Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.
Directed by	William Witney John English
Produced by	William J. O'Sullivan
Written by	Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall William Lively Joseph O'Donnell Joseph Poland Chester Gould (comic strip)
Starring	Ralph Byrd Michael Owen Jan Wiley John Davidson Ralph Morgan Kenneth Harlan John Dilson Howard C. Hickman
Cinematography	Reggie Lanning
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date(s)	27 December 1941 (serial)[1] 8 October 1952 (re-release)[1]
Running time	15 chapters / 269 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$174,539 (negative cost: $175,919)[1]

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the legendary serial team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of the four Dick Tracy serials produced by Republic, although Ralph Byrd went on to portray the character again in two features and on television.

Cast

Main cast

• Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy
• The Ghost
• Michael Owen as Bil Carr
• Jan Wiley as June 'Eve' Chandler
• John Davidson as Lucifer

Supporting cast

• Ralph Morgan as J.P. Morton
• Kenneth Harlan as Police Lt Cosgrove
• John Dilson as Henry Weldon
• Howard C. Hickman as Stephen Chandler
• Robert Frazer as Daniel Brewster
• Robert Fiske as Walter Cabot
• Jack Mulhall as Jim Wilson
• Hooper Atchley as Arthur Trent
• Anthony Warde as John Corey
• Chuck Morrison as Trask
• Forrest Taylor as Netzikoff's Butler

Production

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. was budgeted at $174,539 although the final negative cost was $175,919 (a $1,380, or 0.8%, overspend).^[1]

It was filmed between 17 September and 24 October 1941 under the working titles Dick Tracy Strikes Again and Dick Tracy's Revenge.^[1] The serial's production number was 1097.^[1]

The scenes of giant waves hitting New York were stock footage from the RKO Pictures film Deluge.^[2]

This serial, like all the sequels to the 1937 original Dick Tracy serial, was permitted by an interpretation of the original contract, which allowed a "series or serial". Therefore, Chester Gould was not paid again for the right to produce this serial.^[3]

Cliffhangers

Most of the cliffhangers were stock footage from previous Dick Tracy serials. However, the reuse of the highlights of the previous Dick Tracy serials actually added to this serial, making it seem like a "best of" compilation of the previous serials.^[4]

Release

Theatrical

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.'s official release date is 27 December 1941, during Christmas week 1941,^[4] although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchange]s.^[1]

The serial was re-released on 8 October 1952, under the title Dick Tracy vs. Phantom Empire, between the first runs of Zombies of the Stratosphere and Jungle Drums of Africa.^[1]

Critical reception

Cline states that the Dick Tracy serials were "unexcelled in the action field," adding that "in any listing of serials released after 1930, the four Dick Tracy adventures from Republic must stand out as classics of the suspense detective thrillers, and the models for many others to follow."^[4] He goes on to describe Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. as one of the most outstanding of all serials.^[5]

This was a popular serial when first released and, in the opinion of Harmon and Glut, the best of the Dick Tracy serials.^[2]

Chapter titles

1. The Fatal Hour (28 min 12s)
2. The Prisoner Vanishes (16 min 51s)
3. Doom Patrol (16 min 52s)
4. Dead Man's Trap (16 min 44s)
5. Murder at Sea (16 min 41s)
6. Besieged (16 min 42s)
7. Sea Racketeers (16 min 58s)
8. Train of Doom (16 min 48s)
9. Beheaded (16 min 46s)
10. Flaming Peril (16 min 58s)
11. Seconds to Live (16 min 41s)
12. Trial by Fire (16 min 41s)
13. The Challenge (16 min 45s)
14. Invisible Terror (16 min 40s)
15. Retribution (16 min 43s)

_Source:^[1][6]

See also

• List of film serials by year
• List of film serials by studio
• Dick Tracy - Earlier serial (1937)
• Dick Tracy Returns - Earlier serial (1938)
• Dick Tracy's G-Men - Earlier serial (1939)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Mathis, Jack. Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 58–59. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut. "8. The Detectives "Gangbusters!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 172–174. ISBN 9780713000979. 
3. ^ Images Journal, last checked 19/03/07
4. ^ ^{a b c} Cline, William C.. "2. In Search of Ammunition". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 20–21. ISBN 078640471X. 
5. ^ Cline, William C.. "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 37. ISBN 078640471X. 
6. ^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 231–232. ISBN 078640471X. 

External links

• Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. at the Internet Movie Database
• Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience

Preceded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941)	Republic Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941)	Succeeded by Spy Smasher (1942)
Preceded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)	Dick Tracy Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941)	Succeeded by none
Preceded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941)	Witney-English Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941)	Succeeded by none