Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) Reviews

• Fun, fast-paced B-movie with a fun cast

  oliverkneale2000-05-31

  While none of the four Dick Tracy films made by RKO in the 1940's are particularly extraordinary they're fun, the actors are charming, and the atmosphere of the films is nice and seedy. Plus, they often mixed in a little sci-fi and some comic strip style humor (such as characters named Dr. A. Tomic and I. M. Learned) in with the bargain basement film noir that manages to set the films somewhat apart from other crime-themed B-films of the time. The final film in the series, Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, is probably the best of the four, mostly due to the absolutely wonderful cast. Boris Karloff is dependably creepy and charismatic as the main villain. Minor 1940's B-movie icon, Ann Gwynne is the sexiest Tess Trueheart of the early films. The incomparably menacing, ghostly Skelton Knaggs plays X-Ray and, like he always did, steals every scene he's in. Everyone is great. The story, concerning Karloff using a gas that puts people into temporary suspended animation to rob a bank, moves at a gallop and is delivered with humor and style. There's not a dull moment in the film and it's more than worth the vintage B-movie enthusiast's time.

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• Karloff Excels in a Solid Dick Tracy Feature

  Snow Leopard2005-06-09

  Ralph Byrd is well-suited to the role of Dick Tracy, and this is a solid B-feature overall. But it is Boris Karloff, in the role of "Gruesome", who lifts the movie above the norm for its genre. He makes his character come vividly to life, and makes him into a believable and formidable foe for Tracy. The story is enjoyable, if a bit on the wacky side, with a gang of criminals taking advantage of a gas that is supposed to cause temporary paralysis in anyone who breathes it. Tess and Pat also get their moments as they help Tracy track down the gang. Karloff was an impressive and unusual talent, using his appearance, voice, and mannerisms in all kinds of ways, generally relying on the little things and on understated actions to create his character. He was certainly in a number of movies of far greater stature than this one, but in this, as in almost all of his roles, he is very interesting to watch, and he adds a great deal to the movie.

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• Gruesome is quite good

  ghannah2005-04-09

  My first introduction to Dick Tracy was the cartoon series of the 1950s (60s?) and then later the Sunday comics. I saw the big screen Warren Beatty/ Madonna effort and was curious about these earlier efforts. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by this adaptation. Gruesome, played by Boris Karloff, looks as if he just stepped out of the Chester Gould strip (without the lavish makeup of the 1990s version) and several supporting characters also have the grotesque look that made the comic popular. The story revolves around a mysterious gas that can temporarily freeze people. While they're in suspended animation, the baddies can rob the bank (the perfect plan huh?) Anyway, it's up to Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd) to solve the mystery and put an end to Gruesome's crime spree. It's all good fun with more plot than you'd expect and a solid amount of screen time to Karloff. Humour peppers the thrills to make it an enjoyable film.

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• "Smart? He's weird. I tell 'ya, if I didn't know better I'd swear we were doing business with Boris Karloff."

  classicsoncall2006-07-19

  I got a great kick out of the line Dick Tracy's detective assistant Pat Patton (Lyle Latell) used referencing the star of the film. It's the second time I know of when Boris Karloff or one of his characters is called by name in a movie. In "Charlie Chan At The Opera", a stage manager responds to a ruckus in the theater by proclaiming - "This opera is going on tonight even if Frankenstein walks in!" "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" is a wonderful take on the comic strip of the 1940's and '50's as I remember them. You always had those great play on word names for characters; here two of the principals are Dr. A. Tomic and his aide I.M. Learned, while Boris Karloff as Gruesome takes up with a gangster named Lee Thal. When Tracy investigates a taxidermy parlor later in the film, a sign reveals the name of the owner as Y. Stuffum. It's too bad audiences of today are too sophisticated to find the fun in this kind of punditry. At the center of the story is a newly discovered gas formula that renders it's victims motionless, and comes in handy for Gruesome in pulling off a bank job. That scene brought to mind an episode of 'The Twilight Zone' which would have come out some years later; if memory serves that story also took place in a bank. The plot didn't seem to hold together all too consistently as to the effectiveness of the gas formula. In the warehouse scene when Gruesome attempts to render Tracy motionless to capture him, the villain enters the area where he set off the gas capsule shortly after with no ill effect. The film's windup which follows had Tracy and Gruesome in a bit of a contrived cat and mouse game exchanging gunfire. The elevator hauling the villain off to the furnace had me a bit nervous but fortunately justice wasn't carried that far. For his part, Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy reminded me a little bit of actor Pat O'Brien. Tracy's girlfriend Tess Trueheart was played fetchingly by Anne Gwynne, and rounding out the bad guy cast were Skelton Knaggs as X-Ray and Tony Barrett as piano player Melody. This is the first Dick Tracy film I've seen, and it had enough of the Chester Gould comic strip fun to suggest looking up some of the other titles. As a fan of the genre, I found it to compare favorably to other detective series of the era, notably Charlie Chan, Bulldog Drummond and Mr. Moto. For a decidedly different view of Boris Karloff, try catching him in any one of the five films he starred in portraying the Oriental Detective Mr. Wong.

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• Boris Karloff Elevates This Dick Tracy Film

  ccthemovieman-12008-04-05

  This was my first look at one of these old Dick Tracy movies. I believe most of them were very short, like those, a little over an hour long, and pretty fast-moving. Apparently, this is the fourth and last one of the films. I read where many people think it's the best, so I started here....and wasn't disappointed. It was entertaining. What I found, at least in this movie, was a mixture of crime and some humor. Here, too, was a little sci-fi thrown in as someone invented a gas that would freeze anyone near it for about 15 minutes. The crooks, of course, freeze everyone at the First National Bank, and then go in and rob it. (These were the days before video cameras.) Early on, one of the characters mentions something about a creepy-looking guy, "someone like Boris Karloff." The guy WAS Boris Karloff. Later, a doctor who could help the police figure out this mystery gas goes by the name of "Dr. A. Tomic," physicist. Still later, there is a dramatic scene in a room with a big sign that reads, "Y. Stuffem, taxidermist." The film is full of these little corny things making it a crime-comedy type of story. Yet, the bad guys are tough guys. Karloff is convincing as a big thug who would kill without remorse. To me, he really makes this movie and elevates the crime angle of it beautifully. He was one-of-a-kind: had the perfect look and voice for scary roles on film. Skelton Knaggs, as "X-ray," as a frightening face.

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