackie as the person responsible for stealing $10,000 from her grandfather - but she may have an ulterior motive.
Tuesday, August 27, 1946

The Stolen Rare Book (#73)
A valuable first edition is discovered stolen after the vault attendant of the public library's rare book department falls ill while on the job. 
Tuesday, September 3, 1946

The Backstage Murder (#74)
Mary talks Blackie into appearing in a local production of "The Mikado" but, while rehearsing for his role as Nanki-Poo - complete with tights, yet - he discovers the dead body of the theater's superintendent.
Tuesday, September 10, 1946

The Apartment Swindler (#75)
Two con men swindle a newly demobilized soldier out of $300 when he puts down a deposit on an apartment during a housing shortage.
Tuesday, September 17, 1946

The Abbott Painting (#76)
Shorty is in a jam: he's been framed for a murder he didn't commit. To obtain the evidence that will clear him of the crime, Blackie offers to steal a valuable painting from the city art museum.
Tuesday, September 24, 1946

The Undersea Murder (#77)
Two partners search for gold in a sunken ship, but when the treasure is found one of the partners murders the other...or does he? 
Tuesday, October 1, 1946

The Murdered Show Dog Owner (#78)
Wealthy widow and society matron Marilyn Lawrence is found murdered after refusing an offer to sell her two prize-winning dogs at the annual dog show.
Tuesday, October 8, 1946

Murder at the Rodeo (#79)
A horse bucks a rider at the rodeo and, when a burr is discovered under the saddle, attempted murder is suspected. But whom did the culprit really want to kill?
Tuesday, October 15, 1946

Faraday Shot (#80)
After evidence collected by his officers sends Bill Thayer to prison, members of Thayer's mob retaliate by shooting Inspector Faraday as he walks home. He survives, but Blackie is determined to hunt down his attempted assassins.
Tuesday, October 22, 1946

Granny's Witchcraft (#81)
At a costume party, an old woman warns Blackie that his life is in danger...and moments later a chandelier crashes to the floor, missing him by inches!
Tuesday, October 29, 1946

A New Face for Joe Harvey (#82)
After stealing $50,000, Joe Harvey has plastic surgery to change his appearance. But the doctor has a surprise for Joe: he's changed his face, but he's made him look like cop killer Donald Tate!
Tuesday, November 5, 1946

Only One Way Out For Me (#83)
Businessman Ralph Burton has committed suicide. Blackie's friend Charlie Kingston is concerned that his pressuring him to repay his large debts may have been the cause of it, so he hires Blackie to look into the matter.
Tuesday, November 12, 1946

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