Republic Pictures were clearly hitting their stride in superior (and super) serial production with this quite sensational 15 chapter crime-terrorism drama made in 1936, released in early 1937. For any faults: too long as 12 chapters would do; the tedious antics of the infantile Smiley Burnette, there is a dozen truly astonishing and eerie/creepy moments that easily compensate. The first episode is so weird, and on a huge screen in a giant old theater full of screaming kids (or even adults) has several hair raising scenes where master evildoer The Lame One has maximum effect. The first chapter ending sees The fabulous Lydecker Brothers in full big budget special effects mode on a thrill set piece aboard the Golden Gate Bridge. The opening two chapters also features an astonishing triangular flying wing plane (looks like a cross between a stealth bomber and a flying sandwich) which for its day is a genuine masterpiece of inventive and graphic/realistically clever sci fi imagination. The recent film SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW owes a huge debt of imagination to this one flying apparatus alone. Republic clearly intended this serial to play to adults and it is not a G rated serial at all...given the menace, action and violence. It has three great villains one of whom is Gordon Tracy (Dick's brainwashed bro) who, after getting the treatment, sports a very fetching Bride Of Frankenstein hair stripe along with a mean scar. Another hideout menace is Moloch, a cat patting hunchback akin to a lost Uncle of Peter Lorre. Incredible action stunt sequences abound and very inventive use of miniatures and special effects..the chapter endings of 9 and 10 especially with a huge blazing Zeppelin and then a sheet of hull metal swinging from a repaired ship are very well thought out. Often the resolves cheat with Dick just getting up and running off, or rolling out of the way, but given the very high standard of the rest of all parts of this huge and complex production it was a major step forward for Republic at the time proving their willingness to make a serial for all ages that employed excellent craftsmen...especially the incredible Lydecker Brothers they inherited in their merger with Mascot Pictures. Remove them and the serial industry would have been all chases and fights. No wonder this serial was so successful it offered a big marker for two more Dick Tracy epics in 38 and 39. Excellent! Beware of dud dvds though, the one I saw was awful and bleached, in good quality this 15 chapter pre-noir horror serial must be a knockout.
18 Reviews
Exciting Comic Strip Adaptation!
bsmith555227 April 2004
"Dick Tracy" was the first of three serials based on Chester Gould's popular comic strip produced by Republic Pictures in the late 30s. The title character was played by Ralph Byrd in all three films.
In this installment Tracy and his assistants Steve Lockwood (Fred Hamilton), Junior (Lee Van Atta) and Mike McGurk (Smiley Burnette) are up against a terrorist organization known as the Spider Ring. The gang is led my a mysterious shadowy figure known only as the Lame One.
The gang tries among other things, to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge with a sonic sound wave machine, take over a gold mine and steal the plans for a new high speed aircraft. Tracy and his pals are kept busy trying to foil the gang's moves over 15 fast-paced chapters. Co-directors Ray Taylor and Alan James keep the action moving and provide us with plenty of excitement. There is a least one fight in every chapter. There is also the requisite "flashback" chapter which Republic used in most of their serials. The unmasking of the Lame One in Chapter 15 is almost anti-climatic. I challenge you to remember who the character was who turns out to be the Lame One.
The DVD which I purchased was produced by Marengo Films. The print from which it was duplicated was apparently borrowed from a collector so IT WAS NOT duplicated from the fuzzy public domain print that has been used for several years. The picture quality is very good and the sound crisp and clear.
Some interesting notes. The shooting down of a dirigible foreshadowed the real life Hindenberg disaster the following year. The high speed plane forecast the development of jet planes by some ten years. The Flying Wing used by the gang almost reminds one of the Stealth Bomber even though this was the 30s. And yes there's those great vintage 30s cars too. The running time of 290 minutes makes this I believe, the longest running serial of all time.
Francis X. Bushman who plays G-Man chief, Clive Anderson had been in films since 1911 and was one of the first matinee idols. He is probably best remembered for his role as Messala in the silent "Ben-Hur" (1927). Lee Van Atta and Smiley Burnette both appeared in the serial "Undersea Kingdom" (1936). Burnette of course would go on to be one of the best known "B" western sidekicks riding with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid).
Also in the cast in assorted roles, are Roy Barcroft as an air crewman on The Flying Wing, Milburn Morante as "Death Valley Johnny", I. Stanford Jolley as an intern and veteran silent heavy Walter Long in a bit. Future serial director William Witney served as a film editor on this project.
Followed by "Dick Tracy Returns" (1938) and "Dick Tracy's G-Men" (1939).
In this installment Tracy and his assistants Steve Lockwood (Fred Hamilton), Junior (Lee Van Atta) and Mike McGurk (Smiley Burnette) are up against a terrorist organization known as the Spider Ring. The gang is led my a mysterious shadowy figure known only as the Lame One.
The gang tries among other things, to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge with a sonic sound wave machine, take over a gold mine and steal the plans for a new high speed aircraft. Tracy and his pals are kept busy trying to foil the gang's moves over 15 fast-paced chapters. Co-directors Ray Taylor and Alan James keep the action moving and provide us with plenty of excitement. There is a least one fight in every chapter. There is also the requisite "flashback" chapter which Republic used in most of their serials. The unmasking of the Lame One in Chapter 15 is almost anti-climatic. I challenge you to remember who the character was who turns out to be the Lame One.
The DVD which I purchased was produced by Marengo Films. The print from which it was duplicated was apparently borrowed from a collector so IT WAS NOT duplicated from the fuzzy public domain print that has been used for several years. The picture quality is very good and the sound crisp and clear.
