Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome

"Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" was the last of the Dick Tracy films, but the series ends on a high note, with Boris Karloff as Gruesome, and he's true to his name. It's not clear why this series didn't continue.

The premise is a funny one - bank robbers use this freezing spray to stop people mid-sentence and mid-movement. Tess Truheart (Anne Gwynne) is in a phone booth when the robbers spray, so she's able to crawl to a telephone and call Dick. Gruesome is the head honcho, but he's not going to be easy to catch.

The characters in the film all have the grotesque look of the comic strip characters and the same crazy names, I. M. Learned, A. Tomic (physicist) etc.

Gwynne is more like Anne Jeffreys was - beautiful and street smart, more of a leading woman than the ingénue cast in another of the films.

I think that characterization of Tess as good-looking and sharp works better for the character than a sweet girl next door type.

This Dick Tracy was more expensive the others and stars the preferred Tracy, Ralph Byrd, who also did the Dick Tracy TV series.

Enjoyable.

This was my first look at one of these old Dick Tracy movies. I believe most of them were very short, like those, a little over an hour long, and pretty fast-moving. Apparently, this is the fourth and last one of the films. I read where many people think it's the best, so I started here....and wasn't disappointed. It was entertaining.

What I found, at least in this movie, was a mixture of crime and some humor. Here, too, was a little sci-fi thrown in as someone invented a gas that would freeze anyone near it for about 15 minutes. The crooks, of course, freeze everyone at the First National Bank, and then go in and rob it. (These were the days before video cameras.)

Early on, one of the characters mentions something about a creepy-looking guy, "someone like Boris Karloff." The guy WAS Boris Karloff. Later, a doctor who could help the police figure out this mystery gas goes by the name of "Dr. A. Tomic," physicist. Still later, there is a dramatic scene in a room with a big sign that reads, "Y. Stuffem, taxidermist." The film is full of these little corny things making it a crime-comedy type of story.

Yet, the bad guys are tough guys. Karloff is convincing as a big thug who would kill without remorse. To me, he really makes this movie and elevates the crime angle of it beautifully. He was one-of-a-kind: had the perfect look and voice for scary roles on film. Skelton Knaggs, as "X-ray," as a frightening face.

My first introduction to Dick Tracy was the cartoon series of the 1950s (60s?) and then later the Sunday comics. I saw the big screen Warren Beatty/ Madonna effort and was curious about these earlier efforts. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by this adaptation. Gruesome, played by Boris Karloff, looks as if he just stepped out of the Chester Gould strip (without the lavish makeup of the 1990s version) and several supporting characters also have the grotesque look that made the comic popular. The story revolves around a mysterious gas that can temporarily freeze people. While they're in suspended animation, the baddies can rob the bank (the perfect plan huh?) Anyway, it's up to Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd) to solve the mystery and put an end to Gruesome's crime spree. It's all good fun with more plot than you'd expect and a solid amount of screen time to Karloff. Humour peppers the thrills to make it an enjoyable film.

Ralph Byrd is well-suited to the role of Dick Tracy, and this is a solid B-feature overall. But it is Boris Karloff, in the role of "Gruesome", who lifts the movie above the norm for its genre. He makes his character come vividly to life, and makes him into a believable and formidable foe for Tracy.

The story is enjoyable, if a bit on the wacky side, with a gang of criminals taking advantage of a gas that is supposed to cause temporary paralysis in anyone who breathes it. Tess and Pat also get their moments as they help Tracy track down the gang.

Karloff was an impressive and unusual talent, using his appearance, voice, and mannerisms in all kinds of ways, generally relying on the little things and on understated actions to create his character. He was certainly in a number of movies of far greater stature than this one, but in this, as in almost all of his roles, he is very interesting to watch, and he adds a great deal to the movie.

This is a good little film and the first one that I saw Skelton Knaggs listed in the credits--he is a hoot to watch as X-Ray!! Something about this late actor is funny to watch, I don't know if it is his voice or his looks or what, but he is something else in this film.

But I found this film to be very enjoyable and fun to watch--in fact, all of the Dick Tracy films from the 1940's are good ones. Good character names all around--Lee Thal, A.Tomic-- wonder if they came from the comic strip or the screenwriters? Either way, I like the play on words. But, it is a good film and if you enjoy harmless fun, be sure and catch this one if it on television.!!