Dick Tracy Returns (1938)

Directors:

John English
William Witney

Writers:

Barry Shipman (original screenplay) &
Franklin Adreon (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance

Tagline:

AMERICA'S FAVORITE HERO leaps into vivid life from the famous newspaper strip cartoon NEW action, NEW mystery...but the same old master-sleuth - (original one-sheet poster)

Plot:

Dick Tracy battles spies and saboteurs in his efforts to bring to justice the Stark gang, a criminal family led by the vicious Pa Stark. |

Plot Keywords:

Saboteur | Gang | Spy | Dick Tracy | Boss

Cast

Ralph Byrd	...	Dick Tracy
Lynne Roberts	...	Gwen Andrews (as Lynn Roberts)
Charles Middleton	...	Pa Stark
Jerry Tucker	...	Junior
David Sharpe	...	Agent Ron Merton
Lee Ford	...	Mike McGurk
Michael Kent	...	Agent Steve Lockwood
John Merton	...	Champ Stark
Ray Bennett	...	Trigger Stark (as Raphael Bennett)
Jack Roberts	...	Dude Stark
Ned Glass	...	Kid Stark [Chs. 1, 13]
Eddie Foster	...	Joe Hanner, Taxi Driver [Chs. 1, 13] (as Edward Foster)
Alan Gregg	...	Jimmy 'Snub' Madison, thug
Reed Howes	...	Agent Rance
Bob Terry	...	Agent Reynolds (as Robert Terry)

Runtime:

260 min | 254 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1. The Sky Wreckers 2. The Runaway Of Death 3. Handcuffed To Doom 4. Four Seconds To Live 5. Death In The Air 6. Stolen Secrets 7. Tower Of Death 8. Cargo Of Destruction 9. The Clock Of Doom 10.High Voltage 11. The Kidnapped Witness 12.The Runaway Torpedo 13.Passengers To Doom 14.In The Hands Of The Enemy 15.G-Men's Dragnet

Movie Connections:

Followed by Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941)

Tracy vs. the Stark Gang

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.