Customer Reviews

Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc.

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The serial itself is excellent, but I am tired of seeing Mr. Jim, an obvious company owner of VCI or employee, who keeps posting these "reviews" for every one of their serial DVDs, listing them all as perfect and lisitng so much fluff that one knows who he works for. Let the product speak for itself. It doesn't need a shill!

While I consider this the best of all the Dick Tracy serials I have to say it's not faithful to the comics. To begin with Tracy was changed from a police officer to a FBI agent for all four films. None of the characters from the comics except Tracy himself appear in all 4 serials. Even Tracy's sweetie Tess Trueheart had her name changed to Gwen for the first 3 serials. And Gwen was played by 3 different & very unattractive actresses to boot! The final serial saw this lady's name changed again this time to June Chandler. At least June is played by a very beautiful blonde actress named Jan Wiley. The Ghost wasn't a villain from the comics but he may as well have been. He's every bit as bizarre & deadly as the Mole Pruneface Flattop etc. His ability to make himself invisible makes him even more fascinating! The serial also has some of the best cliffhangers I've ever seen. Be sure to check this one out! It's the best of the batch!

Well, I think so anyway. Bill Witney and John English directed the three sequels to the original and established themselves and Repulic studios as masters of the serial genre with the choreographed fights, well crafted chapter endings, and overall care in making these entertaining.I put this one above the other Dick Tracy serials because they really outdid themselves in packing it with continuous action and imaginatively crafted scenes including ones in the middle of chapters which rivaled the chapter endings. This one does have a higher body count than most serials. There are six suspects who may be the invisible "Ghost" at the beginning and only two still alive by the start of the final chapter.One very unusual thing to note is that unlike most of Republic's crime serials, there is no "economy chapter" in which we have flashbacks to scenes in previous chapters.If you enjoy serials, you should love this one.

VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present based on Chester Gould's comic strip creation..."DICK TRACY VS CRIME INC" (27 December 1941) (263 mins) (Glorious Black & White) (Dolby digitally remastered) -- Dick Tracy is a long running comic strip featuring a popular and familiar character in American pop culture --- Dick Tracy is a hard-hitting, fast-shooting, and supremely intelligent police detective who has matched wits with a variety of often grotesquely ugly villains --- Created by cartoonist Chester Gould in 1931, the strip made its debut appearance on October 4, 1931, distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate --- Gould wrote and drew the strip until 1977 --- Chester Gould retired from comics in 1977; his last Dick Tracy strip appeared in print on Sunday, December 25 of that year --- The following Monday, Dick Tracy was taken over by Max Allan Collins and longtime Gould assistant Rick Fletcher --- Gould's name remained in the byline for a few years after his retirement as a story consultant -- (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Under the production staff of:
William Witney - Director
Jon English - Director
William J. O'Sullivan - Associate Producer
Ronald Davidson - Screenwriter
Norman S. Hall - Screenwriter
William Lively - Screenwriter
Joseph O'Donnell - Screenwriter
Joseph F Poland - Screenwriter
Walter Bullock - Musical Score
Cy Feuer - Musical Score
Reggie Lanning - Cinematographer
Tony Martinelli - Film Editor
Edward Todd - Film Editor
Fred C. Brannon - Art Assistant Property Master
Howard Lydecker - Special Effects
Theodore Lydecker - Special Effects

With an introduction by Max Allan Collins (author of Dick Tracy comic strip 1977-1993) before the first chapter --- Story line and plot, with 15 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences --- Our story opens as Dick Tracy (Byrd) and his agents must battle a villain known only as "The Ghost" --- Can this fiend make himself invisible --- How can you fight something you can't see, or can we --- This looks like the best serial in the Dick Tracy series, as our favorite detective must come up to the plate and hit a homerun --- Which one of the members of the city crime council is "The Ghost" --- The fight scenes are something to behold, pure magic --- Why is this villain so bent on destroying and raising havoc during these wonderful episodes, wish they would never end --- But see for yourself (can we see the Ghost), as Tracy outwits this evil man and his diabolical plans to bring an end to Dick Tracy and Republic Pictures --- And how about the Republic stunt team with Bud Wolfe (stunt double for Ralph Byrd), David Sharpe, Duke Taylor, Ken Terrell ....meanwhile back to our Republic Serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception.

