Dick Tracy (1945 film)

Dick Tracy
Theatrical poster
Directed by	William A. Berke
Produced by	Herman Schlom
Written by	Eric Taylor Chester Gould (Comic)
Starring	Morgan Conway Anne Jeffreys Mike Mazurki
Music by	Roy Webb
Cinematography	Frank Redman
Edited by	Ernie Leadlay
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates	December 20, 1945 (U.S.)[1]
Running time	61 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dick Tracy (also known as Dick Tracy, Detective) is a 1945 American Film Noir pulp action film based on the Dick Tracy comic strip created by Chester Gould. The film is the first of four installment of the Dick Tracy film series, released by RKO Radio Pictures.

Plot

Dick Tracy (Morgan Conway), a supremely intelligent police detective, must solve a series of brutal murders in which the victims, all from different social and economic backgrounds, are viciously slashed to pieces by the one known as Splitface (Mike Mazurki). Suspects flourish but Tracy must find the common link of extortion and revenge before more are killed.

Cast

• Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy, the tough detective, who lets nothing stand in the way of justice.
• Anne Jeffreys as Tess Trueheart, Tracy's girlfriend, who often falls victim to her boyfriends workoholism.
• Mike Mazurki as Alexis "Splitface" Banning, a psychotic ex-con who seeks revenge. His weapon is a sharp surgical knife. He has a big disfiguring scar across his face.
• Jane Greer as Jane Owens, a suspect.
• Lyle Latell as Pat Patton, Tracy's bumbling assistant.
• Joseph Crehan as Chief Brandon, the reliable chief of police.
• Mickey Kuhn as Junior, Tracy's adopted son.
• Trevor Bardette as Prof. Linwood J. Starling, a strange medium, and also a suspect.
• Morgan Wallace as Steve Owens, a stern businessman.
• Milton Parsons as Deathridge the Undertaker, a mysterious, skeletal suspect.
• William Halligan as Mayor, the worried mayor of Chicago.

Production

Getting the rights to produce Dick Tracy from the character's creator, Chester Gould, cost RKO pictures $10,000. This was the first in a series of Dick Tracy films produced by RKO.^[2]

References

1. "Dick Tracy: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
2. AFI staff (2013). "Dick Tracy". AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Los Angeles, California, USA: American Film Institute). OCLC 772904208. Retrieved September 17, 2013.

Bibliography

• Roberts, Garyn G. (January 1, 2003). Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context (illustrated, reprint ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland & Company. p. 254. ISBN 9780786416981. OCLC 52878934. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
• Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. London, England, UK: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 331. ISBN 9780304332151. OCLC 38423177. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
• Wilt, David E. (January 1, 1991). Hardboiled in Hollywood (illustrated ed.). Bowling Green, Ohio, USA: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780879725259. OCLC 24154116. Retrieved September 17, 2013.

External links

• Dick Tracy at the Internet Movie Database
• Dick Tracy is available for free download at the Internet Archive
• Dick Tracy at AllMovie
• Dick Tracy at the TCM Movie Database
• Dick Tracy at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Review of film at Variety