Meet Boston Blackie (1941)

Starring Chester Morris, Rochelle Hudson, Richard Lane, Charles Wagenheim, Constance Worth
Directed by Robert Florey
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Former safecracker Boston Blackie finds the police on his trail when he returns home to New York, which is complicated when he's suspected in a pair of murders tied to an espionage ring.

The first "Boston Blackie" film in Columbia's long series starring Chester Morris as the ex-con trying to help others while keeping the police at bay, this is a more dynamically filmed adventure than I expected, perhaps due to the presence of innovative director Florey at the helm.  There's some clever exchanges in the screenplay, an exciting car chase, and Hudson is very cute as the young lady who's driven into trouble by Morris, but falls for him anyway.  It's fun to spot some of the familiar character actors who have very brief cameos in the film, including Byron Foulger and Nestor Paiva, and although the espionage plot is not a terribly unique or interesting one, the picture held my interest, and I found it very entertaining.

Alias Boston Blackie (1942)

Starring Chester Morris, Adele Mara, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan
Directed by Lew Landers
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Boston Blackie organizes a variety show at the prison he once did time at, unwittingly helping a young convict with revenge on his mind to escape.

One of Morris' long series of Boston Blackie films for Columbia Pictures, and it's a good one, with a nice balance of mystery and humor, and a yuletide setting, making it a perfect film to watch during the holidays.  Although the story of steering a young man from ruining his life was probably a chestnut even back when this film was made, the whodunit portion of the plot kept me guessing, and Morris is engaging as the ex-con who does enough in the movie to warrant a return to prison, but is given a wide berth by the police inspector tailing him.  Larry Parks plays the young convict on the loose but is better known for his impersonation of Al Jolson in a pair of later films.  And a young Lloyd Bridges plays a bus driver!