The actors are different from the first two movies (out of 4) and Vitamin plays a bigger role. But I felt sorry for the Claw. Yes he is a vicious uncaring killer but he is a cat lover and in some ways a result of a bad upbringing and some bad role models. Dick shows him no mercy and hunts him down in a most ungentlemanly way. I missed Junior from the first two movies. It is not explained in the film who he actually is but he added a certain bizarre incongruous domesticity. I have no idea why Tess puts up with Dick he really is a bit of a dick.

Originated by Chester Gould's syndicated comic strip, Dick Tracy has been a durable cinematic character with appearances ranging from 1930s serials to an over-hyped 1990 blockbuster-style motion picture starring Warren Beatty and Madonna--but the character's film appearances are perhaps most fondly recalled from the 1940s RKO Pictures series. Written with stacco dialogue and seldom running more than an hour, they were welcome "B" movies at almost every matinée.Clocking in at exactly sixty minutes, DILEMMA plays out a fast clip. A fur heist and insurance scam turns deadly when a criminal employs "The Claw"--and not only does the movie rack up an impressive body count, it has considerably more suspense than the usual Dick Tracy flick. Ralph Byrd, who frequently played Dick Tracy, is quite good, but the edge of this film comes from the supporting cast: Jack Lambeth's the Claw is memorably dark; Ian Keith, a noted stage actor whose film credits include QUEEN Christina, scores as the comic Vitamin Flintheart; and Bernadene Hayes proves memorable in the brief role of Longshot Lillie. The cast is very nicely rounded out by Kay Christopher as a particularly appeal Tess Trueheart and such character actors as Lyle Latell, William B. Davidson, Tony Barrett, and Tom Keene.High art it isn't, but DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA is fun in and of itself, fast moving, well acted, and well director by "B" movie workhorse John Rawlins. Certainly among the better outings for the famous character, it's very entertaining. Recommended for Dick Tracy fans everywhere.

When I was growing up, there was a hard edge to the Dick Tracy comic strip. I remember Flat Top's acne and the viciousness of the other adversaries. Most of the surreal appeal of these villains is badly lost in these old films. The Warren Beatty film was also a major disappointment. I would love someone like Tim Burton to take it on sometime. Put Tracy among all that weirdity and make the villains sort of sick. That said, this is a real ho-hummer. The cops and the sidekicks aren't all that bright. The main character is a guy with a hook who apparently can dismantle just about anyone with the thing. The acting is stiff. Tess Truehart is her usual bland self. I'm sure that few remember Dick Tracy as it was, but maybe some day they will find it and make it right.

While I understand that this B-movie was NOT intended to be Shakespeare or the next contender for an Oscar, it is amazing that such a horribly written and pointless film came out by RKO Studios. I would expect this sort of bad film to be instead produced by Monogram or some other poverty row studio--it was THAT bad.Why was the film so bad? Well, although the acting was just awful (with Dick Tracy being MUCH more animated in the Chester Gould comic strips), the writing is straight from the "too stupid to live school of film making". In other words, again and again and again, the characters do things that no rational person would do--showing that the script must have never been edited or even read before it was given to the actors!! Logical errors abound--so much that even Ed Wood, Jr. would say the film is bad!! Let's start by talking about Tracy's moronic sidekick, Pat. When the evil villain (The Claw) is seen running up a flight of stairs, Pat chases them and doesn't bother to tell his boss (who is standing next to him on the phone)! Now The Claw had already killed several people and was responsible for a major robbery and Pat decides to take him alone! Also, throughout the film, Pat said the most non-sensical and pointless comments that made him seem as if he was suffering from a traumatic brain injury--and so you'd think he'd be the last person you'd make a cop and give a gun!!! Well, fortunately for Pat's ego, he was not the only imbecile in the film. "Sightless" (a really awful name for a guy who pretends to be a blind beggar) finds out who is responsible for the crimes and goes to tell Tracy. But on the way, The Claw chases him and Sightless barely escapes. Sightless then goes to Tracy's home to tell him. When Tracy isn't home, Sightless just goes home--even though the killer knows who he is and already tried to kill him! Why didn't he just go to the police station and wait there? Any THINKING person would have done this! Let's continue on my rant about the brainless characters, shall we?! Next is "Vitamin". He's a hammy actor who is about a subtle in his style as a brick in the face--and he's even dumber than Sightless! When Sightless shows up at Tracy's house, Vitamin answers the door and Sightless tells him about the criminals. Vitamin totally ignores him and pushes him out the door--despite the fact that Sightless is screaming at him about murders! Then later, when Sightless goes under cover to help atone for this HUGE blunder, he seems to do a pretty good job--until he does movie cliché #47--when he's safely hiding in another room to avoid detection by The Claw, he stumbles over a trashcan and alerts the murderer of his presence!!! Not convinced that everyone in the film is stupid?! Okay,...later two of the Claw's assistants find The Claw and he looks almost dead. Instead of trying to determine if he really is dead or dying, they stand right next to him and talk about how they will betray the Claw--and then leave. Of course no one is surprised when The Claw then gets up, follows them and kills them.About the only people you don't assume are totally stupid are Tess and Tracy. Tess only has about 3 or 4 lines--so she doesn't have the opportunity to reveal her inner stupidity. As for Tracy, he's a pretty passive guy throughout most of the film and has the personality of a ball of lint. Stupid,...maybe not,...but he also doesn't seem like he's all that smart--just some dullard who is along for the ride.About the only reason I didn't give this turkey a score of 1 is that has SOME entertainment value--but not much. It's really a shame, as the first films of the series (DICK TRACY DETECTIVE and DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL) were pretty good films. The basic problem with these two Ralph Byrd films is the writing--it's horrendously bad.