O Punhal Sangrento

This is one of the best Dick Tracy films I've seen. This one has a great villain, Cueball. Cueball has got to be one of the most menacing villains that Tracy has encountered.

Cueball is out of prison and back in town with his old gang. The gang has talked Cueball into stealing some rare diamonds but when Cueball finds out he has a very small cut of what the diamonds are worth he kills the gang members - and the more he is betrayed the angrier he gets. It's up Dick and Pat to solve this case and put and end to Cueball and the gang.

Never mind someone's opinion that this is one of the worst films of all times - like any film, you have to watch it for yourself to know if YOU like the film or not - don't let someone else ruin a film for you.

9/10

The second of several old Dick Tracy films, this movie pits Tracy against another motley crew of villains. A bald convict named Cueball is the chief outlandish baddie in a rogues gallery of characters. This time around Tracy tries to bust up a diamond stealing conspiracy involving employees of a jewelry firm, an antique shop owner and of course, the bald Cueball.

Once again Morgan Conway does an admirable job as the sleuth from the Chester Gould comic. Anne Jeffries does a good job reprising her role of Tess from the first film. Lyle Lattell as Pat Patton is much more visable in this film than in the first and provides some decent spots of comic relief. The running gag is that he keeps getting knocked out by Cueball. It's no surprise that he became a staple of this series. Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart steals the show though, with his dimwitted antics that are showcased in the scene in the antique shop.

The compliments about the characters end at the main villain, Cueball. While most Dick Tracy characters from the strip have a one or more distinct characteristics (Flat Top's flat top, Prune Face's face and Measle's measles), Cueball has one lame gimmick: he's bald. He's extremely dumb as his weapon of choice: a belt. Cueball seems to bumble around and by luck find out that everyone is double-crossing him. You can't help but laugh as the stone-faced lummox whips out his belt which is an effective but underwhelming selection of weaponry. His death scene is even more humorous, considering that he knows it's coming, but doesn't make a sound.

All in all the second major Dick Tracy motion picture is a nice throwback to the glory days of comic strips. At the very least it's better than the disappointing Warren Beatty update. The weak main villain does hamper it though. Too bad none of these movies featured some of the villains from the comics. They would have been better if they had.

MORGAN CONWAY again assumes the Dick Tracy role with ANNE JEFFREYS as his impatient sweetheart who resents his time being taken up by unexpected homicide cases. This time the murder involves the shipment of diamonds when a murder aboard a boat gets Tracy in a search for the killer over the theft involving $300,000.

Cueball (DICK WESSEL) is the man who resorts to killing aboard the boat to get the diamonds, but is unhappy when he realizes that he was only going to get a small share of their value. The swift moving story involves a bar floozie who gives Cueball shelter, an antique shop run by shady dealer (DOUGLAS WALTON), and Tracy's helper, Vitamin Flintheart, played in amusing style by IAN KEITH.

You can begin the body count once Tracy goes about stalking the killer. Unfortunately, ANNE JEFFREYS has little to do as Tess Trueheart until the film's last fifteen minutes when the killer in the diamond case narrows down to Cueball. Sorry to say that dour looking MORGAN CONWAY cuts an unappealing figure as Tracy.

Trivia note: Jeffreys was reportedly unhappy with her assignments in the Tracy flicks and was delighted when RKO made the next Tracy film with Ralph Byrd and Kay Christopher as the leads and eventually gave Anne some better assignments before she found her niche in Broadway musicals.

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.

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball starts at the comic strip level and then zips along with some finely turned performances (mostly by the supporting characters). Dick Tracy comes off a little wooden and bland."Cueball" , looks so perplexed and worried through the whole film that you kinda feel sorry for him , even though he goes around choking people to death .He does give his victims(most of them) the chance to talk it over or play it straight-above board, but they don't .They take him for a big goof.. er cue-ball...and well, they get what's coming to them.The visuals in this film are superior. Kudos go to cinematographer George Diskant and director Gordon Douglas for his interesting camera placements etc...Gotta love "The "Dripping Dagger"sign. If you like that "1940's Hollywood look", this film is worth a look.