Dick Tracy Returns

In this sequel to the 1937 serial ( and a heck of a lot better ), Tracy is on the trail of Pa Stark ( Charles Middleton gives a great performance ) and his five sons. After killing a rookie G-Man, Tracy goes after the youngest son ( aptly named the Kid ) and through out the serials he battles the enemy agents and saboteurs Stark is mixed up with to bring the master criminal to justice. Very action packed, but it does contain some corny scenes, but anything was better than the previous entry. In terms of serials, 8 out of 10.

Dick Tracy aims to bring down a criminal family unit, headed up by the merciless Pa Stark.

Having ....endured the previous movie, I have put off watching this one for about five years I guess, so today was the day I took the cellophane off the dvd.

You could easily dismiss this film as nonsensical and cheap, but in my review I've tried to partly consider what audiences way back in 1938 would have thought, and what the alternatives would have been.

It's very raw, but there are lots of action sequences, and it's a good old fashioned story of the good guys taking on the baddies.

Some of the dialogue has to be heard to be believed, some of it will have you hiding behind a cushion.

At this early stage, I don't think I could suggest that Ralph Byrd is my idea of Dick Tracy, but I'm not sure if that's down to the actor, or the script, he'd of course play the character for a long time.

6/10.

Fans of the "Flash Gordon" serials will instantly recognise the nasty "Pa Stark" here as none-other than the dastardly "Emperor Ming" himself - Charles Middleton. Thereafter, though, this has really little to remind you of anything as it condenses, rather clunkily, fifteen episodes of crime-fighting into ninety minutes. It's all about how the eponymous detective (Ralph Byrd) and his feisty stalwart "Gwen" (Lynne Roberts) get on the trail of the vicious and malevolent "Stark" gang. These guys are involved in just about every criminal activity known to man, but it's their international antics - including espionage and sabotage - that particularly interest our sleuth. Again, as with "Flash Gordon" these worked far better as weekly episodes with jeopardy points at the end of each instalment. Cutting it all together like this robs us of much of the anticipation we would have felt before the next episode and actually reduces the story to little better than slightly repetitive series of gun-battles, pistol whipping, seemingly irreversible disaster scenarios with the damsel always in distress but sadly no railway track onto which we could tie the hugely annoying kid "Junior" (Jerry Tucker). The production is basic and the script does little to inject much spice to this overly abridged adaptation that is really turns out to be all too forgettable. Original is definitely best.

There are good serials and there are mostly bad ones. The bad ones are cheaply made and very boring and use lots of "stock footage". This is the exception. The storyline is very original and is full of action. There are also lots of location scenes and the special effects were used here for the first time and not made for some other serial and reused here. I can see why serials were discontinued around the early fifties. TV came along and by then the serials were nothing like this one. It would be nice to get a nice print on a DVD of this one. My only problem and the reason I would give this a 9 instead of a 10 is the background music. For most of the scenes it is great but when they start fighting it goes to some speeded up uncomprehensible music that should only be used in a cheap western, otherwise it is terrific.

This second entry of the Tracy serials is finally on DVD courtesy of VCI entertainment. Having viewed the first five chapters,it appears that its an improvement over the tape.Sound is Dolby Digital , sharp and crisp.Picture quality varies from chapter to chapter,but is very good overall.If the remaining chapters are the same,it would appear that VCI has done a commendable job restoring this serial,one of the best of the Tracy serials. For the time it was made, this is hard edge story telling. Charles Middleton plays Pa Stark,leader of the notorious Stark gang. He and his sons rob payrolls,deal in hot cars,and cause havoc until Tracy and his G Men get on their trail. In the opening chapter a rookie G man played by stunt ace David Sharpe is shot from behind by one of the Starks during a robbery. He survives and is placed in an iron lung. Fearing that he will identify the shooter,Pa without any remorse,unplugs the iron lung,killing the agent.This is gritty stuff for a serial in 1938! The cast is headed by Ralph Byrd who is perfect in the title roll. Mike McGurk,Junior,Steve Lockwood and Gwen return from the first entry,all played by different actors.The supporting cast,headed by Middleton are all excellent. There is extensive location shooting,chapter endings and resolutions are exciting and for the most part believable. The one downside is the music ,which from time to time, does not fit the action. Over all this long serial ,254 minutes, is fast paced and under the direction of the masters of serial making, William Witney and John English, offers fifteen chapters of non stop action. A must see for anyone who wants to see one of the best of the serial genres .