Some interesting notes. The shooting down of a dirigible foreshadowed the real life Hindenberg disaster the following year. The high speed plane forecast the development of jet planes by some ten years. The Flying Wing used by the gang almost reminds one of the Stealth Bomber even though this was the 30s. And yes there's those great vintage 30s cars too. The running time of 290 minutes makes this I believe, the longest running serial of all time.
Francis X. Bushman who plays G-Man chief, Clive Anderson had been in films since 1911 and was one of the first matinee idols. He is probably best remembered for his role as Messala in the silent "Ben-Hur" (1927). Lee Van Atta and Smiley Burnette both appeared in the serial "Undersea Kingdom" (1936). Burnette of course would go on to be one of the best known "B" western sidekicks riding with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid).
Also in the cast in assorted roles, are Roy Barcroft as an air crewman on The Flying Wing, Milburn Morante as "Death Valley Johnny", I. Stanford Jolley as an intern and veteran silent heavy Walter Long in a bit. Future serial director William Witney served as a film editor on this project.
Followed by "Dick Tracy Returns" (1938) and "Dick Tracy's G-Men" (1939).
Cool, well-made, old serial (free for download too)
Travis_Moran29 August 2005
Now I've never read a Dick Tracy comic. They were before my time. But I had a good time watching this serial. It moved well and wasn't all just crashes and fight scenes.
There are a lot of pretty cool effects considering when this was made. The flying wing was my favourite. It looked like an old Northrop YB-35 with the props in front---and was obviously supposed to be bigger. Nice model though. Some other notable effects were the zeppelin crash and the shaking Golden Gate bridge.
Some other decent stuff I liked was the speeded-up secret message on the phonograph disc, the mad doctor with the cat (he was cool), the little belt morse code transmitter (reminded me of Batman's utility belt), and Gwen (I liked how she could fly a plane, and do most other stuff the men did---what surprised me is that they didn't have her get captured by the spider gang at some point).
One particularly goofy effect gave me a laugh: At the end of one chapter Dick Tracy's plane crashes into a bridge. The beginning of the next chapter shows the crash and then Dick getting up out of the plane wreckage, brushing off his clothes, and walking off. Pretty hokey there. And it seems Dick was fond of double-parachuting to get out of trouble---sorta funny.
The stories were not bad. There was plenty of plot to keep me interested and it was plausible---except maybe for a couple of the escapes after the disastrous endings of the previous chapter like I mentioned above. Now it seems the spider gang tried its hand at almost every type of crime before finally getting squashed by Dick Tracy. Let's see...there was bridge-wrecking, plane-motor-stealing, counterfeiting (attempted anyway), illegal brain surgery (on Tracy's bro), gold stealing (2 instances of this...the prospector's mine and the ship), and stealing jewellery.
And of course there are the typical fist fights that everyone expects. As usual, everyone involved gets up and walks away unharmed, without even any dirt or wrinkles on their clothes (as per the unwritten code of all serials it seems). Gun battles occur frequently, but no one notable ever gets hit (well Dick got hit at the end of one chapter, but by the next chapter he was miraculously healed). Additionally, there is no lack of car, boat, airplane, and zeppelin crashes.
I really did have a good time with this serial. I gave it an 8 because it had decent stories along with some better-than-average effects. Old movie fans, and anyone who likes serials, shouldn't miss this one.
There are a lot of pretty cool effects considering when this was made. The flying wing was my favourite. It looked like an old Northrop YB-35 with the props in front---and was obviously supposed to be bigger. Nice model though. Some other notable effects were the zeppelin crash and the shaking Golden Gate bridge.
Some other decent stuff I liked was the speeded-up secret message on the phonograph disc, the mad doctor with the cat (he was cool), the little belt morse code transmitter (reminded me of Batman's utility belt), and Gwen (I liked how she could fly a plane, and do most other stuff the men did---what surprised me is that they didn't have her get captured by the spider gang at some point).
One particularly goofy effect gave me a laugh: At the end of one chapter Dick Tracy's plane crashes into a bridge. The beginning of the next chapter shows the crash and then Dick getting up out of the plane wreckage, brushing off his clothes, and walking off. Pretty hokey there. And it seems Dick was fond of double-parachuting to get out of trouble---sorta funny.
The stories were not bad. There was plenty of plot to keep me interested and it was plausible---except maybe for a couple of the escapes after the disastrous endings of the previous chapter like I mentioned above. Now it seems the spider gang tried its hand at almost every type of crime before finally getting squashed by Dick Tracy. Let's see...there was bridge-wrecking, plane-motor-stealing, counterfeiting (attempted anyway), illegal brain surgery (on Tracy's bro), gold stealing (2 instances of this...the prospector's mine and the ship), and stealing jewellery.
And of course there are the typical fist fights that everyone expects. As usual, everyone involved gets up and walks away unharmed, without even any dirt or wrinkles on their clothes (as per the unwritten code of all serials it seems). Gun battles occur frequently, but no one notable ever gets hit (well Dick got hit at the end of one chapter, but by the next chapter he was miraculously healed). Additionally, there is no lack of car, boat, airplane, and zeppelin crashes.
I really did have a good time with this serial. I gave it an 8 because it had decent stories along with some better-than-average effects. Old movie fans, and anyone who likes serials, shouldn't miss this one.
A Great Serial.
jetan17 October 2009
Superb serial. The only one that matches it in quality is the first Flash Gordon. The production values are exceptional and eclipse many better known B movies. Ralph Byrd is perfectly cast in the title role. The only explanation I can think of for some viewers to rate this any lower than an "A" is that they just haven't seen very many serials. One of the few efforts in this line that actually has some atmospheric touches and, as another commenter has pointed out, the special effects are genuinely good.
