utgard14 The third in RKO's short Dick Tracy series of movies from the '40s. This one features Ralph Byrd as Tracy. Byrd reprises his role from the Republic Dick Tracy serials he was famous for. Morgan Conway had played Tracy in the first two RKO films. I thought he was fine but admittedly Byrd is better. It's just a rare case of perfect casting as Byrd really does seem like Tracy physically. The plot to this film is about Tracy investigating a series of crimes, including murder, linked to The Claw. He's a villain that, you guessed it, has a metal claw in place of one of his hands. Fun, fast-paced detective story with more of the interesting characters I expect from a Dick Tracy story. In addition to the killer The Claw and my favorite Vitamin Flintheart (Ian Keith), there's a blind beggar appropriately named Sightless and a fence named Longshot Lillie. Fun stuff.

classicsoncall Probably the coolest thing about this picture is the classy intro with the newspaper comic images of Dick Tracy's expansive cast of villains. The one that shows up in this picture is 'The Claw', a rough looking chap with a hook for a hand menacingly portrayed by Jack Lambert. A lot of the picture belongs to the villain as he skulks around back alleys taking out anyone who might get in his way. A couple of times an off screen villain by the name of Hatchet Harry is mentioned. Wouldn't it have been cool to see a Hatchet go up against The Claw? Wishful thinking I guess.As far as mysteries go, this one is pretty transparent as a robbery of the Flawless Fur Company turns out to be an inside job with the thieves actually using the combination of the fur vault to make their entry! I was pretty amazed to see the Honesty Insurance guys show up in the middle of the night and at the drop of a hat to investigate the claim. That's what you call service! Ralph Byrd fills the bill nicely as detective Dick Tracy, though I had to wonder why Tess Trueheart (Kay Christopher) had to show up for this one. Tracy barely acknowledged her in the few scenes they were in together, but I guess it made sense to have familiar names from the comic strip show up. What I missed in this film were the pun inspired names for characters like you had in "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" - Dr. A. Tomic and his assistant I.M. Learned. Longshot Lillie was a neat character, but she really didn't stick around too long.Anyway, Ralph Byrd is back after Morgan Conway played Tracy in the first two films of this franchise. Most folks prefer Byrd over Conway, and I'd have to second that. Overall, this one's just rather OK, but the telegraphed ending was a blast, once you realize The Claw's metal hand is somehow going to engage an electrical transformer for a literal lights out. Earlier, I couldn't help thinking that perhaps the villain's loping foot drag might have been the inspiration for Keyser Soze a half century later.

Neil Doyle RALPH BYRD takes over the Dick Tracy role with good results, looking more like the square-jawed comic book hero than Morgan Conway. He's on the trail of "The Claw" (played very effectively by JACK LAMBERT) and the film is chock full of many noir-like scenes involving "The Claw" and his pursuit of victims, who seems to enjoy using his hook to kill a few unlucky men.IAN KEITH is back as Vitamin Flintheart, once again upstaging everyone with his theatrical flair for speeches and having a little more to do with the plot and KAY CHRISTOPHER fills in for Anne Jeffreys as Tess Trueheart.But, in truth, Byrd is given little opportunity to show how well he was cast in the part since most of the crime drama involves the intriguing villain with the hook for a hand who drags his foot and walks the shadowy streets on his hunt for the kill.Summing up: Good little crime drama about fur thieves proves that low-budget thrillers like this from RKO could be rewarding enough for noir fans.

bensonmum2 Stolen furs, a dead night watchman, insurance scams, and a killer with a hook for a hand named The Claw. It's up to Dick Tracy to unravel the mystery.I have now seen four of these Dick Tracy movies from the 1940s and this is easily my least favorite. Dick Tracy's Dilemma seems tired and offers very few fresh ideas. It's a shame that a really nasty villain like The Claw wasn't in a movie with a better story. RKO probably did the right thing by ending the Dick Tray series with this movie.If your interested in watching one of these older Dick Tracy movies, my recommendation goes to Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome with Boris Karloff.