Movies... For Free! Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947)

Showcasing classic movies that have fallen out of copyright and are available freely from the public domain...


Dick Tracy's Dilemma a.k.a Mark of the Claw, 1947.

Directed by John Rawlins.
Starring Ralph Byrd, Kay Christopher, Lyle Latell, Jack Lambert, Ian Keith, Bernadene Hayes, Jimmy Conlin, William B. Davidson, Tony Barrett and Tom Keene.

After releasing two features with Morgan Conway as Chester Gould's celebrated police detective Dick Tracy, RKO bowed to exhibitor pressure and recast Conway with Ralph Byrd, the actor who had made his name as Tracy in four Republic serials between 1937 and 1941.

Dick Tracy's Dilemma sees the detective investigating a number of crimes - the theft of a fortune in furs, an insurance swindle and the obligatory murders - all of which he links to a hook-handed criminal known as The Claw. Returning to the cast for this third outing are Lyle Latell as Pat Patton and Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart, while Kay Christopher takes over from Anne Jeffreys as Tracy's girlfriend Tess Trueheart.


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Movies... For Free! Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)

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Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, 1946.

Directed by Gordon Douglas.
Starring Morgan Conway, Dick Wessel, Anne Jeffreys, Lyle Latell, Joseph Crehan, Ian Keith, Rita Corday, Douglas Walton and Jimmy Crane.

Morgan Conway makes his second and final appearance as Chester Gould's incorruptible police detective in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, a sequel to 1945's Dick Tracy, Detective. This time Tracy finds himself on the trail of the murderous Cueball, an ex-con who kills a diamond thief and takes the loot for himself. Tracy plans to catch Cueball by allowing his girlfriend Tess Trueheart (the returning Anne Jeffrey's) to act as a buyer for the diamonds, only for Cueball to take her hostage as he vows to eliminate the hard-boiled lawman.

Stepping into the director's chair for this second feature adventure is Gordon Douglas, whose previous credits included the Academy Award-winning Our Gang short Bored of Education (1936) and Laurel and Hardy's final Hal Roach comedy Saps at Sea (1940). Douglas would go on to direct films such as the cult sci-fi Them! (1954), Elvis Presley musical Follow That Dream (1962) and crime dramas The Detective (1968) and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970), while RKO Radio Pictures' Dick Tracy series would continue for a further two installments released the following year.


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Movies... For Free! Dick Tracy (1945)

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Dick Tracy a.k.a Dick Tracy, Detective, 1945.

Directed by William Berke.
Starring Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Mike Mazurki, Jane Greer, Lyle Latell, Joseph Crehan, Mickey Kuhn, Trevor Bardette, Morgan Wallace, Milton Parsons and William Halligan.

Chester Gould's hard-boiled police detective Dick Tracy had already graced the silver screen in four Republic serials between 1937 and 1941 before RKO Pictures delivered this first B-grade feature outing in 1945. Taking over from the serials' Ralph Byrd as the incorruptible title character is Morgan Conway, with Dick Tracy on the hunt for a serial killer known as 'Splitface', who is responsible for a series of brutal murders where the victims have been slashed to pieces.

Although Dick Tracy opts against a straight-forward recreation of the comic strip in favour of a noirish approach, it does feature a number of familiar faces such as Tess Trueheart (Anne Jeffreys), Junior (Mickey Kuhn), Chief Brandon (Joseph Crehan) and Pat Patton (Lyle Latell), and was followed by three sequels in 1946 and 1947.


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Movies... For Free! Deep Red (1975)

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Deep Red a.k.a. The Hatchet Murders (Italian: Profondo Rosso), 1975.

Directed by Dario Argento.
Starring David Hemmings, Gabriele Lavia, Daria Nicolodi, Macha Meril, Glauco Mauri and Clara Calamai.

Italian horror legend Dario Argento enjoyed his international breakthrough with his fifth feature, the critically acclaimed giallo Deep Red, which is regarded by many fans as the highlight of his career. The film centres on an English music teacher (David Hemmings), who witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic medium (Macha Meril) and sets out to unmask the killer with the help of a local news reporter (Daria Nicolodi), and features all of Argento's filmmaking trademarks such as elaborately constructed death scenes, inventive cinematography and atmospheric lighting.

Read our full review of Deep Red here.


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