Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947)

Director:

John Rawlins

Writers:

Chester Gould (comic strip characters)
William Graffis (story) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Horror Man Traps Super-Sleuth !

Plot:

Dick Tracy goes up against a villain who robs banks using a nerve gas.

Plot Keywords:

Dick Tracy | Nerve Gas | Detective | Super Villain | Cult Favorite

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Gruesome
Ralph Byrd	...	Dick Tracy
Anne Gwynne	...	Tess Truehart
Edward Ashley	...	Dr. Lee Thal
June Clayworth	...	Dr. I.M. Learned (Irma), Prof. Tomic's Assistant
Lyle Latell	...	Pat Patton, Plainclothesman
Tony Barrett	...	'Melody' Fiske
Skelton Knaggs	...	X-Ray
James Nolan	...	Dan Sterne, Newspaper Reporter (as Jim Nolan)
Joseph Crehan	...	Chief Brandon
Milton Parsons	...	Dr. A. Tomic, State U. Physicist

Also Known As:

Dick Tracy Meets Karloff
Dick Tracy's Amazing Adventure (UK)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1990) | USA:Approved (PCA #12377)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Pat Patton: I tell you, if I didn't know better I'd swear we were doing business with Boris Karloff.

Movie Connections:

Follows Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947)

Boris Karloff Elevates This Dick Tracy Film

This was my first look at one of these old Dick Tracy movies. I believe most of them were very short, like those, a little over an hour long, and pretty fast-moving. Apparently, this is the fourth and last one of the films. I read where many people think it's the best, so I started here....and wasn't disappointed. It was entertaining.

What I found, at least in this movie, was a mixture of crime and some humor. Here, too, was a little sci-fi thrown in as someone invented a gas that would freeze anyone near it for about 15 minutes. The crooks, of course, freeze everyone at the First National Bank, and then go in and rob it. (These were the days before video cameras.)

Early on, one of the characters mentions something about a creepy-looking guy, "someone like Boris Karloff." The guy WAS Boris Karloff. Later, a doctor who could help the police figure out this mystery gas goes by the name of "Dr. A. Tomic," physicist. Still later, there is a dramatic scene in a room with a big sign that reads, "Y. Stuffem, taxidermist." The film is full of these little corny things making it a crime-comedy type of story.

Yet, the bad guys are tough guys. Karloff is convincing as a big thug who would kill without remorse. To me, he really makes this movie and elevates the crime angle of it beautifully. He was one-of-a-kind: had the perfect look and voice for scary roles on film. Skelton Knaggs, as "X-ray," as a frightening face.