Product Details

• Actors: Ralph Byrd, Lynne Roberts, Charles Middleton, Jerry Tucker, David Sharpe
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Vci/Ffi
• VHS Release Date: May 15, 1990
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301352181
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,122 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "The King of Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Dick Tracy Returns (1938)", October 18, 2005

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick Tracy Returns [VHS] (VHS Tape)

VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present based on Chester Gould's comic strip creation..."Dick Tracy Returns" (1938) (Dolby digitally remastered), with 15 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences...story line has the Stark Family on the most wanted list led by the father Pa Stark (Middleton)...the family has joined saboteurs and a gang of spies all for the sake of the green stuff...can Dick Tracy (Byrd) pick up the trail of Stark and his five sons who will stop at nothing to do him in while making life miserable for the entire Republic crew...will justice prevail as Tracy and his agents mix it up with long time master criminal Stark...is this the best performance Middleton has given to date, can we honestly say he's a scene stealer.......well "serial-buffs" don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with ....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director's William Witney and John English, associate producer Robert M Beche, Original screenplay by Franklin Adreon, Ronald Davidson, Barry Shipman, Sol Shor, Rex Taylor, musical score by Alberto Colombo, William Lava, Hugo Riesenfeld....the cast includes Ralph Byrd (Dick Tracy), Lynn Roberts (Gwen Andrews), Charles Middleton (Pa Stark), Jerry Tucker (Junior), David Sharpe (Agent Ron Merton), Lee Ford (Mike McGurk), Michael Kent (Agent Steve Lockwood), John Merton (Champ Stark), Ray Bennett (Trigger Stark), Jack Roberts ( Dude Stark), Jack Ingram (Slasher Stark), Ned Glass (Kid Stark), Eddie Foster (Joe Hanner, Taxi Driver), Reed Howes (Agent Rance), Robert Terry (Agent Reynolds), Tom Seidel (Agent Hunt)........great to see one of my favorite villains of all time Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless from the "Flash Gordon" serials), who appeared in hundreds of B-Westerns and Serials, Middleton was as evil as they came...and how about the Republic stunt team with George DeNormand (stunt double for Ralph Byrd), Yakima Canutt, Earle D. Bunn, Duke Duke Green, Loren Riebe....meanwhile back to our Republic Serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

BIOS:
1. Ralph Byrd (as Dick Tracy)
Birth Date: 4/22/1909 - Dayton, Ohio
Died: 8/18/1952 - Tarzana, CA
2. Charles Middleton
Birth Date:10/03/1874 - Elizabethtown, Ky
Died: 4/22/1949 - Los Angeles, CA
3. Chester Gould (creator of Dick Tracy)
Birth Date:11/20/1900 - Pawnee, Oklahoma
Died: 5/11/1985 - Woodstock, Illinois
4. William Witney (Director)
Birth Date: 5/15/1910
Died: 3/17/2002 - Pioneer, CA
5. John English (Director)
Birth Date: 6/25/1903 - Cumberland, England, UK
Died: 10/11/1969 - Los Angeles, CA

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
4. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
5. The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
6. Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
7. Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
8. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
9. Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
10.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
11.Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
12.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
13.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
14.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present "Dick Tracy" (1937) (Dolby digitally remastered), adapted from Chester Gould's famous comic strip with 15 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences...story line involves a better than average serial....can Dick Tracy survive car and boat chases, airplane death cliffhanger scenes and zeppelin crashes with fisticuffs at every turn...who is the master criminal known as the "Lame One"..can Dick Tracy's brother Gordon be rescued after being kidnapped by the Spider's henchman, as Moloch is preparing a mind altering medical procedure...will the Spider and Moloch succeed with their evil deeds...why is it Tracy never gets his clothes dirty during these episodes....get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Dick Tracy Returns" (1938), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 300 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1167 ~ (5/15/1990)

4.0 out of 5 stars Tracy Battles Pa Stark and his Sons, April 7, 2003

By 

Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick Tracy Returns [VHS] (VHS Tape)

DICK TRACY RETURNS was the second Tracy serial produced by Republic Pictures. It had 15 chapters and the story was about Dick Tracy's adventures in trying to put a stop to a ruthless gangster named Pa Stark. The popular Ralph Byrd again had the role of Dick Tracy and the cast also included Lynn Roberts, Charles Middleton and Jerry Tucker. Jack Ingram appeared as Slasher.