jokerswild1 Out of RKO's four Dick Tracy films, I would say this is the best. Ralph Byrd makes his return as Dick Tracy for the first time since the serials, and does a bit better than Morgan Conway in the role. Lyle Latell appeared as Tracy's partner Pat Patton in all four films, and is a strong aspect of each film. Sightless is a fun addition, and Ian Keith is quite entertaining as Vitamin Flintheart. The Claw is a great villain with a lot of presence, but I slightly prefer Splitface from "Dick Tracy, Detective".What elevates this above the other three is the cinematography, the others were visually pleasing as well, but this one makes the greatest use of the city and especially the shadows.

Henry Kujawa 3rd of 4 RKO films. Okay, but not as good as the previous two. Vitamin's back, but dumber than before. Pat's still there, as dumb as ever. NO Junior. And classy Tess has been replaced with cutie Tess. (You wish they'd hold onto the same actors for the duration of a series, don't you?) The big change is... Morgan Conway was replaced by the guy HE replaced, Ralph Byrd, allegedly, because the "exhibitors" made a stink and INSISTED on it.I dunno. "Everybody" says Byrd's the best, Byrd "looks just like Tracy". The jaw, maybe. Conway's got THE EYES. And more... Conway had LOTS MORE personality and charisma. It didn't matter in the serial I saw-- that was 90% ACTION, ACTION, ACTION! But put Tracy in a film-noir murder mystery with the actual cast of characters from the comics, and you need more that that. But I guess I'm in the minority.But hey. I liked TIMOTHY DALTON as Bond, too. (AND George Lazenby!)These run very formula. Mystery, character humor, lots of brutal killings, and a sicko doing most of them who gets his in the end. Last time the guy was HIT by a SPEEDING TRAIN! This time, it's ELECTROCUTION. By accident. Bet that hurt! Wouldn't you know it? I can't find my copy of DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME. Seems every time I try to watch a set of tapes, at least ONE of them goes missing. (Grrrrrrrr.)

gftbiloxi Originated by Chester Gould's syndicated comic strip, Dick Tracy has been a durable cinematic character with appearances ranging from 1930s serials to an over-hyped 1990 blockbuster-style motion picture starring Warren Beatty and Madonna--but the character's film appearances are perhaps most fondly recalled from the 1940s RKO Pictures series. Written with stacco dialogue and seldom running more than an hour, they were welcome "B" movies at almost every matinée.Clocking in at exactly sixty minutes, DILEMMA plays out a fast clip. A fur heist and insurance scam turns deadly when a criminal employs "The Claw"--and not only does the movie rack up an impressive body count, it has considerably more suspense than the usual Dick Tracy flick. Ralph Byrd, who frequently played Dick Tracy, is quite good, but the edge of this film comes from the supporting cast: Jack Lambeth's the Claw is memorably dark; Ian Keith, a noted stage actor whose film credits include QUEEN Christina, scores as the comic Vitamin Flintheart; and Bernadene Hayes proves memorable in the brief role of Longshot Lillie. The cast is very nicely rounded out by Kay Christopher as a particularly appeal Tess Trueheart and such character actors as Lyle Latell, William B. Davidson, Tony Barrett, and Tom Keene.High art it isn't, but DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA is fun in and of itself, fast moving, well acted, and well director by "B" movie workhorse John Rawlins. Certainly among the better outings for the famous character, it's very entertaining. Recommended for Dick Tracy fans everywhere.

Spondonman This one has Tracy after a gang of fur-robbers' fence, with a couple of brutal murders thrown in along the way for a good measure.A quite well made entry in the series, I agree that you don't always need a lot of money to make a well thought-out and entertaining film (the stupefyingly bad Blair Witch Project aside). The script and acting is satisfactorily brisk and logical, with a nice RKO-bound seedy and menacing atmosphere in evidence. Down those mean streets the Falcon never went! What makes it stand out however is the OTT performance by Jack Lambert as the Claw - a potent mix of Rondo Hatton's Creeper from the Pearl of Death and Long John Silver - the education system sure must have gone wrong with him!As for Byrd for my money he was perfect as Tracy, with his jaw sticking out further than the brim of his hat producing even more shadows!