BIOS:
1. Ralph Byrd (as Dick Tracy)
Date of Birth: 22 April 1909 - Dayton, Ohio
Date of Death: 18 August 1952 - Tarzana, California

2. Chester Gould (creator of Dick Tracy)
Birth Date: 20 November 1900 - Pawnee, Oklahoma
Died: 11 May 1985 - Woodstock, Illinois

3. Ralph Morgan (brother of actor Frank "Wizard of Oz" Morgan)
Birth Date: 06 1883 - New York City, NY
Died: 11 June 1956 - New York City, NY

4. William Witney (Director)
Birth Date: 15 May 1910
Died: 17 March 2002 - Pioneer, CA

5. John English (Director)
Birth Date: 25 June 1903 - Cumberland, England, UK
Died: 11 October 1969 - Los Angeles, CA

the cast includes:
Ralph Byrd ... Dick Tracy
Michael Owen ... Billy Carr
Jan Wiley ... June 'Eve' Chandler
John Davidson ... Lucifer
Ralph Morgan ... J.P. Morton
Kenneth Harlan ... Police Lt. Cosgrove
John Dilson ... Henry Weldon
Howard C. Hickman ... Stephen Chandler
Robert Frazer ... Daniel Brewster
Robert Fiske ... Walter Cabot
Jack Mulhall ... Jim Wilson
Hooper Atchley ... Arthur Trent
Anthony Warde ... John Corey

CHAPTER TITLES:
1.The Fatal Hour
2.The Prisoner Vanishes
3.Doom Patrol
4.Dead Man's Trap
5.Murder at Sea
6.Besieged
7.Sea Racketeers
8.Train of Doom
9.Beheaded
10.Flaming Peril
11.Seconds to Live
12.Trial by Fire
13.The Challenge
14.Invisible Terror
15.Retribution

If you crave adventure, drama and plenty of action then this is the place for you --- check out another release from VCI Entertainment with Serials and B-Westerns, you can't go wrong.

1. DICK TRACY - SERIAL (1937) (VCI #8273)
2. DICK TRACY RETURNS (1938) (VCI #8503)
3. DICK TRACY'S G-MEN (1939) (VCI #8504)
4. DICK TRACY - RKO CLASSIC COLLECTION (1945, 1946, 1947) (VCI #8528)
(Dick Tracy Detective; Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, Dick Tracy's Delimma & Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome)

Special footnote, why is it our hero Dick Tracy never gets his clothes dirty during these episodes.

Hats off and thanks to Robert Blair and his staff at VCI Entertainment --- VCI was named in Variety and Hollywood Reporter as the first company to produce and release motion pictures directly to the home marketplace --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- VCI are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector -- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections.

Total Time: 263 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment 8526 ~ (10/21/2008)

this movie was made real well the story is a great one. ralph byrd is the best screen dick tracy but be on the look out for robert fiske as cabot he is also in the green archer and in the batman that came out 1943 so pick up those other movies too.

I know Republic had to be economy-minded, but this is ridiculous: Many of the cliffhangers are taken whole cloth from previous Dick Tracy serials. I'm shocked that the great directors Witney and English would go along with such shoddiness, and surprised because until this one each Dick Tracy serial was better than the previous one. Granted, it does have a completely new plot line, but too many scenes are stolen from the previous three Tracys for my taste. Even when the cliffhangers aren't repeats they're not very good, certainly not typical of Witney and English's work. There's one pretty good cliffhanger in Chapter 12, but the one in Chapter 14 is a non-event.

Incidentally, this final Dick Tracy marks the longest running serial series in film history, with a total of 60 chapters. Ralph Byrd was a fine actor, and he made his mark in serial history with this series. Frankly, in this one he looks like he was getting a little tired of the role.

Jan Wiley, who was quite good in "Secret Agent X-9" (1945), is pretty wooden in this one, just hanging around in the great tradition of Tracy's previous assistants.

If I hadn't seen the previous three Tracys I probably would have rated this a little higher, but I can't get over the perfidy of adding all those scenes from previous serials. It completely spoiled the whole movie for me. Heck, even the title is a misnomer, as the plot isn't really about an organization called Crime, Inc., but rather a criminal called the Ghost who can make himself invisible. Frankly, I guessed his identity pretty early on: I recognized his voice both as the Ghost and from a previous serial with the same actor, and furthermore the credits give him away.

Its Dick Tracy, its a 1940's serial, its so unique and good (To Me) OK, could be a little less but still I bought it. Always easy doing business on Amazon. I love Amazon if it exists, they or their Partners have it. Shipping and delivery again great.

articles arrived quickley, and was securely packaged.
I feel very confident that I will order in the future and
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Of the 4 Tracy serials this version is the best when it comes to plot and action. Many of the cliff hanging endings are original. A fine example of a serial of the period. Equal to the newly released Green Hornet/1940.

Just added this one to my collection. If your a Dick Tracy/Ralph Byrd fan get this one. VCI has done a truly remarkable job of digitally restoring this one. Not a flaw in any chapter, and the sound is excellent. Typical story line involving a single villain the "Ghost", and was similar to the 1937 edition with the "Spider" as the villain. In fact in Chapter 5 of this one they borrowed some footage from the 1937 serial. I'm referring to the harbor chase scene with the speedboat and the cabin cruiser and how they go between two large ships. The final escape was different though. Didn't think anyone would notice eh? I'm going to get more of these. Love Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy.....I think he was Dick Tracy.