Dick Tracy Contra o Monstro

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.

I tuned into this movie expecting a very badly done work, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first half hour is a real kick with more laughs than suspense. The remainder of the movie is more akin to what I expected. Boris Karloff was wonderful as "Gruesome" and kept the second half moving. I have to say that some of those guys were incredible shots with a tire shot out with one shot at about 100 yards and police officer killed "instantly" with a quick shot from a getaway car. Like the movie, the marksmanship declined markedly as the movie progressed. All in all, I recommend you watch it if you enjoy the old "B" movies. I plan to look for more in this series and see how they stack up.

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.

If we sometimes pay lip service to the notion that Boris Karloff was a fine actor, we are hard-pressed to offer examples - unless we mean his memorable gallery of monsters, mummies, mad scientists and assorted grotesques. In this unlikely film can be found one of the best performances of his career: that of a criminal, to be sure, but an ominous character who projects menace rather than horror. Karloff underplays the ruthless, single-minded social misfit whose manner is close enough to the norm to enable him to move among commonplace types without attracting undue attention, but is at the same time sufficiently glowering to intimidate even his henchmen. Among the latter is a perfectly contrasted ally in the person of Skelton Knaggs.

About the rest (apart from the tantalizing opening shot)...the less said, the better. But here is a B picture raised to the level of B+ by the solid work of a genuine professional.

While none of the four Dick Tracy films made by RKO in the 1940's are particularly extraordinary they're fun, the actors are charming, and the atmosphere of the films is nice and seedy. Plus, they often mixed in a little sci-fi and some comic strip style humor (such as characters named Dr. A. Tomic and I. M. Learned) in with the bargain basement film noir that manages to set the films somewhat apart from other crime-themed B-films of the time.

The final film in the series, Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, is probably the best of the four, mostly due to the absolutely wonderful cast. Boris Karloff is dependably creepy and charismatic as the main villain. Minor 1940's B-movie icon, Ann Gwynne is the sexiest Tess Trueheart of the early films. The incomparably menacing, ghostly Skelton Knaggs plays X-Ray and, like he always did, steals every scene he's in. Everyone is great.

The story, concerning Karloff using a gas that puts people into temporary suspended animation to rob a bank, moves at a gallop and is delivered with humor and style. There's not a dull moment in the film and it's more than worth the vintage B-movie enthusiast's time.