The Boston Blackie was a gum shoe who started out on the wrong side of the law.

He traded in his safe crackers tools when he embraced law and order, and he went from pulling off heists to foiling them. Blackie went from the

page to the screen and then to a career as a radio detective, a career that

began 71 years ago this month.

Blackie was created by Jack Boyle

and the character first appeared in stories published in 1914.

In these earliest incarnations Blackie, whose name was Horatio Black, was a criminal doing time behind bars.

He was a thief, but far from reformed. But Boyle wrote Blackie as a crook with a heart of gold, devoted to his wife and adhering to a firm moral code.

Boyle himself had spent time in prison, and his authentic tales of the incarcerated life drew editors

and readers alike.

Boston Blackie appeared in several silent movies from 1918 to 1927, but a second shot at the big screen led to an overhaul of the character.

In 1941, Chester Morris starred in Meet Boston Blackie, the first

of 14 B movies featuring the character from Columbia Pictures. It was in this

incarnation that Boston Blackie fully evolved into a reformed

thief-turned-detective. The film series featured Richard Lane as Inspector Faraday, Blackie's

nemesis on the police force who was never quite convinced Blackie had

abandoned his criminal ways.

George E. Stone played Runt, Blackie's chauffeur and sidekick,

and Lloyd Corrigan appeared as Arthur Mannletter,

Blackie's wealthy friend and benefactor.

Describing the film series, Leonard Maltin observed that Morris brought to the role of Blackie

a delightful offhand manner and sense of humor that kept the films fresh even when the scripts weren't.

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