Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

The brief but strong Dick Tracy series from Republic studios remains one of the most important moments in the history of the Hollywood B movie. Probably under the insistence of Chester Gould (I can't imagine he was pleased with the earlier serials, that just borrowed the Tracy name for typical serial fare), the later '40s Tracy series is a pristine elaboration of what would become known as the 'police procedural' genre, the most famous of which is the Jack Webb "Dragnet" series. The most striking feature of this series is its villains; despite their comic strip names, they are brutal, cold, and completely believable. They are way ahead of their time in the history of cinema; Cueball is an excellent example. He is simply a common criminal finding himself in unusual circumstances - perfect counterpoint to Tracy's uncommonly common cop presented with a seemingly insoluble puzzle. Like the other films in this series (all on a par), this is a tough, brief, invigorating police procedural, Well recommended.

So where else would viewers see a friendly neighborhood dive called The Dripping Dagger, replete with a gleaming graphic of blood falling from a wicked-looking stabber. Sort of whets the old desire to drop in for a drink and maybe a piece of unelective surgery. Pretty good Tracy tongue-in-cheek. These programmers were always played straight, but the outlandish names tip off the real intent. Tracy's trying to track down a murderous jewel thief whose shaved head resembles that of a new-born. In those days, pure baldies were a rarity unlike today's hairless male fashion. Great cast that includes such visual eccentrics as the sepulchral Milton Parsons and the unfortunate Skelton Knaggs whose cratered face peering through a magnifying lens would frighten Frankenstein. But stealing the show is blowzy old Esther Howard who looks like she's been on a 60 year bender, and acts like a 60-year old Mike Tyson. So when she backs down even the burly strongman Cueball, we believe it. Actually, these entries get their appeal from the parade of human eccentrics that populate them. To me, however, the biggest mystery is why Tracy doesn't spend more time at home with the very uneccentric looking Tess Trueheart (Anne Jeffries) who is enough to turn any man's head, square-jawed cop or not.

First time of viewing: this is a no-frills man's film, to my senses a better version of a comic strip than Sin City and non-cartoon, albeit in a far more tired looking condition!

Dumb Cueball only just out of prison robs and kills his way into Tracy's orbit, stealing a necklace worth USD 30,000 - a mere bagatelle in 1946 surely! The problem is: how to get rid of it? Old Mrs Bucket-Of-Mud from Farewell My Lovely also breezes in but blows out again rather hurriedly thanks to the charming mental processes of Cueball. Tracy does manage to stop the film descending into a bloodbath, his sidekick Pat has some amusing scenes at the end of blackjacks, Tess (good) and Mona (bad) both looked suitably glamorous. Some very good scenes, such as at the hastily arranged midnight autotopsy or the rather strange hidden basement at Simon's place. But sorry! I preferred the more familiar Ralph Byrd and his hat in the role of Tracy, Morgan Conway kept reminding me of a serious Milton Berle. And was there only one place in America selling hatbands in 1946?

But I thoroughly enjoyed it for all that, wished it had been 2 hours long and will it put on my list of films to watch again. I just hope there's a good print around instead of the TV dupe I saw

Dick Tracy must solve the murder of the courier of $300,000 worth of diamonds. Only clue of the strangulation are bits of a material embedded in the neck. Soon two more killings and the same material. Tracy discovers that a specially ordered hat with a band around it is the murder weapon. From this Tracy deduces the killer - Cueball, that bald and passionless man. Friend or foe, old or young, no one is immune from the clutches of Cueball.

Most of the scenes are at night which lead to a dark and gloomy feeling of dread in the city. This feeling adds to the sense of evil that Dick Tracy battles. A fine film with a fitting outcome for Cueball.

The second of RKO's Dick Tracy movie series from the '40s. This is the last one featuring Morgan Conway as Tracy. The plot this time involves some stolen diamonds and a bald killer named Cueball (Dick Wessel). Cueball strangles his victims with a braided leather hatband. Why the writers gave him such a specific weapon instead of just a rope or piano wire or something I don't know but it's interesting. Cueball is not big on people double-crossing him, which several characters in the movie find out firsthand. Like the others in the series, this is an enjoyable "B" picture. I was very happy to see Vitamin Flintheart, one of my favorite characters from the Dick Tracy comic strip, show up here. He's wonderfully played by Ian Keith as a sort of send-up of John Barrymore. Another fun character was Filthy Flora (Esther Howard), who runs the Dripping Dagger bar. Interesting characters are what set the Dick Tracy film series (as well as the comic strip) apart from other detective stories.