Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

1946 "HE'S TERRIFIC! Your Favorite Crime Crusader!"
5.9| 1h2m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 22 November 1946 Released
Producted By: RKO Radio Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A police detective uses his girlfriend to track down a homicidal maniac.

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RKO Radio Pictures

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Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Cleveronix A different way of telling a story
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Tweekums Lester Abbott is meant to be delivering diamonds to his boss Jules Sparkle but he and Mr Sparkle's other employees have other ideas. Before Abbott can get away he is confronted by bald-headed ex-con Cueball; he refuses to hand over the diamonds and is strangled with Cueball's braided hatband. It isn't long before Dick Tracy is on the case. He and his partner visit Mr Sparkle and are suspicious of two of his employees; Mona Clyde and Simon Little. It soon becomes obvious that they are both involved with the plan to steal the diamonds and they are soon plotting to buy them off Cueball for substantially less than they are worth… something rather dangerous given that he has killed already. As Tracy gets closer to Cueball things get more dangerous; both for Dick and his girlfriend Tess Trueheart who helps him as part of an undercover sting.Having neither read the original comics nor seen other films in the series I can't say how this compares but as a stand-alone piece of entertainment it passes the time nicely. There are some laughs to be had; mostly at the expense of Tracy's partner Pat Patton. The character names are pretty funny too and betray the films comic book origins; where else would you get such great names as Jules Sparkle, Percival Priceless and Vitamin Flintheart, not to mention Tracy's alliterative girlfriend Tess Trueheart! While one is unlikely to doubt that Tracy will get the villains there are some tense moments. While there are amusing moments the tone of the film is dark at times and doesn't shy away from showing the murders in a way that is fairly dramatic. Overall an enjoyable way to pass an hour.
blanche-2 Morgan Conway is again Dick Tracy in "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball," a 1946 B that also stars two of my favorites, Anne Jeffreys (Tess) and Ian Keith (Vitamin).In this one, $300,000 worth of diamonds are stolen on board ship, and Tracy goes on a search for the killer. The diamonds were stolen by Cueball (Dick Wessel), but when he finds out what they're worth, he wants a lot more than the $10,000 he was promised. He hides out in a bar, but while he's at it, starts killing people.Morgan Conway isn't the Dick Tracy of the comics. He reminds me of George Raft, but he's pleasant enough. As I mentioned in another review, I always picture John Larkin from "The Edge of Night" as an ideal Dick Tracy. I seem to remember him as being sharp-featured and square-jawed. But I haven't seen him in years, and I couldn't find a photo of him.Jeffreys doesn't have enough to do. Ian Keith is terrific.Decent pace.
winner55 The brief but strong Dick Tracy series from Republic studios remains one of the most important moments in the history of the Hollywood B movie. Probably under the insistence of Chester Gould (I can't imagine he was pleased with the earlier serials, that just borrowed the Tracy name for typical serial fare), the later '40s Tracy series is a pristine elaboration of what would become known as the 'police procedural' genre, the most famous of which is the Jack Webb "Dragnet" series. The most striking feature of this series is its villains; despite their comic strip names, they are brutal, cold, and completely believable. They are way ahead of their time in the history of cinema; Cueball is an excellent example. He is simply a common criminal finding himself in unusual circumstances - perfect counterpoint to Tracy's uncommonly common cop presented with a seemingly insoluble puzzle. Like the other films in this series (all on a par), this is a tough, brief, invigorating police procedural, Well recommended.
Snow Leopard "Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball" does a fairly good job of creating a semi-comic book style "Tracy" atmosphere, but the story itself is largely routine. It moves fairly quickly, and has enough entertaining parts to keep your attention, but there's not really that much to the story.Tracy and assistant Pat Patton have to investigate a diamond theft and a murder connected to it. Morgan Conway makes a decent, if uninspired, Tracy, and things move along quickly most of the time. Most of the details and characters are reasonably Tracy-like. As the villain behind the crimes, though, "Cueball" is not much of a foe - while menacing, he's an unimaginative bumbler, and most of what happens is routine and somewhat predictable.Overall, the movie is a mostly average crime film of the era, worth watching for those who are fans.