The Return of Boston Blackie

The Return of Boston Blackie is a 1927 low-budget, silent, drama film starring Bob Custer. Based upon a character created by Jack Boyle for short stories appearing in The American, Cosmopolitan and Redbook magazines in the 1900s. It was directed by Harry O. Hoyt and written by Leah Baird.^[1]

The Return of Boston Blackie
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Directed by	Harry O. Hoyt
Written by	Jack Boyle (story) Leah Baird (adaptation, screenplay)
Starring	Bob Custer Strongheart
Production company	Chadwick Pictures
Distributed by	First Division Pictures
Release date	August 1, 1927 (1927-08-01)
Running time	6 reels (1787.6 meters)
Country	United States
Language	Silent film (English intertitles)

The film may have been based on a specific story by Boyle, published in Cosmopolitan, but is likely an original story based on the character.^[2]

The character also appeared in another silent film in 1918, Boston Blackie's Little Pal, played by Bert Lytell.

Plot

Just out of jail and vowing to go straight, former jewel thief Boston Blackie undertakes the reformation of a pretty blonde who has stolen a necklace from a cabaret dancer. He learns that the jewel belongs to the mother of the blonde, and the blonde's philandering father gave it as a gift to the cabaret girl. Blackie must find a way to return the necklace to the owner's safe without arousing the suspicions of the girl's family.

Cast

• Corliss Palmer
• Bob Custer (as Raymond Glenn)
• Rosemary Cooper
• Coit Albertson
• William Worthington
• Florence Wix
• J.P. Lockney
• Violet Palmer
• Strongheart

Preservation

A complete print of The Return of Boston Blackie is held by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York.^[3] The film was released on DVD with a score by David Knudtson by Grapevine Video in 2014.^[1]