Dick Tracy, Detective (1945)

RKO Pictures brought the Dick Tracy comic strip character to the big screen on December 1, 1945. While the film is definitely a “B” film meant to be first on the double bill, it still would have been of interest to the many fans of the popular comic strip. Chester Gould created the strip in October 1931 for the Detroit Mirror. He wrote and drew the comic until 1977. It reached world wide distribution through the Chicago Tribune.

In this film (affiliate link), Morgan Conway plays Dick Tracy. Conway played a number of supporting roles in films such as Charlie Chan in Reno (1938). His portrayal of Dick Tracy is a little more hard nosed than Ralph Byrd’s. Byrd played Dick Tracy in the earlier serials and in two of the later films. Film distributors and fans preferred Byrd but Chester Gould preferred Conway in the role.

This film sees Dick Tracy investigating a number of seemingly unrelated murders. Dick does not know that Alexis Banning aka Split Face is out of prison and exacting revenge on the innocent and guilty alike. The inimitable Mike Mazurki plays Split Face.

Mazurki was a professional wrestler, who stood 6’05”. He also played professional football and basketball. A college graduate, who started the Cauliflower Alley Wrestling Club after his retirement, he had over 100 films to his credit. Mazurki, who was born in Austria Hungary on Christmas Day 1907, died a few weeks before his 83rd birthday on December 9, 1990.

This film runs approximately 61 minutes. I like Dick Tracy vs. Cueball better but this film is worth watching.

Where you a fan of the Dick Tracy comic strip or movies? What do you think of the film? You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.