| Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Witney John English |
| Produced by | William J. O'Sullivan |
| Written by | Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall William Lively Joseph O'Donnell Joseph Poland Chester Gould (comic strip) |
| Starring | Ralph Byrd Michael Owen Jan Wiley John Davidson Ralph Morgan Kenneth Harlan John Dilson Howard C. Hickman |
| Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 27 December 1941 (serial)[1] 8 October 1952 (re-release)[1] |
| Running time | 15 chapters / 269 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $174,539 (negative cost: $175,919)[1] |
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the legendary serial team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of the four Dick Tracy serials produced by Republic, although Ralph Byrd went on to portray the character again in two features and on television.
Contents |
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. was budgeted at $174,539 although the final negative cost was $175,919 (a $1,380, or 0.8%, overspend).[1]
It was filmed between 17 September and 24 October 1941 under the working titles Dick Tracy Strikes Again and Dick Tracy's Revenge.[1] The serial's production number was 1097.[1]
The scenes of giant waves hitting New York were stock footage from the RKO Pictures film Deluge.[2]
This serial, like all the sequels to the 1937 original Dick Tracy serial, was permitted by an interpretation of the original contract, which allowed a "series or serial". Therefore, Chester Gould was not paid again for the right to produce this serial.[3]
Most of the cliffhangers were stock footage from previous Dick Tracy serials. However, the reuse of the highlights of the previous Dick Tracy serials actually added to this serial, making it seem like a "best of" compilation of the previous serials.[4]
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.'s official release date is 27 December 1941, during Christmas week 1941,[4] although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchange]s.[1]
The serial was re-released on 8 October 1952, under the title Dick Tracy vs. Phantom Empire, between the first runs of Zombies of the Stratosphere and Jungle Drums of Africa.[1]
Cline states that the Dick Tracy serials were "unexcelled in the action field," adding that "in any listing of serials released after 1930, the four Dick Tracy adventures from Republic must stand out as classics of the suspense detective thrillers, and the models for many others to follow."[4] He goes on to describe Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. as one of the most outstanding of all serials.[5]
This was a popular serial when first released and, in the opinion of Harmon and Glut, the best of the Dick Tracy serials.[2]
| Preceded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941) |
Republic Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) |
Succeeded by Spy Smasher (1942) |
| Preceded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939) |
Dick Tracy Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) |
Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941) |
Witney-English Serial Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) |
Succeeded by none |
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