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

Thursday, July 30, 2009

DICK TRACY (1942)

DICK TRACY (1945). Director: William Berke. 

The first of four Dick Tracy features stars Morgan Conway as a more-than-acceptable Tracy investigating a series of murders committed by "Splitface" (referring to a scar), played by Mike Mazurki. [One of the problems with the film, although it's entertaining, is that the suspense is minimized because we know all along who the killer is, a serious mistake, frankly.] Anne Jeffreys makes a pretty sexy Tess Trueheart. Equally pretty Jane Greer plays the saucy daughter of one of the potential victims; she's always making a jealous Tess nervous. The cadaverous Milton Parsons is well cast (as usual) as the undertaker, Deathridge. Mazurki is fine as the villain of the piece. A fast pace helps smooth over the flaws. Followed by Dick Tracy vs. Cueball. Also known as Dick Tracy, Detective. 

Verdict: You can't keep a good Dick down. **1/2.

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