Dick Tracy: RKO Classic Collection

The comic-strip crime-fighter Dick Tracy, created by Chester Gould, was part of the Saturday matinee serials, starring Ralph Byrd. In 1945, RKO revived the Tracy series, and Morgan Conway was chosen to portray Tracy in a pair of feature films: Dick Tracy and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball. RKO's earliest publicity photos posed Conway in profile, hoping to imitate Gould's square-jawed caricatures. Although Conway's' screen Tracy didn't resemble the print Tracy in the flesh, Conway's dramatic interpretation was faithful; he gave the role a humble, businesslike quality while keeping with police procedure. Morgan Conway is considered by many to be the best on screen Dick Tracy. Although Conway's Tracy was praised by critics as the closest to Gould's original concept, the public seemed to prefer Byrd, who returned in the role for the final two RKO features. To them, Ralph Byrd was Dick Tracy. RKO accepted this and hired Byrd to finish the series. Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome. Boris Karloff spices up the final RKO feature as the fearsome bad guy known as Gruesome. All four movies had many of the visual features associated with film noir: dramatic, shadowy photographic compositions, with many exterior scenes filmed at night. In addition, RKO stocked the films with familiar faces, creating a true rogues' gallery of characters. Max Allan Collins - who took over the writing of the TRACY strip from Chester Gould, and went on to create ROAD TO PERDITION - provides informative on-screen introductions to each film, exclusive to this VCI release. DICK TRACY DETECTIVE: Tracy, in his inimitable fashion, brings to justice a psychotic, scar-faced, thug known as "splitface" who has been busy bumping off the members of a jury that once convicted him. After many intriguing and suspenseful situations, the criminal is tracked down by the master detective, Tracy, and his faithful side kick, Pat Patton. 62 minutes / 1945. DICK TRACY vs CUEBALL: A braided cord is his only clue as Tracy (Conway) searches desperately for a gang of jewel thieves. Following a trail of murder, violence and robbery, Tracy tracks down the bald-headed leader known as 'CueBall', who has a penchant for strangling his victims. 63 minutes / 1946. DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA: Tracy must track down a murdering fiend called 'The Claw'. The tension builds to a shocking climax as Tracy solves one of his most difficult cases ever. Fun and exciting! 60 minutes / 1947. DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME: Violence and armed conflict provides the background. Boris Karloff is great as the criminal, Gruesome, who can hold people in suspended animation with his nerve gas. 65 minutes / 1947. TRT: 250 minutes.

Director: William Berke
Director: John Rawlins
Actor: Joe Devlin
Actor: William Woodson
Actor: Edward Ashley
Actor: Morgan Conway
Actor: Boris Karloff
Actor: Ralph Byrd
Actor: Anne Jeffreys
Actor: Anne Gwynne
Actor: Mike Mazurki
Actor: Lyle Latell
Actor: Kay Christopher
Actor: Jane Greer
Actor: Jack Lambert
Actor: Howard Ashley
Actor: Rita Corday Clyde
Actor: June Clayworth
Actor: Ian Keith
Actor: Dick Wessel
Actor: Lyle Latell Pat Patton
Actor: Bernadene Hayes
Actor: Mickey Kuhn
Actor: Jimmy Conlin
Actor: Douglas Walton
Actor: William B. Davidson
Actor: Skelton Knaggs
Actor: Esther Howard
Actor: Jim Nolan
Actor: Tony Barrett
Actor: Joseph Crehan
Actor: Morgan Wallace
Actor: Byron Foulger
Actor: Richard Powers
Actor: Jimmy Crane
Actor: William Halligan
Actor: Charles Marsh
Actor: Harry Harvey
Actor: Al Bridge
Actor: Milton Parsons
Actor: Edythe Elliott
Actor: Jay Norris
Actor: Lex Barker
Actor: Mary Currier
Actor: Phil Warren
Actor: Ralph Dunn
Actor: Shawn McGlory
Actor: Dorothy Grainger
Actor: William Gould
Actor: Robert Bray
Actor: Edmund Glover
Actor: Elena Warren
Actor: Jason Robards Sr.
Actor: Tex Swan
Actor: Jimmy Clemons
Actor: Robert Clarke
Actor: Jack Cheatham
Actor: Bruce Edwards
Actor: Suzi Crandall
Actor: Tanis Chandler
Actor: Wilbur Mack
Actor: Raoul Freeman
Actor: George Cooper
Actor: Ernie Adams
Actor: Roger Creed
Actor: William Newell
Actor: George Lloyd
Actor: Jimmy Jordan
Actor: Max Wagner
Actor: Frank Meredith
Actor: Wade Crosby
Actor: Frank Mills
Actor: Lee Phelps
Actor: Jack Gargan
Actor: Sam Ash
Actor: Robert Malcolm
Actor: Eddie Borden
Actor: Lorin Raker
Actor: Carl Faulkner
Actor: Bill Wallace
Actor: Bert Roach
Actor: Florence Pepper
Actor: Harry Cheshire
Actor: Phil Arnold
Actor: Jack Chefe
Actor: Perc Launders
Actor: Alphonse Martell
Actor: Harry Strang
Actor: Lee Frederick
Actor: Trevor Bardette
Actor: George Magrill
Actor: Fred Aldrich
Actor: Bob Reeves
Actor: Tom Noonan
Actor: Gertrude Astor
Actor: Franklin Farnum