When the villain is a man with a hook for one hand, and his name is “Claw,” you know Dick Tracy is in for a challenge! Immediately he strikes a man with it, and the viewer gets the chilling feeling that there are more victims to follow.
A safe is cracked, a room is entered and soon some furs are stolen from a crate. A guard with a gun is knocked out. Dick Tracy is put on the case and he learns the fur thieves are driving a Daisy truck. However, the thieves hear a description of their getaway vehicle on the police radio band and they stop the truck, and change the sign on the truck to another company name. They are cagey crooks!
Meanwhile, Dick Tracy has an ally in a man pretending to be blind, and panhandling in front of a bar. The place has a disreputable connotation and Tracy has the man, called “Sightless,” keeping a look-out. Later, Sightless is pursued by a man with a gun, and then Claw is soon in hot pursuit as well, fearing he will have revelations to share with Dick Tracy. One of the neat names of a bar in the movie is the “Blinking Skull.” It’s an appropriate name for this mystery film.
The mystery of the crime takes a while to sort through, and even the insurance agents of the insurance company are suspected. Sightless stops by to visit a few acquaintances of Dick Tracy, one an actor named Vitamin, because of his routine of taking vitamins. Vitamin doesn’t take Sightless too seriously regarding his need to see Dick Tracy, something that Vitamin later regrets.
So who is actually responsible for the theft of the furs? Is it a man named Humphrey? Is it Claw? Or is Claw a pawn for Humphrey? Or could it be those insurance agents who would have to pay off on the furs? What would be their motive? It’s nice to see that the plot is wrapped up in a bit of a riddle for a while and anyone’s guess as to who is guilty is as good as anyone else’s.
In one comedic scene, Pat, Dick’s assistant detective, calls various numbers and tries to talk in a deeper voice, claiming to be Claw, to see if he can track down the leader of the fur plot. In another scene, the real Claw is close to getting Sightless, and Sightless is saved, at least temporarily, when he comes across a small apartment inside a warehouse in which a cranky man answers the door. Claw flees for the moment, and then lurks in the shadows. When Sightless goes to leave the cranky man sticks his head out again to see if he’s left, and this enables Sightless to get away from Claw.
The movie features a few punches directed at various characters, Claw pursuing would-be victims, and bad guys on the lam. It also contains the fascinating plot as to who is behind the theft of the furs. Rest assured, Dick Tracy is in constant pursuit and is fearless in his determination to solve the dilemma.
The movie features smoking and a few characters that meet their demise, but nothing graphic. It also shows Dick and his co-laborers working hard to solve the crime and to find the missing furs. The film has procured our Dove seal for Ages 12+.
THE DOVE TAKE: Dick Tracy dares to solve the dilemma of the stolen furs and the viewer will enjoy joining him on this mysterious adventure!