Folks who don't really like serials are....well, they're folks who don't like serials (probably don't much like Christmas either). For those who do like serials, this is like a trip to the circus. Good action and WAY better than usual script and acting. As movies go, this probably only deserves a 7 but for a serial it deserves a perfect 10.
Folks who don't really like serials are....well, they're folks who don't like serials (probably don't much like Christmas either). For those who do like serials, this is like a trip to the circus. Good action and WAY better than usual script and acting. As movies go, this probably only deserves a 7 but for a serial it deserves a perfect 10.
Refreshing to see....
oscar-3528 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I just found this VHS double tape 30's matinée serial and thoroughly enjoyed viewing it. Great to see the pre-WW2 vintage cars, flying wing and clothes fashions of this fine show. It was well edited, shot, written and expertly acted. Great and interesting Dick Tracy casting with this beloved and loved comic-book character. Ralph Byrd surely makes the quintessential Tracy over all others. I always felt that in the later Dick Tracy serials, TV show, and Disney/Touchstone feature film could not hold a candle to this earliest '37 project. Republic Pictures is back and re-releasing their archive of films. The home studio of early John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and other matinée serials was in the present CBS Radford studio lot in Studio City, CA. The show still manages to hold-up in today's superheroes and was refreshing to see the stunt work and physical special effects and NO over used CGI.
Dick Tracy - The First Serial
hwg1957-102-26570430 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Doubly directed by Alan James and Ray Taylor this an excellent serial concerning the exploits of Dick Tracy. A master criminal called The Lame One runs The Spider Ring who engage in smuggling, espionage, murder and similar illegal activities and the valiant Tracy and his team go head to head with them. The Lame One has also captured Tracy's brother Gordon and with the evil doctor Moloch's skills ("a simple altering of certain glands"!) has turned Tracy into a pliable assistant for himself. The altered brother carries out most of The Lame One's schemes. Incident follows incident in some good locations until the breathless finish.
Ralph Byrd is perfect as Dick Tracy, determined and dedicated to to his task. The identity of The Lame One is kept to the end. He hobbles about wearing a built up shoe and barks out orders from a desk. The mad Moloch is played by the creepy John Picorri (often stroking a black cat) and Carleton Young is effective as the changed Gordon Tracy, a streak of white hair on his head after his character changing operation, with an air of sadness about him that is poignant. Unfortunately the great Byron Foulger is only in it briefly as the gangster Korvitch.
Smiley Burnette is one of Tracy's assistants Mike McGurk and is supposed to be the comic relief but who isn't at all funny. Also appearing in a couple of scenes are 'Oscar' and 'Elmer' who were a comic team at the time but they aren't funny either. Lee Van Atta as Junior gets more laughs. I. Stanford Jolley plays 'Roadside Thug' and 'G-Man' and 'Reporter' and 'Intern' to show his versatility.
It has great model work by the Lydecker brothers including a wonderful flying wing that is used a lot. Indeed a lot of the scenes take place in the air. The fifteen packed episodes are a great start to the Dick Tracy serials.
Ralph Byrd is perfect as Dick Tracy, determined and dedicated to to his task. The identity of The Lame One is kept to the end. He hobbles about wearing a built up shoe and barks out orders from a desk. The mad Moloch is played by the creepy John Picorri (often stroking a black cat) and Carleton Young is effective as the changed Gordon Tracy, a streak of white hair on his head after his character changing operation, with an air of sadness about him that is poignant. Unfortunately the great Byron Foulger is only in it briefly as the gangster Korvitch.
Smiley Burnette is one of Tracy's assistants Mike McGurk and is supposed to be the comic relief but who isn't at all funny. Also appearing in a couple of scenes are 'Oscar' and 'Elmer' who were a comic team at the time but they aren't funny either. Lee Van Atta as Junior gets more laughs. I. Stanford Jolley plays 'Roadside Thug' and 'G-Man' and 'Reporter' and 'Intern' to show his versatility.
It has great model work by the Lydecker brothers including a wonderful flying wing that is used a lot. Indeed a lot of the scenes take place in the air. The fifteen packed episodes are a great start to the Dick Tracy serials.
Not quite the comic strip...but one great serial!
Vigilante-40718 March 1999
This is one of the better serials I've seen...especially of the less glitzy pre-1940 productions. There are few (in fact only one I think) cliffhanger ending that doesn't ring true (the kind where we see the action...and then the resolve shows different actions happening in the next episode). That puts it up real high in my book on just that point.
There isn't all that much care put to keeping the serial like the comic strip. Tracy became a g-man instead of a city police detective and gone are the maladjusted and malformed villains of his colorful rogues gallery. The Lame One, the villain of this chapterplay, doesn't compare to the grotesqueries of The Brow or Little Face.
Ralph Byrd is excellent as Tracy...in fact he IS Dick Tracy. Forget Morgan Conway's forgettable appearances in Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball (a horrible film)...and especially forget the primary color extravaganza that Warren Beatty put out. Ralph Byrd does them both in...stolid, straight forward and eager for action.
I would rate this serial right up there with other great chapterplays, like The Adventures of Captain Marvel, The Masked Marvel and the like.
There isn't all that much care put to keeping the serial like the comic strip. Tracy became a g-man instead of a city police detective and gone are the maladjusted and malformed villains of his colorful rogues gallery. The Lame One, the villain of this chapterplay, doesn't compare to the grotesqueries of The Brow or Little Face.
