Dick Tracy Collection
Box Set (Roan Group with Dick Tracy, Detective / Dick Tracy vs. Cueball / Dick
Tracy's Dilemma / Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome) (1940s))
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B+ Program: B-
Growing
up I was on the fence when it came to Dick Tracy. I was never a die-hard fan, yet I found
myself fascinated by the resurrection of the character in multiple forms. Whether it be comic strip, cartoon, feature-film
(ok, maybe not that far), but most of the time I enjoyed the fun that Dick
Tracy brought forth. This is the type of
programming that we seldom see today and it would be hard to imagine the kids
of today really getting into a character like this. If memory serves correct I don’t recall the
cartoon lasting very long, which began shortly after the feature film starring
Warren Beatty in 1990. What a disaster
that film was! Most
older fans will recall either the 1937 show, which is reviewed elsewhere
on this site, or perhaps this collection of four short films: Dick Tracy – Detective (1945), Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) and two from
1947: Dick Tracy’s Dilemma & Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome. Boris Karloff played Gruesome. I call them short films because they are each
one hour in length, but these were successful B-movies from RKO.
The
history of Dick Tracy has been somewhat patchy even from the original arrival
in 1931 and the character has existed in various forms, but I think that these
four shorts really capture a lot in so little.
One thing that is for sure is that these programs show their age in the
content and would be hard to find accessible today, unless you grew up with
them or have a certain nostalgia for this time period and type of
material. You can also access my review
elsewhere on this site for the 1937 Serial from VCI. Morgan Conway played Tracy here and it is a
well-remembered series for fans.
I think
that most people will be impressed with this set and will want to get their
hands on it. The technical quality is
so-so with a 1.33 X 1 color picture that shows age, but nothing too
spectacular. The Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
is also fair and like the picture…shows incredible age. The extras are well-worth going through and
are another reason to track down this set.
First there is an interview with Chester Gould (the creator of Dick
Tracy) and a terrific commentary by Max Allan Collins (a favorite around this
site) who wrote the Dick Tracy Comic Strips.
There are also 4 radio broadcasts there were used for the Armed Forces
Radio Show, which featured the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra
and others.
If
nothing else can be said…GET THIS SET BEFORE IT’S OUT OF PRINT!
- Nate Goss
