Dick Tracy (1937) ch15 – Brothers United

Brothers United, sadly, does not feature much in the way of brothers uniting. Much of the chapter is spent with Ralph Byrd begging Carleton Young to remember his identity and Young not remembering his identity and running away. There’s no uniting. It’s actually the most red herring of a chapter title as Dick Tracy gets.

The chapter does the Spider reveal just before the finish. It’s who was forecast in the previous chapter; a nonsensical reveal without any dramatic weight. There’s not much dramatic weight to anything in the chapter really. Well, except Francis X. Bushman telling Byrd he’s getting a promotion only it’s unclear to what rank. It’s also implied there’s more pay, which doesn’t make much sense because if Byrd’s not independently wealthy–I mean, Kay Hughes doesn’t work for the FBI, she’s Byrd’s home assistant, and so the airplane she flies in this one (winging little Lee Van Atta into great danger) must belong to Tracy. But who cares. It’s over.

John Picorri gets a good showdown with Byrd, even if it’s also without much dramatic weight. It’s a better fight scene than anything else in the chapter. The one between Young and Byrd–with Fred Hamilton and Smiley Burnette duking it out with Young’s thug sidekicks–is terribly cut. And all the FBI guys who couldn’t fight in the earlier chapters can somehow beat up the thugs here. Even the one who looks like an evil Harold Lloyd. The coincidental (I’m assuming) resemblance is more amusing than anything intentional in the chapter.

It all ends with a dumb joke, which the directors can’t pull off. Partially because they’re not very good at directing, partially because it’s a dumb joke, mostly because Burnette’s lousy.

There’s a lot of obvious stock footage, both from the serial’s early chapters and other sources. Kind of cuts into the dramatic effect, which is in dire straits already.

Brothers United still manages to be a disappointment, but it does give Young a single decent scene–his first in ages–and Byrd at least isn’t annoying. He’d been getting annoying.

I suppose, technically, it’s never too boring. The bad fight scenes in the second half do drag it down though.

Dick Tracy (1937) ch14 – The Devil in White

The Devil in White is the penultimate Dick Tracy chapter, which is great. It means there’s only one left. And it even has an interesting cliffhanger. It doesn’t have an interesting cliffhanger resolve. It has another easy cliffhanger resolve; I don’t think the serial’s had a single good resolve.

But the cliffhanger is solid because it turns out James and Taylor can compose a good series of really intense, good shots. Not sure why they didn’t before–it’s been a long time since there’s been a big successful action sequence–but the lead-up to the cliffhanger is pretty good. So good it’s hard to believe.

It also helps mad (hunchback) scientist John Picorri has a lot to do. He’s got a good scene with Carleton Young, then another good scene–the cliffhanger–with Ralph Byrd. The serial’s underutilized him to a staggering degree.

There’s what seems to be a big hint at the secret identity of the Spider, which will undoubtedly disappoint in its reveal next chapter. Especially if it’s just the hint. It’s going to be so lazy.

The chapter also establishes it’s not just Byrd or Smiley Burnette who are dimwit FBI men–oh, right, Byrd gets kidnapped because the FBI loses touch with him even though they established handheld radios a couple chapters ago. Why he didn’t bring one… well, the FBI agents also bungle following the Spider’s men. There’s a big setup for the assignment and then they still bungle it.

FBI chief Francis X. Bushman apparently only employs idiots. Except Fred Hamilton, of course, who figures out the Spider Gang’s tricks right away. So, of course he’s not allowed to lead the assignment.

Fingers crossed Young gets some material next chapter. He gets a little here, but the serial’s really back-burnered him for a while. Turns out he doesn’t remember Byrd is his brother, which was never clear until now. Because otherwise the script would’ve had to be a teensy bit better. And Dick couldn’t handle it.

Dick Tracy (1937) ch13 – Fire Trap

So, unfortunately, Ralph Byrd (you know, Dick Tracy), doesn’t get shot in the cliffhanger resolution. He dodges. Because they all heard the Spider approach because the Spider has a club foot. Except they also all think the Spider is wearing a disguise, implying the club foot is a part of that disguise. The distinct, noisy limp the Spider walks with forecasts his appearance as well. People know he’s coming.

Seems like a dumb disguise.

But dumb is the key word for Fire Trap. Dumb or forgetful. Like how Byrd forgets he’s actually seen the Spider before. Been held prisoner by him, in fact.

After Byrd avoids being shot–in FBI West headquarters, where the Spider has gotten in because no security (he escapes by running across a wooden plank to another building so the club foot doesn’t always impede speed)–idiot, armed FBI agent Smiley Burnette manages to foul-up everyone looking for the Spider. It’s a panicked “search the building” scene and it’s terrible. James and Taylor’s direction of it is atrocious.

Turns out young Lee Van Atta has gotten a picture of the Spider, which the Spider knows about… just because. So a goon goes to Byrd’s house and foils Byrd developing the picture. But the goon eats at the wharf hangout… where the Spider gang has been known to hangout. And Byrd and the FBI shut down some chapters ago. So Byrd goes back. Because apparently he forgot they went to this place, even though the proprietor was clearly in on it.