Ralph Byrd is excellent as Tracy...in fact he IS Dick Tracy. Forget Morgan Conway's forgettable appearances in Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball (a horrible film)...and especially forget the primary color extravaganza that Warren Beatty put out. Ralph Byrd does them both in...stolid, straight forward and eager for action.
I would rate this serial right up there with other great chapterplays, like The Adventures of Captain Marvel, The Masked Marvel and the like.
A fast-paced and action-packed serial of the day
Leofwine_draca10 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
DICK TRACY is a fast-paced and lengthy serial of the late 1930s, popular enough to inspire a bunch of sequels in which the slightly wooden Ralph Byrd would return to the role of the crime-fighting detective, fighting further villains. In this one he's up against a criminal mastermind called The Spider, who hypnotises Tracy's own brother and turns him against our hero. Each chapter is full of action, most of it vehicular, and involves car chases, train and plane interludes, ships and much more. Each episode ends with Tracy being apparently killed, in the best clichéd tradition.
There's a wealth of action to bolster a flagging storyline that ends up getting repetitive, one of the constraints of this genre. Still, the central characters are fun and the film is a little better quality and higher budget than some from this era. The main problem with it is that the opening titles go on for too long and there's too much time spent recapping the previous episode, pointless really when your running time for each chapter is so short.
There's a wealth of action to bolster a flagging storyline that ends up getting repetitive, one of the constraints of this genre. Still, the central characters are fun and the film is a little better quality and higher budget than some from this era. The main problem with it is that the opening titles go on for too long and there's too much time spent recapping the previous episode, pointless really when your running time for each chapter is so short.
Tracy victim of "Revision-Face!"
redryan6426 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
ONCE UPON A TIME, in 1931 to be exact, newspaper cartoonist, Chester Gould of the Chicago Tribune, presented his editor with a new concept for a comic strip. Rendered in a sort of early mechanical drawing style, populated with characters having names matching their physical characteristics and laden with an ever present, underlying supply of humor;it would be about a young man's career as a Detective on the Chicago Poice Department.
THE TITLE THAT the young Mr. Gould had conjured up was "PLAINCLOTHES TRACY". The editor gave the subject a little thought and suggested that Gould ought to reconsider and change the first name to "Dick"; which was the nickname, even then, already well known for a Detective. With the surname of Tracy being suggestive of tracing a wanted subject, the two would be a perfect match.
SO, THE COMIC strip was launched and DICK TRACY became an almost overnight success; soon being syndicated and appearing in hundreds of newspapers. With such success, it should be no surprise that Hollywood would soon be calling. It did and within the span of 6 short years, DICK TRACY was on the silver screen; now in the format of a 15 chapter Movie Serial, Cliff Hangere type.
WE HAVE VIEWED the serial several times; some years ago. In fact, we do have video copies of all four of the Republic DICK TRACY Chapterplays. Today, Turner Classic Movies began a weekly presentation of the first one with the showing of Chapters 1-3. After the programing was over, many of our impressions and opinions surfaced once again.
FIRST OF ALL, the casting of Ralph Byrd in the title role was a case of near perfection. Talented, athletic and possessing a very likable screen persona; Mr. Byrd was an immediate hit with the movie going public. What's more, he even bore a sort of real world resemblance to the Tracy of the print medium.
THE SERIAL DID a fine job of bringing a great amount of action (the life blood of the movie serial); while at the same time taking the story to a great variety of locales. There appears to be as much time spent outdoors, as there is in studio sound-stages; which is always a plus in giving a picture a good, polished and luxurious appearance about it.
THE CREATION OF a dark, menacing and sinister world is accomplished with the highest degree of success. The characterization of so many of the denizens who inhabit the shadowy underworld is a definite plus and serves to evoke the kind of mysterious horror as did so many of those great covers from so many pulp crime-mystery magazines of the 1920's-'40's.
THE ONE ELEMENT that would become a hallmark for the Republic Serial, the greatest of special effects from Howard Lydecker (later joined by his brother, Theodore Lydecker) was present here. Mysterious rays, great explosions,realistic miniatures and a futuristic aeroplane; all add up to a fantastic, though believable world.
ADDED TO ALL of that is the old Republic assembly line's creative use of stock footage, scenes from other productions and real life newsreel footage. Everything is blended almost flawlessly.
ON THE DOWN side of things, unlike most of their future serials, there is no original musical score, but rather liberal doses of classical selections; including excerpts from Rossini's WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE and Lizst's LES PRELUDES.
ALSO ON THE negative side of the ledger is Republic's habit of taking an existing feature (The Lone Ranger, Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher and especially Captain America) and radically changing it for the screen. In DICK TRACY and its 3 sequels, they make Tracy an F.B.I. Agent, exclude regular partner Pat Patton and make no mention of female lead and love interest in the comic pages, Tess Trueheart; who is Tracy's Fiancé!
IN PLACE OF a regular detective partner, we are given a couple of hereto-for unknown commodities; including a comic relief buffoon portrayed by Smiley Burnette and a mysteriously vague version of Junior.
THE TITLE THAT the young Mr. Gould had conjured up was "PLAINCLOTHES TRACY". The editor gave the subject a little thought and suggested that Gould ought to reconsider and change the first name to "Dick"; which was the nickname, even then, already well known for a Detective. With the surname of Tracy being suggestive of tracing a wanted subject, the two would be a perfect match.
SO, THE COMIC strip was launched and DICK TRACY became an almost overnight success; soon being syndicated and appearing in hundreds of newspapers. With such success, it should be no surprise that Hollywood would soon be calling. It did and within the span of 6 short years, DICK TRACY was on the silver screen; now in the format of a 15 chapter Movie Serial, Cliff Hangere type.
