Chester Gould


Way before Warren Beatty's 1990 film, Chester Gould's Dick Tracy made his film debut in 1937's "Dick Tracy," a movie serial by Republic Pictures starring Ralph Byrd.Through the 15-chapter serial, 15 different cases were solved, all plots by the Spider Gang. Dick Tracy was also in search of his missing brother, Gordon Tracy (Carleton Young). The Dick Tracy character proved very popular, and a second serial, "Dick Tracy Returns," appeared in 1938 (reissued in 1948). "Dick Tracy's G-Men" was released in 1939 (reissued in 1955). The last was "Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc." in 1941 (reissued as "Dick Tracy vs. the Phantom Empire" in 1952).
The character would go on to headline four feature films, produced by RKO Radio Pictures. "Dick Tracy" (a.k.a. "Dick Tracy, Detective") (1945) was followed by "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball" in 1946, both with Morgan Conway as Tracy. Byrd returned for the last two features, both released in 1947: "Dick Tracy's Dilemma" and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome."
"Gruesome" is probably the best known of the four, with the villain portrayed by Boris Karloff (below), resulting in Byrd taking second billing (the only "Tracy" project where he did so).
All four movies had many of the visual features associated with film noir: dramatic, shadowy photographic compositions, with many exterior scenes filmed at night (at the RKO Encino movie ranch).
Happy Birthday, Chester Gould!

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