Prismark10 Splitface is the first of four Dick Tracy films from RKO. Morgan Conway is dull as the square jawed comic strip police hero. The film is really a noirish police thriller than a comic strip movie.Only the casting of Mike Mazurki as the scarred Splitface gives it a comic strip menace, a man who can stab people in a brutal fashion as he goes after the people who put him behind bars. There is also another villain, astrologer and hypnotist Professor Starling who can mesmerise people with his gaze.The film is pacy, we get Tess Trueheart waiting for a date with Tracy but really it comes across as creaky. It just goes to show that Warren Beatty really did an excellent job in his film version many decades later.

LeonLouisRicci With its Noirish Photography and Ambiance this, the First of Four "Dick Tracy" Features is a B-Movie Surprise with its Brutal Violence and Oddball Characters.Morgan Conway is the Weakest Link in this otherwise Fine Film that Contains more than its Share of Suspense, Thrills, and Entertainment. Mike Mazurki is Perfectly Cast as the Psychotic Villain "Splitface". He Brings a Hulkish and Nightmarish Character that Possibly Caused Kids in the 1940's to Squirm.There is an Occultist Astrologer complete with Telescope and Crystal Ball that is Dealt a Violent and Visceral Confrontation with the Psychologically and Physically Scarred "Splitface'. Tess Trueheart with a Tracy Devotion that is Commendable and yet Sad. Junior makes and Appearance for some Comedy and Needed Relief from the Gruesome Stuff. Pat Patton serves the Same Purpose.Overall, the Violence, Noir Night Scenes, and general Feel of the Movie is Not what one would Expect for this Type. Recommended for Fans of the Comic Strip and B-Movie Lovers. Note...The 1990 "Dick Tracy" Movie made by and starring Warren Beatty is a faithful and wondrous underrated Film. A colorful, ultra-stylish, and very different Movie that deserves more attention.

arfdawg-1 Dick is faced with a series of brutal murders in which the victims, all from different social and economic backgrounds, are viciously slashed to pieces. Suspects abound but Tracy, getting a clue that there will be fifteen murders in all, must find the common thread among the victims before more are killed. These RKO B pictures are really good. I've very surprised that given Hollywood's lack of creativity these days that no one is developing a Dick Tracy series. The movie will not change your life, but it's satisfying and a decent watch.

Andy Fish If you're expecting MALTESE FALCON you're in the wrong place. This first in the RKO Dick Tracy movies based on Chester Gould's hardboiled policeman is very faithful to the source material and a LOT of fun.The cast is well chosen and Morgan Conway looks like he stepped right off the comics page.What is unexpected is the inky black noirish camera work, something that was very rare for a B-picture. The entire series was entertaining, with Ralph Byrd replacing Conway for the third and fourth installments, and the two earliest entries were geared towards an adult audience as shown in the violence depicted.Pull the stick out of your crack, sit back and enjoy some very entertaining little films from a more innocent time, when our good guys were someone to look up to.