WE HAVE VIEWED the serial several times; some years ago. In fact, we do have video copies of all four of the Republic DICK TRACY Chapterplays. Today, Turner Classic Movies began a weekly presentation of the first one with the showing of Chapters 1-3. After the programing was over, many of our impressions and opinions surfaced once again.
FIRST OF ALL, the casting of Ralph Byrd in the title role was a case of near perfection. Talented, athletic and possessing a very likable screen persona; Mr. Byrd was an immediate hit with the movie going public. What's more, he even bore a sort of real world resemblance to the Tracy of the print medium.
THE SERIAL DID a fine job of bringing a great amount of action (the life blood of the movie serial); while at the same time taking the story to a great variety of locales. There appears to be as much time spent outdoors, as there is in studio sound-stages; which is always a plus in giving a picture a good, polished and luxurious appearance about it.
THE CREATION OF a dark, menacing and sinister world is accomplished with the highest degree of success. The characterization of so many of the denizens who inhabit the shadowy underworld is a definite plus and serves to evoke the kind of mysterious horror as did so many of those great covers from so many pulp crime-mystery magazines of the 1920's-'40's.
THE ONE ELEMENT that would become a hallmark for the Republic Serial, the greatest of special effects from Howard Lydecker (later joined by his brother, Theodore Lydecker) was present here. Mysterious rays, great explosions,realistic miniatures and a futuristic aeroplane; all add up to a fantastic, though believable world.
ADDED TO ALL of that is the old Republic assembly line's creative use of stock footage, scenes from other productions and real life newsreel footage. Everything is blended almost flawlessly.
ON THE DOWN side of things, unlike most of their future serials, there is no original musical score, but rather liberal doses of classical selections; including excerpts from Rossini's WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE and Lizst's LES PRELUDES.
ALSO ON THE negative side of the ledger is Republic's habit of taking an existing feature (The Lone Ranger, Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher and especially Captain America) and radically changing it for the screen. In DICK TRACY and its 3 sequels, they make Tracy an F.B.I. Agent, exclude regular partner Pat Patton and make no mention of female lead and love interest in the comic pages, Tess Trueheart; who is Tracy's Fiancé!
IN PLACE OF a regular detective partner, we are given a couple of hereto-for unknown commodities; including a comic relief buffoon portrayed by Smiley Burnette and a mysteriously vague version of Junior.
Genre Serial keeps Interest
gengar8437 November 2021
THE FILM & GENRE -- Serial of 290 minutes. Besides the usual futuristic devices, this also has the "flying wing" aeronautical marvel, a hunchback, and a mad doctor. There is also a TV-Movie Feature created from the Serial.
THE VERDICT -- I'm not a big serial lover but this one kept my attention, and the flying wing is impressive.
FREE ONLINE - Yes. The serial for sure. As for the feature, I found one on YT at 102 minutes which matches IMDB DICK TRACY (1990) at 101 minutes. Wiki has a different duration of 72 minutes but I've never seen that.
THE VERDICT -- I'm not a big serial lover but this one kept my attention, and the flying wing is impressive.
FREE ONLINE - Yes. The serial for sure. As for the feature, I found one on YT at 102 minutes which matches IMDB DICK TRACY (1990) at 101 minutes. Wiki has a different duration of 72 minutes but I've never seen that.
Long drawn out.
Sleepin_Dragon22 June 2023
Dick Tracy takes on a powerful criminal known as The Lame one (the irony.)
I have to be honest, I found this a real chore, I was gifted Dick Tracy returns on dvd, so sat through this one again to catch up, I found this such a long, drawn out slog.
The copy I had was very grainy, the recent viewing of it was much sharper, the picture had definitely been cleaned up somewhat, that did improve the experience a little.
Some of the dialogue is cringe worth, I know it's donkey's years old, but some of the moments are so agonisingly corny. I found the storyline a little odd, but it could definitely have been condensed down somewhat.
Some of the special effects look ok considering the year it was made, and some of the model shots hold up well.
Ralph Byrd would play the part of Dick Tracy for a long time, I think he got better in the part with time, I thought this was a bit of a rough start.
4/10.
I have to be honest, I found this a real chore, I was gifted Dick Tracy returns on dvd, so sat through this one again to catch up, I found this such a long, drawn out slog.
The copy I had was very grainy, the recent viewing of it was much sharper, the picture had definitely been cleaned up somewhat, that did improve the experience a little.
Some of the dialogue is cringe worth, I know it's donkey's years old, but some of the moments are so agonisingly corny. I found the storyline a little odd, but it could definitely have been condensed down somewhat.
Some of the special effects look ok considering the year it was made, and some of the model shots hold up well.
Ralph Byrd would play the part of Dick Tracy for a long time, I think he got better in the part with time, I thought this was a bit of a rough start.
4/10.
One of the best
dbborroughs30 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Ralph Byrd stalled forever his career by taking the role of Chester Gould's crime fighting hero. Byrd would play the role in three more serials, two hour long feature films (taking over when another actor proved unsatisfactory) and a TV series. Byrd could never really get away from Tracy and was type cast as the character even though he took a variety of other roles. Not to put too fine a point on it this, along with its three sequels, represent one of mystery films finest hours. In all of the films we have an excellent mix of crime, mystery and action. The film works as several different things all at the same time and all of them good. The plot of this serial has Tracy battling the Spider, aka The Lame one, who is bent on taking over the world. He's so bad that he is eliminating all the other criminals in town as well has kidnapping and twisting the brother of Tracy through vile means. Its heady stuff and a real joy to watch. It's a big story told on a large canvas with great special effects (The model work here, as with all Republic serials is as good as it gets). You really need to see this serial and its sequels since they all are a great deal of fun.
