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Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

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DICK TRACY VERSUS CUEBALL

Film Noir was a very popular style back in the day that produced some of the most entertaining films ever released. Nowadays you get the Neo-Noir films but during the hey days of Noir films like this were released. How can any one who is a film lover not know about the Classic Dick Tracy films from R.K.O. Pictures, let alone the comic strip. This film came out right in the middle of the golden years of Noir, 1946. Depending on your taste you may not like this but I thought it was one of the most entertaining films to come out of the this period.

A man named Cueball who was just released from prison is hired to steal some diamonds from a man on board a ship. Once there he kills the man and makes his way to those who hired him to do so. But it turns out he is a very non trusting individual as he thinks everyone is out to use him. So he hides along with the diamonds until he thinks he is getting paid what he deserves. But there is a very famous detective out to figure out this murder and is not far behind him and his co conspirators from the start.

This the second Dick Tracy film from R.K.O. has a lot to offer in form of entertainment, it has all the classic styling of a fun B Noir movie. From the classic detective drama story to the hamming it up acting to the down right great style this has it all. Directed by Gordon M. Douglas this fun little flick is just over an hour so the pace moves along at a wonderful pace yet never seems rushed. The style of the black & white film is great along with the performances, including Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy. I have heard people say that his acting here was wooden but I think that made him more fun to be honest, watch and see for your self. Dick Wessel was perfect as Cueball here and seemed goofy at times but wonderfully evil at others. Anne Jeffreys as Tess Trueheart was good as was Lyle Latell as Tracy's partner Pat Patton. Still I think it was Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart that stole the show here as the owner of a bar Cueball hides out at. You can tell she had a great time hamming it up here.

When you think of Film Noir it is hard to not include this classic character, whether you liked the films or not Tracy is legend. I thought this was a fun B film that came out during the height of the Noir days. I have more that I will be reviewing and putting out there, in fact I should have started with the first R.K.O. Dick Tracy film and did them in order. Oh Well.

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is one hour and two minutes and was released in theaters on December 18, 1946. This is the second of four Dick Tracy movies release through RKO studios. Harry "Cueball" Lake has just been released from prison and is being paid to steal uncut diamonds. Cueball kills Lester Abbott the guy who has the diamonds. A quick note; Trevor Bardette who played Professor Starling in the first Dick Tracy makes a cameo appearance as the doomed Lester Abbott. Cueball goes into hiding until he gets his money for the diamonds. Cueball kills Percival Priceless because he believes that he brought the cops in on this and Cueball also kills Filthy Flora for trying to steal his diamonds. Cueball eventually meets his death on the railroad tracks. In this movie Pat Patton is dumbed down and Junior is portray by another child actor and is less involved with the case. Also Vitamin Flintheat is introduced to us in this movie and he provided comic relief in this movie. Another character in this movie that is not from the comic book is Jules Sparkle who is a jeweler and sells diamonds for a living. This would be Morgan Conway's second and last time to portray Dick Tracy. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is a half a step down from Dick Tracy, Detective but still worth watching. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball gets a B.

Dick Tracy versus Cueball, 1946 film

The story begins at the docks at night. A ship moves slowly. The gangplank lets the crew aboard. They will unload the cargo. One man leaves them for the passenger cabins, and robs a man. The murder is reported, Dick Tracy is on the job. They visit Jules Sparkle the gem dealer. Was it an inside job? There is a hidden room in the lapidary's house, we learn about the plot. Dick follows Mona Clyde to her rendezvous at the Priceless Antique Shop. Cueball visits "The Dripping Dagger" bar to see Filthy Flora about a room. Dick has an idea. Vitamin Flintheart will visit Priceless' shop. There is a meeting in "The Dripping Dagger", the disagreement is settled by Cueball in his favor. Dick and Pat Patton arrive too late.

The car crash ends in some comic relief. Dickering for diamonds at the Dripping Dagger? Cueball settles with Flora. Little Butch plays "Buffalo Bill", and Dick learns a clue! There is a dragnet for Cueball. Dick Tracy has a plan to find the diamonds and Cueball. He needs a society girl for his plan. It works, Simon Little makes a deal to sell the diamonds. Can Cueball be fooled by a "society girl"? If not will Tess be safe? Can Cueball be caught? A car chase for action. Cueball hides in a railroad yard. [Remember them?] Will he be trapped and have an accident? The diamond mystery is cleared up. Tess has a birthday cake for Dick, the phone is off the hook. But shots are fired, Dick and Pat run off. "Oh no, not again!"

This is an interesting story even if it didn't use the "Dick Tracy" characters. There is more comic relief than the earlier movie. If criminals are not caught during the crime, there is always danger when it comes to splitting up the loot. The villains in the cartoons all had some distinctive feature, a fantasy from some criminologist that is long out of date. The cartoon appealed to adults, like some cartoons on TV today. The background of these stories show life in the 1940s. Some claimed the character of "Dick Tracy" was based on Eliot Ness.