Lazy, dumb, and forgetful are actually the key words for the chapter.

It ends with Byrd on a burning ship, left behind by brainwashed, surgically altered brother Carleton Young. Young had just discovered Byrd knew he was alive. It provoked no little reaction from Young and less for the narrative.

A terribly edited fight scene precedes the cliffhanger.

There are only two chapters left and it’s hard to imagine how much worse Dick Tracy’s going to get.

Dick Tracy (1937) ch12 – The Trail of the Spider

The Trail of the Spider is the clip chapter. After the current winner for laziest cliffhanger resolve in the serial–Ralph Byrd turns a steering wheel to get out of danger–Byrd and the cast get together with three new characters to hear all about the Spider. Although Byrd’s been hunting the Spider Gang since chapter one, he didn’t think to sit down with witnesses until chapter twelve. Because if you’re going to employ an idiot like Smiley Burnette’s character, you’ve got to be an idiot yourself.

So these three witness, who’ve never actually appeared before and one of them can’t have witnessed the interior of the Spider Gang’s hideout, tell their stories.

There’s no new information for the viewer in the tales (and flashbacks) but eventually Byrd finds out his brother is still alive. Or at least was operated on.

Dick Tracy isn’t happy unless it’s sucking all the dramatic possibilities out of its plot twists.

The chapter ends with the Spider infiltrating the FBI office to kill Byrd. It’s not really a stretch, the FBI office not having any security; if they’re dumb enough to employ Byrd (who actually hasn’t solved a crime since the first chapter and, at best, has just kept a couple people alive by accident) and Burnette, you’re not going to have security.

It’s particularly godawful even for a clip chapter. Mostly because of Burnette. But also because of the lousy reveal on the brother still being alive.

Dick Tracy (1937) ch11 – Harbor Pursuit

Harbor Pursuit starts and finishes in the harbor. For some reason, crackerjack G-Man Ralph Byrd never pieces together the harbor might be a base of operations of the Spider Gang. Just one of the many obvious connections Byrd’s been missing since chapter one.

Or two. Byrd at least seems competent in the first chapter.

After an incredibly lazy–even for Dick Tracy–cliffhanger resolution, there’s a newspaper headline about a missing government engraver. The engraver’s been gone a week, without the FBI concerned. The Spider Gang has had him the whole time, presumably tied up in the same chair; again, whatever.

Byrd’s sidekicks stumble upon a coded communication thanks to resident idiot Smiley Burnette going on the radio to give an address warning about crime. It doesn’t go well, but is apparently supposed to be hilarious. Screenwriters Barry Shipman and Winston Miller are shockingly bad when it comes to humor. The radio announcer who looks mortified at Burnette’s performance (in character, on the radio) is probably the best performance in the whole serial.

Then it’s back to the harbor for an almost decent boat chase. The shots of the actual boats in the harbor–never together–are good. The composite shots with the rear screen projection are godawful.

It might just be Tracy’s imminent conclusion–only four more to go–but Harbor passes smoother than most of the serial’s bad chapters have done. There’s nothing to distinguish it, though–as always–Carleton Young and Fred Hamilton are the ones who give the best performances. They just don’t have anything to do.

Also eye-rolling is how Byrd can’t manage to beat up a single dock worker but can easily best a (presumably experienced) thug.

Dick Tracy (1937) ch07 – The Ghost Town Mystery

The Ghost Town Mystery has a lot of wipes. Half wipes, quartering wipes, circular wipes. Wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe. I swear there haven’t been this many wipes in the serial until now. There’s also some terrible insert shots of lead Ralph Byrd when he’s listening to someone. Edward Todd, Helene Turner, and William Witney’s editing hasn’t been stellar or anything up to this chapter, but it’s real bad here.

Especially once they get to the ghost town and have a shootout. Directors James and Taylor utterly bungle it.

There’s also some serial standards, like Byrd coming across the next clue right as the cliffhanger resolves. Good thing the bad guys dropped a newspaper folded to the ghost town. It’s not a ghost town, actually, it’s a gold mine claim. The owner’s Milburn Morante. He’s an eccentric Western hick, mixing various stereotypes in a bad performance.

Really, only Carleton Young, John Picorri, and Fred Hamilton don’t cause uncomfortable squirming as they try to get through their scenes. Byrd’s somehow getting worse–having young ward Lee Van Atta around isn’t helping things and it’s impossible to take Byrd too seriously when he’s got moron Smiley Burnette on the payroll.

There’s a great hold-up sequence with Young, which actually had me hopeful for the chapter, wipes and all. It doesn’t go anywhere. The ghost town section is a misfire. It starts with Hamilton getting shot in the face (thankfully he doesn’t die, because getting shot in the face barely hurts in Dick Tracy).

Mystery also has some of Kay Hughes’s worst acting so far, which is an achievement all it’s own. It’s impossible to disparage her too much just because she so clearly should never have been cast; it’s the serial’s fault; it embarrasses her.

Dick Tracy seems to have turned a very bad corner.