Laughable - but it wasn't meant to be.
jalilidalili14 July 2006
After watching all 15 episodes I have to tell you that this Dick Tracy seems to have paved the way for some of today's action heroes taken from the classic comics. The plot line is simply put - silly (a big crime ring cooperates with foregin goverments, wants to blackmail their own government, brainwashes people...). There seem to be hundreds of things going on and not a single case is solved. Tracy comes in, gets in a fight, the evil scheme is spoiled (case closed), bad guys escape, Dick follows them and get's in terrible danger. End of episode, right before Dick is about to die a horrible death. The next episode opens with a long revision of the previous story and Dick escapes unharmed. Meets with friends and the new problem arises. They investigate for a few minutes and then the same story all over. All right, the effects were awesome for the time when this was made and the ideas for how the villains planed to take charge were probably highly original back then (but were copied ever sense), still, not a single episode seems to have any depth. It was just jumping from one quick and shallow attempt by the Lame one to do whatever it was he wanted to do (there never seemed to be a grand plan behind his actions) to another. All in all, if they wouldn't repeat those previous episode scenes at the beginning of each episode and if the episodes took some time to develop a story it might have been good. Now (especially after watching it at once) as one long Dick Tracy session, I was really disappointed by the shallowness, but pleasantly surprised by the great effects.
One of the ten best serials ever made!
JohnHowardReid13 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Directors: RAY TAYLOR, ALAN JAMES. Screenplay: Barry Shioman, Winston Miller. Story: Morgan Cox, George Morgan. Based on the character characters created by Chester Gould. Photography: William Nobles and Edgar Lyons. Supervising film editor: Murray Seldeen. Film editors: Helene Turner, Edward Todd, William Witney. Art director: John Victor McKay. Set decorator: Morris Braun. Make-up: Bob Mark. 2nd unit director: William Witney. Music director: Harry Grey. Original music: Alberto Colombo. Special effects: John T. Coyle, Theodore Lydecker, Howard Lydecker. Process photography: Bud Thackery. Wardrobe master: Robert Ramsey. Wardrobe mistress: Elsie Horwitz. Production manager: Al Wilson. Script clerk: R.G. Springsteen. Sound recording: Terry Kellum, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Charles L. Lootens. RCA Sound System. Associate producer: J. Laurence Wickland. Producer: Nat Levine.
Copyright 5 March 1937 (chapters 1-6) and 13 May 1937 (chapters 7- 15) by Republic Pictures Corporation. U.S. release: 20 February 1937. Each chapter consists of two reels, except for the first which has three. Total running time: 290 minutes.
Chapter titles: (1) The Spider Strikes; (2) The Bridge of Terror; (3) The Fur Pirates; (4) Death Rides the Sky; (5) Brother Against Brother; (6) Dangerous Waters; (7) The Ghost Town Mystery; (8) Battle in the Clouds; (9) The Stratosphere Adventure; (10) The Gold Ship; (11) Harbor Pursuit; (12) The Trail of the Spider; (13) The Fire Trap; (14) The Devil in White; (15) Brothers United.
SYNOPSIS: A notorious criminal, known as The Lame One or The Spider, kidnaps Dick Tracy's brother and turns him into a zombie who will obey the most fiendish orders without question, including the execution of his own brother!
NOTES: Number five of Republic's 66 serials, filming commenced on 30 November 1936 and concluded on 24 December 1936. Negative cost: $127,640. Sequels: Dick Tracy Returns (1938), Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939), Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941). All three of these serials starred Ralph Byrd in the title role.
COMMENT: One of Republic's most exciting and ingenious efforts, this solidly-made serial offers high-flying, non-stop entertainment from stop to finish, with only one exception. The economy chapter is number twelve. All the others are almost equally thrilling, combining an intriguing mystery element with super-fast action and stunts galore.
There's little time for romance. Despite her billing, Kay Hughes has precious little to do. It's Fred Hamilton who makes a major contribution in each cliffhanger as Tracy's sidekick, with an assist from Smiley Burnette who offers a fair amount of comedy relief.
Ralph Byrd is great in the role he was born to play. Also on hand is that glorious old trooper, Francis X. Bushman, who plays Tracy's boss, and Carleton Young who does a grand job in a role that actually amounts to chief heavy. (Fortunately, despite his elaborate introduction in Chapter One, Junior doesn't get into the line of fire too much and is not unduly in the way).
The directors make absolutely brilliant use of their real locations including San Francisco's Oakland Bay Bridge and a disused power plant at San Pedro. And as for the Flying Wing, what a marvelous creation it is! Republic special effects wizardry at its zenith!
Smart direction combined with impeccable photography and zestful film editing also deserve our unstinting applause. Each cliff- hanging dilemma presents us with a cleverly super-suspenseful fade- out too — except, of course, for that economy-conscious Chapter Twelve. In fact, (that dud twelfth episode notwithstanding) I would rate this entire serial as one of the Ten Best of All Time!
Copyright 5 March 1937 (chapters 1-6) and 13 May 1937 (chapters 7- 15) by Republic Pictures Corporation. U.S. release: 20 February 1937. Each chapter consists of two reels, except for the first which has three. Total running time: 290 minutes.
