Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

Rating:
Summary: Introducing Ian Keith As Vitamin Flintheart
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Good Tracy adventure, but there are better.
Review: 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.