America is at war, and even happy-go-lucky types like Boston Blackie have to become a little bit more serious; and so he does, coming up with the idea that prisoners with minor sentences should be released on parole so that they can work in factories to help the war effort. In fact, the opening scene, where he pleads with the government official for his cause - and his 'friend' Inspector Faraday, literally on the other side, opposes it so strongly that for the first time, instead of a slightly dull cop, he seems like a real stubborn 'law-and-order' type out of the Wild West - , looks VERY serious for a 'Boston Blackie' movie; and when Blackie can finally convince the authorities and the 'experiment' begins, it almost seems we're in for a pretty nasty and not at all funny gangster story this time...One of Blackie's old friends is allowed to see his wife and kid the first night he's out (all the others stay in his apartment, sleeping on camp beds in his living room) - but the next morning, he doesn't show up at the factory: he's gone to collect the hidden 60 000 dollars from the robbery he'd committed with two others (two REALLY dangerous mugs) and for which he'd been sentenced. But the two guys follow him into his apartment and demand their share; they threaten his family, and he fights with them, killing one of them accidentally, while the other one gets away.And what does Blackie do? In order to save his project and to protect the others from going back to jail, HE takes the murder rap, but of course eludes the police as usual - but meanwhile, the surviving mug has kidnapped his friend's family, still demanding the money, which lies safely in the police headquarters' safe... So - the only thing for Blackie to do in order to lure the gangster into a trap is to 'steal' the money from the police!...And so the good old familiar fun begins again: everyone is hunting each other, Blackie makes his famous escapes (he even uses the good old-fashioned trick of the turning bookshelf that was so popular in 30s' mysteries!) - and in the end, he and his ex-convict friends, together with the factory owner, capture the crook, and let him dangle on a rope from a 14th floor window until he confesses how his gangster friend was killed. And now Inspector Faraday really changes his mind about the whole thing - because Blackie gives him all the credit for 'his' ingenious work! This is indeed something more than an average 'Boston Blackie' adventure: it doesn't only deal with patriotic issues, but also with social ones - the reintegration of former criminals into society. (After all, Blackie himself is an example!) But don't be afraid it'll get too moralistic - there are still plenty of opportunities for Blackie and his friends to entertain us as usual with their clever, cunning, astonishing tricks!

"Your logic is simply hypnotic" says a "dumb copper" to Boston Blackie in The Chance of a Lifetime. I can't help but feel the logic of William Castle's directing follows in turn. Castle certainly developed his stylistic system and method of directing across his career, but this early entry characterizes his lack more than anything else (a lack he wold make up for in time). Diegetic space is constructed through shot scale cut-ins for an otherwise static camera. Later, Castle would develop his system with more mobile framing and angular contrapuntal direction (Ohmart in the Emergo scene in Haunted Hill is captured in a multiple of angular shots). In The Chance, the camera is positioned with frontality as the dominant. When groups of characters are framed, they huddle symmetrically staged in front of the camera lens creating balanced tableaux. The staging and blocking does not have the oblique quality prominent in later Castle films. The story itself involves Blackie's proposed plan to the state's Governor to parole ex-cons in order to aid in munitions manufacturing for the war. Recidivism and risk assessment are the name of the game as Blackie gets tangled up in the loose ends of an old crime of one of the paroled cons. There is good suspense and characterization but at times the acting is stilted while the dialogue is a little on-the-nose. As is characteristic of Castle "B" status films, plot contrivances abound. An earlier reviewer seemed to express that the contrivances are an asset or perhaps aid, while I cannot agree. The "cigarette gag" and "secret panel" gag have the lameness that makes narrative progress move forward with an awkward gait. The buffoonery of the police was an issue with the critics upon release as far as it concerns the status quo. For me, the portrayal of the police as stooges gets tired and leads to the story dragging somewhat (others may disagree). The ending involves confessions under extreme duress and although neat, are also an element of convenience at service for the production and not the audience. The flaws in directing would be repeated several times by Castle as he worked slowly to develop a more sound stylistic system.

I have seen just about all of the Chester Morris "Boston Blackie" films and have to say that this one is about the worst due to very, very bad writing. While the usual "dumb cop" schtick has worn too thin (Faraday and his assistant are sub-moronic clichés as police--too dumb to be anything other than tiresome), my main complaint is the dumb plot itself--it's just so ridiculous and hard to believe that the film soon lost me.Blackie has a plan and he asks the warden at a prison to parole ten men to him (himself, an ex-con) so the guys can work in a defense plant owned by his friend. This is unlikely, but since it was a WWII-era film, I could ignore this. But, when a man has committed a robbery and has only served a short amount of time and EVERYONE tells Blackie this man is too great a risk, Blackie STILL pushes for the man's release. Okay...not exactly believable,...but I guess I can go with this. However, when later this same prisoner's two old accomplices confront him and demand they split the stolen money, there is a struggle and one of the men is killed. So what does Blackie do when he discovers this? Tell the warden or call the police? No. Instead, he insanely convinces the police that HE (Blackie) killed the man and stole the loot!! This just made no sense at all, as it practically puts Blackie into the electric chair AND ruins the chances of his pet project to succeed. What were the writers thinking? About the only good part of the film involved Blackie and Runt dressing as cleaning women (something they did in another film--repetition is an ever-present problem for Blackie films as plot elements are recycled again and again). Unlike Sherlock Holmes, the Falcon or even Charlie Chan, the excessively repetitive nature of the Blackie series make seeing all the films rather unnecessary. I say see a few and then quit, otherwise it's all "like a case of déjà vu all over again" (Yogi Berra).By the way, if you look closely, you'll see Sid Melton is one of the parolees. Sid was "Alf Monroe" from the TV series GREEN ACRES.

Most all of the 1940s Columbia "Boston Blackie" films starring Chester Morris are worth watching. This entry has Blackie vouching for some convicts (remember, Blackie himself is a reformed ex-con), trying to get them early releases so they can work in factories aiding the war effort. A judge agrees, and lets them out to begin work. Obviously, things do not work out as planned...Morris's personal charm and colorful acting style always help the film along, and his sidekick The Runt and his antagonists from the police force return from the earlier entries in the series. It's a fast moving 65 minutes, and like any of the b-movie directorial efforts of William Castle at Columbia in the 1940s, it features a number of clever visuals and plot contrivances. Also, the film is NOT a traditional murder mystery, but I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to see it yourself. Definitely worth finding for fans of b-movie detective films. And it's always great to see Douglas Fowley as a gangster again!