''One Mysterious Night'' is a 1944 crime film, the seventh in a

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

series of fourteen starring

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...

as reformed crook Boston Blackie. It was preceded by '' The Chance of a Lifetime'' and followed by ''

Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion ''Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion'' (also known as ''Booked on Suspicion'') is the eighth of 14 Columbia Pictures B movies starring Chester Morris as reformed thief Boston Blackie. Plot Boston Blackie's (Chester Morris) wealthy friend, Arthu ...

''. Blackie is called upon to recover a stolen diamond. The film is noteworthy as the directorial debut of Budd Boetticher, though he is credited under his real name, Oscar Boetticher, Jr. He had been working at Columbia as an assistant director on such films as '' The Desperadoes'' and ''

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

''. He had been called in to help complete films but called this his "first real picture".Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3. He helmed four more B-pictures before leaving the studio in 1945.

Plot

The Blue Star of the Nile is stolen from an exhibition guarded by the police under Inspector Farraday. Under intense pressure from the police commissioner to recover the diamond, Farraday tells reporters, among them Dorothy Anderson, that he is sure Boston Blackie is responsible. However, he does not really believe that; it is only a ruse. When Blackie walks into Farraday's office, the inspector is so desperate he deputizes his old nemesis to get the jewel back, using his own methods. Blackie is certain the robbers had inside help. He finds a wad of gum under some of the furniture at the exhibit hall; it still bears the impression of the diamond. Blackie targets George Daley, the assistant manager, especially after he learns that George had recently bought a large amount of gum. He gets sidetracked when Anderson recognizes him and has him arrested, but Farraday soon lets him out the back way. Daley's sister Eileen finds out that her brother is involved with thieves Paul Martens and Matt Healy, and that he later hid the diamond in her purse. She persuades him to give the jewel to Blackie. However, his former partners show up just after he meets Blackie. In the ensuing scuffle, they kill Daley, and kidnap Blackie and his sidekick, "the Runt". The crooks figure that, with Blackie missing and unable to clear himself, he will be suspected of both the robbery and the murder. Indeed, Farraday begins to believe just that. Blackie tells his captors that what they have is a fake that he intended to switch with the real diamond, supposedly stored in a vault. Uncertain, they take it to fence Jumbo Madigan to get his expert opinion. Blackie manages to free himself and the Runt, and persuades Madigan to go along with his story. However, when the police surround the place, Martens and Healy realize they have been double crossed, and shoot Madigan, though not fatally. When the cops break in, they do not spot the pair, posing as mannequins. The crooks later return to their apartment. Blackie offers to steal the real diamond. They agree to his arrangement, but keep the Runt as a hostage. Blackie goes to Farraday, who surrounds the building with policemen. Then Blackie and Farraday enter the apartment to negotiate the Runt's release. Martens and Healy make a break for it, but are caught.

Cast

as Boston Blackie *

Janis Carter Janis Carter (born Janis Elinore Dremann, October 10, 1913 – July 30, 1994) was an American stage and film actress who performed throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. During the mid-1950s, she began working regularly on television, co-ho ...

as Dorothy Anderson * William Wright as Paul Martens * Richard Lane as Inspector Farraday * George E. Stone as The Runt * Robert Williams as Matt Healy * Mark Roberts as George Daley (as Robert E. Scott) *

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

as Eileen Daley (uncredited) *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Jumbo Madigan (uncredited) *

Harrison Greene Harrison Greene (January 18, 1884 – September 28, 1945) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1931 and 1945. The son of a jeweler, Greene was born in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in California. He was a d ...

as Arthur Manleder (uncredited)

References

External links

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Review of film
at Variety {{Budd Boetticher American crime films American black-and-white films Films directed by Budd Boetticher 1944 crime films 1944 directorial debut films 1944 films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Paul Sawtell Boston Blackie films 1940s American films