Dick Tracy's Dilemma
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''Dick Tracy's Dilemma'', released in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
as ''Mark of the Claw'', is a 1947 American
action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
based on the 1930s comic-strip character of the same name created by
Chester Gould Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the ''Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains. Ear ...
.
Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909  – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...
stars as
Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
, reprising the role after
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
's 1937 ''
Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
'' serial and its three sequels. Preceded by ''
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball ''Dick Tracy vs. Cueball'' is a 1946 American action film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. The film stars Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy in the second installment of the ''Dick Tracy'' film serie ...
'', the film is the third installment of the ''Dick Tracy'' film series released by
RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
. The follow-up to ''Dick Tracy's Dilemma'' was ''
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome ''Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome'' (also known as ''Dick Tracy Meets Karloff'' and ''Dick Tracy's Amazing Adventure'' (UK) ) is a 1947 thriller film starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, and Anne Gwynne. The film is the fourth and final installment of ...
'' (1947), the fourth and last entry in the RKO series. Dick Tracy, the character next made the move to television. The program ran for 39 episodes in the 1950–1951 season. Ralph Byrd may well have played Dick Tracy in further adventures had he not died unexpectedly, of a heart attack, on August 18, 1952, at age 43.


Plot

Ruthless killer Steve Michel is known to the public as "the Claw" for his way of killing his victims with his prosthetic hook. After his accomplices Ryan and Taylor have broken in and stolen furs from the Flawless Furs warehouse, Steve kills the guard with his hook. When the police arrive at the crime scene in the shape of Detective Dick Tracy, he talks to Humphries, who is the owner of the store; Peter Premium, who is a representative for the insurance company; and a man named Cudd, who is the insurance investigator. The insurance company only has 24 hours to find the stolen goods, or they have to reimburse the fur company. Tracy and his semicompetent assistant Patton examine the dead body at the morgue and find a note on it stating that three perpetrators performed the hit against the warehouse. It also mentions that they used a truck with the name "Daisy" on it. Unfortunately, the three perpetrators disguise the truck before Tracy can find it, and the lead is a dead end. The robbers soon leave their hideout in a local junkyard and go to a nearby bar to phone their boss and get new instructions. As they speak with the boss on the phone, their conversation is overheard by an informant, a blind beggar called Sightless, who goes to pass the information on. Sightless is sloppy and noisy when eavesdropping, and is nearly caught by the Claw. Still, he manages to escape the bar. Sightless goes directly to Dick Tracy, but is stopped at the door by Tracy's friend, Vitamin Flintheart. Vitamin believes the beggar is up to no good, and denies him entrance to the house. After listening to Sightless' message, Vitamin gets rid of him. Still, he passes the message on to Tracy later, and Tracy and Patton manage to find the fence who the three robbers were meeting, Longshot Lillie. Lillie is taken into custody and questioned, but is unable to identify the robbers. At the same time, the Claw finds Sightless' apartment and kills the blind man with his hook. Soon after, Tracy and Patton arrive, and the Claw flees the scene. Patton pursues the killer, fires a shot and wounds him, but still, the Claw manages to escape. Tracy notices that the Claw had tried to make a phone call from Sightless' phone, and can identify the first digits from hook scratches on the phone dial. He sends Patton to find the rest of the phone number. Tracy himself goes to the insurance company and accuses them of stealing the furs from the warehouse. They protest against the charges when Patton arrives and tells them that the number leads to the storeowner Humphries. Humphries' plan was all along to sell back the furs to the insurance company after the 24 hours had passed and collect the penalty fee stated in the policy. He calls the robbers at the same bar as before, instructing them to tell the insurance company to come to the bar with $50,000. Feeling guilty about sending Sightless off to a certain death before, Vitamin goes to the bar to find the killer, pretending to be a blind beggar himself. Sam and Fred make an attempt to steal the money for themselves, but the Claw, wounded but still capable of fighting, manages to kill them both. The killings are witnessed by Vitamin, who also hears the Claw talk on the phone to Humphries, telling him the furs' whereabouts. Meanwhile, Patton and Cudd have gone to Humphries and are watching him as he talks to the Claw. Humphries tells the Claw over the phone about his predicament, and the Claw becomes suspicious towards Vitamin and his blind-beggar performance. Tracy arrives to the bar just in time to save his friend from the Claw, and a chase back down to the junkyard happens. Tracy chases the Claw to a high-voltage generator, and the killer is killed by an electric shock when he touches a wire with his hook.


Cast

*
Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909  – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...
as Dick Tracy, the tough, square-jawed detective *
Kay Christopher Kay Christopher (June 3, 1926 – June 18, 2012) was an American actress and model. Early life and career Christopher was born into a middle-class family. Her father was a newspaper editor and her mother a librarian. She was educated at New ...
as Tess Trueheart, Tracy's love interest *
Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem on April 1904 in ...
as Pat Patton, Tracy's bumbling assistant * Jack Lambert as Steve "the Claw" Michel, a quiet, compulsive killer: His right hand is a steel hook, and his right leg is lame. He has an extreme fondness for cats. *
Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...
as Vitamin Flintheart, Tracy's thespian friend, joins him because of guilt over the death of Sightless. *
Bernadene Hayes Bernadene Hayes (March 15, 1912 – August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actress. Early years Hayes was born at 3855 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Hayes. She had three brothers an ...
as Longshot Lillie, the Fence *
Jimmy Conlin Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Career Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started out in vaudeville, ...
as Sightless, a little beggar who fakes blindness to sell pencils: He participates as Tracy's paid spy and is exposed and killed by the Claw. *
William B. Davidson William Beatman Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1915 and 1947. Early life Davidson was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended Columbia University, w ...
as Peter Premium, V.P. Honesty Insurance *
Tony Barrett Tony Barrett (born Martin Lefkowitz; May 24, 1916 – November 16, 1974) was an American actor, writer, and producer. He was born on May 24, 1916 New York City. He worked as a radio and screen actor, screenwriter, and television writer and pro ...
as Sam, a henchman * Tom Keene as Fred, a henchman (as Richard Powers) *
Alan Bridge Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy mous ...
as Mr. Cudd (uncredited)


References


External links

* * * * * {{John Rawlins 1947 films American black-and-white films Film noir Films directed by John Rawlins Dick Tracy films Films about organized crime in the United States RKO Pictures films 1940s crime films 1940s police procedural films American crime films Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1940s American films