Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Disappointing, to say the least. Most of the Columbia films, while not by any stretch great art, are passable enough B-entertainment, with good production values, fairly logical plots and some decent characters. This one has got to be one of the weakest of them all, though. It suffers not just from a sloppy, coincidence-laden plot that makes no sense at all, but also a narratively dubious, cringe-worthy bit where Blackie and Runt don black-face to avoid capture by the cops. Even in 1945, such broad, ethnic-based "humor" would have seemed, if not quite outdated, at least hopelessly old-fashioned. And while I can see Lt. Faraday's obsession with nailing Blackie for some crime (any crime!) being a fun running gag in these films, it's still an awful stretch for audiences to believe he honestly sees Blackie as a crazed killer.

The one constant thread in the Boston Blackie series is Richard Lane's obsession with nailing Chester Morris for some big crime. And of course Morris has to go to work to nail the real crooks to prove his innocence.But Inspector Farraday's obsession with Boston Blackie is a bit much in Boston Blackie's Rendezvous. Whatever else he is society crook Blackie is no homicidal maniac and Farraday should know that. Still the writers here think he's a strangler.This all begins when Blackie's playboy friend Arthur Manleder calls late at night on Blackie and the Runt to find his nephew Jimmy Cook who has escaped from an asylum for the hopelessly insane. Cook is played with sardonic brilliance by Steve Cochran in one of his early films. Cook breaks in on Blackie after Manleder leaves and nearly kills him, but does rob him of one of his suits for a disguise.Then he goes after an obsession of his, taxi dancer Nina Foch. Quite frankly if Farraday wasn't so obsessed with Blackie the film might have been over in 15 minutes.Arthur Manleder is played in this film by Harry Hayden taking over from Lloyd Corrigan. The Manleder character was dropped from future Boston Blackie films. And Iris Adrian is at her brassy best as Foch's roommate and general protector.Boston Blackie's Rendezvous is good for the presence of Steve Cochran and Nina Foch and bad for Richard Lane's obsession taken to truly silly lengths.

Boston Blackie's Rendezvous (1945) *** (out of 4) Ninth film in Columbia's Boston Blackie series once again features Chester Morris in the role. In this film, a psychopath (Steve Cochran) escapes from an asylum and begins to strangle various women. It appears he's working his way down a line until he can meet a dancer (Nina Foch) he became obsessed with in the asylum. Blackie (Morris), The Runt (George E. Stone) and Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane) are once again hot on the case. This is a step up from the last couple films I've seen in the series because it's unlike anything that came before it. Cochran is very good as the killer and the screenplay doesn't shy away from his evilness. Morris, Stone and Lane are as entertaining as ever. Morris gets to do a couple nice magic tricks in the film and the twist involving the killer trapping him was well written.

It seems the more Boston Blackie films I watch, the more I think that this B-detective series just isn't quite as good as The Saint, The Falcon or Charlie Chan. This isn't to say that it is bad, but it just lacks the great fun and chemistry of some of its contemporaries. This film, while offering some pluses, isn't enough to change my opinion.For once the plot is a bit different. A man who was on the parole board that recommended Blackie for parole many years before comes to see Blackie for help. It seems that his nephew is an escaped maniac who must be caught but he's afraid of what the scandal might do to the family, so Blackie agrees to investigate secretly. However, when the maniac starts killing people and the newspapers get involved, it's now a police matter and for absolutely no good reason, the cops blame Blackie for the murders---even though in every previous film they blamed him but he ultimately proved he's working for law and order! Plus he is a reformed jewel thief--not a murderer.Instead of discussing the plot further, there's one other aspect of the film you just can't help noticing. When Blackie and Runt (his sidekick) are hiding from the police, they go in disguise--putting on black face and pretending to be cleaning women. On one level, this is kind of funny, but on the other it is very racially offensive--so much, that I just sat there in shock when they first appeared like this on screen!Overall, it's an okay entry in the series--not one that is remarkably different or better but an amiable time-passer nonetheless.