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is one hour and two minutes and was released in theaters on December 18, 1946. This is the second of four Dick Tracy movies release through RKO studios. Harry "Cueball" Lake has just been released from prison and is being paid to steal uncut diamonds. Cueball kills Lester Abbott the guy who has the diamonds. A quick note; Trevor Bardette who played Professor Starling in the first Dick Tracy makes a cameo appearance as the doomed Lester Abbott. Cueball goes into hiding until he gets his money for the diamonds. Cueball kills Percival Priceless because he believes that he brought the cops in on this and Cueball also kills Filthy Flora for trying to steal his diamonds. Cueball eventually meets his death on the railroad tracks. In this movie Pat Patton is dumb down and Junior is portray by another child actor and is less involved with the case. Also Vitamin Flintheat is introduced to us in this movie and he provided comic relief in this movie. Another character in this movie that is not from the comic book is Jules Sparkle who is a jeweler and sells diamonds for a living. This would be Morgan Conway's second and last time to portray Dick Tracy. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is a half a step down from Dick Tracy, Detective but still worth watching. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball gets a B.

This is the second of the RKO Tracy movies and is probably best and most economically purchased as part of the complete series rather than individually .Its a good little picture despite a dull and wooden performance from Morgan Conway as Tracy -he appears to be a somnambulist who has wondered onto a movie set while still fast asleep.However the direction by future major movie director Gordon Douglas is brisk and keeps the action bubbling along nicely.
Cueball (Dick Wessell)is a villain of the piece ;he has stolen some diamonds at the behest of his accomplices -Mona(Rita Corday) Jules (Douglas Walton)and sets out on a murderous rampage after being set up by them .Strangulation is the favoured methodology of murder and he proves quite adept at over the course of the movie.
Tracy is aided by such colourful figures as Vitamin Flintheart ,he of the orutund language and florid simile and played with obvious relish in the dialogue by Ian Keith ),and by his official and somewhat dim partner Pat patton (Lyle Larell).The character names suggest we are perhaps not meant to take the movie in a very po-faced way and there are some colourful monikers indeed -as for instance Filthy Flood ,the seedy proprietess of the splendidly named dive The Dirty Dagger

Brisk and well made ,this is a fun move with a light dusting of the macabre but essentially a traditional thriller on a limited budget that has been put to good use

DICK TRACY VERSUS CUEBALL was a 1946 movie about a bald-headed robber and murderer who was sought by Dick Tracy. It was the second Dick Tracy film produced by RKO Radio Pictures and it marked the final appearances of Morgan Conway in the role of Dick Tracy and Anne Jeffreys as Tess Trueheart. The cast also included Dick Wessell in the role of Cueball and Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart.

The Dick Tracy movies from RKO offer a lot to keep them fresh even many years later. Without ever seeming spoofy, they inject a lot of Gould's cartoony sensibilities into what are basically hard-boiled thrillers.

Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball offers fewer of these virtues than others. I enjoy all of these pictures, but will use this space to say why you may enjoy others better.

Among DTvC's debits are the fact that Cueball is dull: he's simply a big bald thug, strong but not particularly smart. In addition, Vitamin Flintheart plays a role in this film; the actor portraying him is excellent, but the character is annoying and (despite his prominent role in the comic strips) out of place here, even though he is given a task to perform in the plot.

The movie's worst crime is that Tracy's sidekick Pat is made to be too [clumsy]- three times Cueball escapes due solely to his incompetence.

This is well-acted for a B-programmer, by a colorful cast, some of whom are given far too little to do. It is also less of a mystery than others; even when we know who is doing the killing in other Tracy movies, we don't know why. Here we know everything, and the story just sort of plays out without any real momentum being built until there is only 10 minutes left. There is a good chase climax which culminates ultimately in a weak, cop-out ending. There are also few of the noirish expressionistic shots that made the others so watchable. Like I said, it's all fine, but there are other episodes that are better than merely fine.

I like fan-favorite Ralph Byrd in the Tracy role as well, but Morgan Conway always seemed more the Tracy type to me, and he acquits himself well in this, one of his two attempts. Anne Jeffries is also very appealing as Tess. But then you consider that other episodes also included Boris Karloff, Anne Gwynne and Jane Greer, then you start to wish for more here.

I can't recommend buying this one individually when there are cheap collections of two or more Dick Tracy movies out there, but it IS inexpensive. And the quality of the dvd is quite good. I have noticed a marked increase in quality from Alpha Video since they first started to sell dvds.

Bottom line: I recommend Dick Tracy, Detective and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome over this one, for their more offbeat and chiaroscuro qualities.