Chapter titles: (1) The Spider Strikes; (2) The Bridge of Terror; (3) The Fur Pirates; (4) Death Rides the Sky; (5) Brother Against Brother; (6) Dangerous Waters; (7) The Ghost Town Mystery; (8) Battle in the Clouds; (9) The Stratosphere Adventure; (10) The Gold Ship; (11) Harbor Pursuit; (12) The Trail of the Spider; (13) The Fire Trap; (14) The Devil in White; (15) Brothers United.
SYNOPSIS: A notorious criminal, known as The Lame One or The Spider, kidnaps Dick Tracy's brother and turns him into a zombie who will obey the most fiendish orders without question, including the execution of his own brother!
NOTES: Number five of Republic's 66 serials, filming commenced on 30 November 1936 and concluded on 24 December 1936. Negative cost: $127,640. Sequels: Dick Tracy Returns (1938), Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939), Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941). All three of these serials starred Ralph Byrd in the title role.
COMMENT: One of Republic's most exciting and ingenious efforts, this solidly-made serial offers high-flying, non-stop entertainment from stop to finish, with only one exception. The economy chapter is number twelve. All the others are almost equally thrilling, combining an intriguing mystery element with super-fast action and stunts galore.
There's little time for romance. Despite her billing, Kay Hughes has precious little to do. It's Fred Hamilton who makes a major contribution in each cliffhanger as Tracy's sidekick, with an assist from Smiley Burnette who offers a fair amount of comedy relief.
Ralph Byrd is great in the role he was born to play. Also on hand is that glorious old trooper, Francis X. Bushman, who plays Tracy's boss, and Carleton Young who does a grand job in a role that actually amounts to chief heavy. (Fortunately, despite his elaborate introduction in Chapter One, Junior doesn't get into the line of fire too much and is not unduly in the way).
The directors make absolutely brilliant use of their real locations including San Francisco's Oakland Bay Bridge and a disused power plant at San Pedro. And as for the Flying Wing, what a marvelous creation it is! Republic special effects wizardry at its zenith!
Smart direction combined with impeccable photography and zestful film editing also deserve our unstinting applause. Each cliff- hanging dilemma presents us with a cleverly super-suspenseful fade- out too — except, of course, for that economy-conscious Chapter Twelve. In fact, (that dud twelfth episode notwithstanding) I would rate this entire serial as one of the Ten Best of All Time!
Has Anyone Seen Dick Tracy in this Serial?
wrbtu8 May 2003
I've watched only 4-5 serials, so I don't have a lot to compare this
to, but so far it's easily the worst of the lot. The overlap from
chapter to chapter is too great (too much material repeated in the
new episode that was seen in the previous episode). The acting is
poor, especially Ralph Byrd (if he stood still for a moment, he'd be
attacked by a woodpecker). The "comedy" of Smiley Burnett is
nothing to smile about (he's even worse here than in the Gene
Autry movies). The character with the most brains in this serial is
actually the 12 year old kid, played by Lee Van Atta. And perhaps
most of all, has anybody seen Dick Tracy in this film? I must have
missed him, because no one in this movie even remotely
resembled the comic strip character. Low budget is not enough of
an excuse for low tech here. At least the director could have put a
watch on Ralph Byrd's wrist, & pretended it was radio controlled.
The two low budget jungle serials I watched with Phyllis Coates
("Panther Girl of the Congo" & "Jungle Drums of Africa") were way
better than this, & so was a low budget jungle serial with Clyde
Beatty ("Lost Jungle"). Not that those were great serials, but they
were better than this one, so tells you something about Dick Tracy.
If you'd like to watch a better crime serial, I recommend "The Green
Archer." That & the serial I'm in the middle of now, "Captain
Marvel," are far superior to Dick Tracy. I rate it 3/10.
to, but so far it's easily the worst of the lot. The overlap from
chapter to chapter is too great (too much material repeated in the
new episode that was seen in the previous episode). The acting is
poor, especially Ralph Byrd (if he stood still for a moment, he'd be
attacked by a woodpecker). The "comedy" of Smiley Burnett is
nothing to smile about (he's even worse here than in the Gene
Autry movies). The character with the most brains in this serial is
actually the 12 year old kid, played by Lee Van Atta. And perhaps
most of all, has anybody seen Dick Tracy in this film? I must have
missed him, because no one in this movie even remotely
resembled the comic strip character. Low budget is not enough of
an excuse for low tech here. At least the director could have put a
watch on Ralph Byrd's wrist, & pretended it was radio controlled.
The two low budget jungle serials I watched with Phyllis Coates
("Panther Girl of the Congo" & "Jungle Drums of Africa") were way
better than this, & so was a low budget jungle serial with Clyde
Beatty ("Lost Jungle"). Not that those were great serials, but they
were better than this one, so tells you something about Dick Tracy.
If you'd like to watch a better crime serial, I recommend "The Green
Archer." That & the serial I'm in the middle of now, "Captain
Marvel," are far superior to Dick Tracy. I rate it 3/10.
Dick Tracy's First Screen Appearance
springfieldrental20 September 2023
Today's youth has no idea that smartwatches (I-Watches) began with detective Dick Tracy, a comic strip character first drawn by Chester Gould in 1931. His two-Way Wrist Radio inspired the invention of the mobile phone-and then the I-Watch. Six years after his newspaper debut, Dick Tracy's first portrayal on the screen was released by Republic Pictures in February 1937's "Dick Tracy: Chapter One-The Spider Strikes."
