Dick Tracy - 15-Episode Serial

Description

Dick Tracy serials from Republic Pictures in 1937. In this super thriller, a clubfooted criminal, known only as the Lame One, masterminds a war on G-men. One of his villainous plans is to destroy the new Bay Bridge (which looks suspiciously like the Golden Gate) by bombarding it with high-frequency sound waves from his stratospheric aircraft, "The Wing." In the meantime, Dick Tracy's brother is kidnapped and forced to aid the notorious Lame One, who turns out to be...? This serial features fistfights, car chases and aerial stunts as only Republic Pictures could stage them. For lovers of serial thrills and action, "Dick Tracy" really delivers the goods.

Customer Reviews:

A Strange Serial.......2006-08-11

As serials go, this isn't bad, although it would be nice if the picture quality were a little less fuzzy. This is a very strangely constructed serial, unlike any other I can recall. There's no carry-over from chapter to chapter. There's an overlap: each chapter ends with a fake cliff-hanger which is resolved in the beginning of the following chapter(usually by some deus-ex-machina that we just didn't happen to see in the previous chapter), but whatever the previous chapter was about is resolved and each new chapter poses a new problem. It's the same good guys and bad guys throughout, but each time, the bad guys are after something different, like the plans for a supersonic plane or a treasury engraver who can forge counterfeit plates or (even!) a shipment of stolen furs! Obviously there's nothing deep or meaningful here; just fun. If you like old serials (not that there are too many new ones!), go for this.

CALLING ALL CARS.......2003-09-12

IF YOU ARE A SERIAL FAN... THEN THIS IS A GREAT DVD FOR YOU. THERE ARE ENOUGH CLIFF-HANGERS TO SATISIFY ANY BUFF AND IT IS WONDERFUL TO SEE THESE OLD MOVIES MAKING A COMEBACK ON DVD. MARENGO FILMS HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF RESTORING THIS OLD FILM THE VIDEO PORTION IS NEARLY PERFECT AND THE SOUND QUALITY IS EXCELLENT... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE WHO LOVES SERIALS.

The Flying Wing Was Ahead Of Its Time.......2003-05-11

DICK TRACY was a serial produced by Republic only six years after the popular comic strip hero made his first appearance in the Chicago Tribune- New York News Syndicate Newspapers. Throughout fifteen chapters the detective dueled with the Spider Gang whose leader was known as the Lame One. DICK TRACY was one of the better serials made during the 1930's.

Ralph Byrd had the role of Dick Tracy and the supporting cast included Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta and Francis X. Bushman. My favorite movie prop in this serial had to be the Flying Wing.

The Flying Wing Was Ahead Of Its Time.......2003-05-11

Chester Gould's 1937 "Dick Tracy serial" comes to DVD!!.......2002-11-02

This is a great treat for Dick Tracy fans. Before television we had to go to the Saturday morning movie matinees to see our action heros.

Cartoonist Chester Gould created this action hero in the early 1930's and by the middle 30's the FBI and gangsters were in all the newspaper & radio headlines. So Gould countered with Dick Tracy G-man (in the movie serials) & Dick Tracy cop hero in the comic strip.

The "Dick Tracy" (1937) Republic Pictures 15 episode action serial launched Ralph Byrds career as the super crime solving G-man/Sherlock Holmes sleuth. The movie version was always the international view while the comic strip was the local city crime storyline.

Thanks to VCI Entertainment for a great restoration job & super loaded 2 DVD package.

This 15 episode action packed serial is over 290 mins long and is presented with great picture & sound.

Extra features include: a background Commentary by famous Dick Tracy writer Max Allan Collins who penned the comic strip for 15 years after Goulds retirement. Special photo montage & Photo Gallery. Bonus 1945 Radio Show: Dick Tracy in B-Flat - a musical rendition of Dick Tracy with the voice of Bing Crosby as Tracy, Dinah Shore as Tesh Trueheart, Bob Hope as Flathead and many more big radio stars of the 40's. This is fun stuff.

Summary: Action serials are always more about the action packed journey & how our hero escapes the bad guys at the cliff hanging ending chapters than the actual story. We need to have a thrill filled 20 minutes each week and then painfully wait until next week for the continuing saga to take us to more excitement until the finale on chapter/week 15.

Dick Tracy delivers all we expect in an action hero and this being one of the first serials gives us a taste of the world of 1937. Enjoy.

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