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.