"The 1937 serial seems to be the first work to pit the hero against a foe of marvelous metaphenenomenality; e.g. A villain," noted film reviewer Gene Phillips. The villain, named the Spider or the Lame One, is the head of the crime syndicate named the Spider Ring. One of Spider's associates is a mad scientist with a hunched back, "Moloch," who surgically operates on honest men to convert them into criminal pawns. The Spider also assigns top inventors to construct an acoustic pulsating weapon capable of knocking down the strongest structures, specifically the Golden Gate Bridge. In Dick Tracy's first episode, the Spider threatens to use his 'flying wing' plane containing his weapon to destroy the massive bridge during its opening ceremony.
The "Dick Tracy" serial didn't quite follow the backgrounds of some of Gould's comic characters. The artist was originally inspired by U. S. Treasury Department Agent Eliot Ness to base his strip around. His Tracy was a detective in a Midwestern city, similar to Chicago. But in the Republic Pictures series, Tracy (Ralph Byrd) is a special agent for the FBI operating out of San Francisco. In Chapter One, "The Spider Strikes Back," Tracy's brother Gordon (Carleton Young) is kidnapped by the Spider gang and Moloch transforms him into a criminal.
Actor Ralph Byrd starred as the detective throughout the 15-episode series. So successful was the first "Dick Tracy" serial, Republic Pictures churned out three additional Tracy series: 1938 "Dick Tracy Returns," 1939 "Dick Tracy's G-Men" with future Academy Award Best Actress winner Jennifer Jones as Gwen Andrews, and 1941 "Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc." Author William Cline in his book 'In the Nick of Time,' noted that the serials were "unexcelled in the action field. The four Dick Tracy adventures from Republic must stand out as classics of the suspense detective thrillers, and the models for many others to follow." Four feature films on the detective, including Warren Beatty's portrayal in 1990 "Dick Tracy," followed after the final Republic serials concluded. Ralph Byrd starred in two of them, 1947's "Dick Tracy's Dilemma" and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" the same year. Byrd's characterization as a FBI agent was physically demanding for the number of action scenes he had to labor through. His early death in 1952 at the age of 43, from either a heart attack or cancer, occurred when he was waiting in his car for his wife Virginia to finish shopping.
"The 1937 serial seems to be the first work to pit the hero against a foe of marvelous metaphenenomenality; e.g. A villain," noted film reviewer Gene Phillips. The villain, named the Spider or the Lame One, is the head of the crime syndicate named the Spider Ring. One of Spider's associates is a mad scientist with a hunched back, "Moloch," who surgically operates on honest men to convert them into criminal pawns. The Spider also assigns top inventors to construct an acoustic pulsating weapon capable of knocking down the strongest structures, specifically the Golden Gate Bridge. In Dick Tracy's first episode, the Spider threatens to use his 'flying wing' plane containing his weapon to destroy the massive bridge during its opening ceremony.
The "Dick Tracy" serial didn't quite follow the backgrounds of some of Gould's comic characters. The artist was originally inspired by U. S. Treasury Department Agent Eliot Ness to base his strip around. His Tracy was a detective in a Midwestern city, similar to Chicago. But in the Republic Pictures series, Tracy (Ralph Byrd) is a special agent for the FBI operating out of San Francisco. In Chapter One, "The Spider Strikes Back," Tracy's brother Gordon (Carleton Young) is kidnapped by the Spider gang and Moloch transforms him into a criminal.
Actor Ralph Byrd starred as the detective throughout the 15-episode series. So successful was the first "Dick Tracy" serial, Republic Pictures churned out three additional Tracy series: 1938 "Dick Tracy Returns," 1939 "Dick Tracy's G-Men" with future Academy Award Best Actress winner Jennifer Jones as Gwen Andrews, and 1941 "Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc." Author William Cline in his book 'In the Nick of Time,' noted that the serials were "unexcelled in the action field. The four Dick Tracy adventures from Republic must stand out as classics of the suspense detective thrillers, and the models for many others to follow." Four feature films on the detective, including Warren Beatty's portrayal in 1990 "Dick Tracy," followed after the final Republic serials concluded. Ralph Byrd starred in two of them, 1947's "Dick Tracy's Dilemma" and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" the same year. Byrd's characterization as a FBI agent was physically demanding for the number of action scenes he had to labor through. His early death in 1952 at the age of 43, from either a heart attack or cancer, occurred when he was waiting in his car for his wife Virginia to finish shopping.
He Fights the Lame One in this Lame One
Mike-76415 January 2001
Dick Tracy is on the hunt of a mysterious criminal known as the Lame One ( he has a bum foot, but I think the title describes the villian's general appearance ), leader of the mysterious Spider Gang. The Lame One along with his hunchbacked assistant kidnap Tracy's brother, alters his appearance, and goes out fighting him endlessly throughout this boredom. This serial moves incredibly slow ( mainly this isn't a Whitney/English chapterplay ), the acting outside of Ralph Byrd is dead wood, especially Smiley Burnette. Even when the master criminal is unmasked, the audience is forced to say, Who was this guy. Add a really dumb, sentimental ending, and well you get the pic. Don't judge the next three serials based on this one. In terms of serials, 4 out of 10.
Before Vader, there was Gordon!
mikesgroi15 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
As we know, Star Wars paid tribute to the movies of the past. The plots, stylization, characters, and tone were inspired by movie serials. With Dick Tracy (1937), one can't help but notice its main villains have similarities to Darth Vader and The Emporer. Gordon is a good man turned evil. He becomes the ruthless enforcer to a criminal mastermind known only as The Lame One. With his own plane, Gordon haunts the city reeking havoc. Can he be redeemed by his own brother Dick Tracy? Will Gordon realize who he is and remember he was once a champion of all that's good? Find out in this movie serial gem!
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