Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA

DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA (1947). Director: John Rawlins. 

Ralph Byrd takes over -- or rather takes back -- the role of Tracy from Morgan Conway in this, the third RKO Dick Tracy feature film. The villain of the piece is a murderous crook known as "The Claw" (Jack Lambert), who murders a guard during a robbery of expensive furs. The florid Vitamin Flintheart (Ian Keith plays him like a combination of John Barrymore and Cyril Ritchard) gets into the action out of guilt for not taking seriously a man who came to relay information to Tracy. [One of the best scenes has that man, a beggar named "Sightless" (Jimmy Conlin), trying to keep from being murdered in an alley by The Claw.] Tess Trueheart is played in this venture by Kay Christopher. Fast-paced and well-acted. Lambert makes a vital villain. This follows Dick Tracy and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

Verdict: Acceptable B movie. **1/2.

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