Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)

Very well executed

The Worst Film Ever

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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.

MORGAN CONWAY again assumes the Dick Tracy role with ANNE JEFFREYS as his impatient sweetheart who resents his time being taken up by unexpected homicide cases. This time the murder involves the shipment of diamonds when a murder aboard a boat gets Tracy in a search for the killer over the theft involving $300,000.Cueball (DICK WESSEL) is the man who resorts to killing aboard the boat to get the diamonds, but is unhappy when he realizes that he was only going to get a small share of their value. The swift moving story involves a bar floozie who gives Cueball shelter, an antique shop run by shady dealer (DOUGLAS WALTON), and Tracy's helper, Vitamin Flintheart, played in amusing style by IAN KEITH.You can begin the body count once Tracy goes about stalking the killer. Unfortunately, ANNE JEFFREYS has little to do as Tess Trueheart until the film's last fifteen minutes when the killer in the diamond case narrows down to Cueball. Sorry to say that dour looking MORGAN CONWAY cuts an unappealing figure as Tracy.Trivia note: Jeffreys was reportedly unhappy with her assignments in the Tracy flicks and was delighted when RKO made the next Tracy film with Ralph Byrd and Kay Christopher as the leads and eventually gave Anne some better assignments before she found her niche in Broadway musicals.

Not the best in the series of short Tracy films from the late forties. The villains provide most of the entertainment in these and Cueball isn't that interesting or fearsome as some of the others. Cueball kills anyone who double-crosses him and why do they all try to trick him out of the money? Because he's a overweight, bald idiot, that's why! Even the other crook's moll can play him for a sap.It's fortunate that the other criminals are as dozy as Cueball or even slow-witted Dick Tracy wouldn't have been able to catch them. It's probably fittingly ironic that Cueball meets his fate due to a dumb accident. If he had any more brains he would have been a moron...Still, an entertaining addition to the series as the other minor characters get a chance to shine in their screen time. 'Filthy' Flora, who shelters crooks for a price is particularly good and even Tracy's under used girlfriend gets in on the action in this one.

"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.