Watched this second entry in the series of mid-1940's Dick Tracy films and while I didn't find it as good as the first one, it still held it's own and was entertaining enough.
In this one, Tracy battles imposing criminal Cueball and his band of diamond thieves. Morgan Conway, in his second and final appearance as DT, does an OK job but doesn't have the presence he had in "Dick Tracy Detective". The rest of DT's sidekicks also come off as less energetic then in the first film but still do a decent job. This entry does seem a bit corny though, especially when you look at the names of the other characters and settings in the film. For example, the antique store owner is called Percival Priceless and the diamond store where some of the action takes place is called Sparkles and so on. The real problem though is the lead criminal in the film. Cueball certainly is imposing to look at and he does strangle someone to death but basically the guy is a clumsy ox with a pretty low IQ to match. The gang that works for him doesn't appear to be too frightened of him also judging from the way they talk to him and lecture him. His demise is also a hoot to watch! Still, despite the drawbacks, director Gordon Douglas keeps the pace brisk and jumping right along and again creates a nice film noir look and feel to the movie. We get some nice touches of light and shadow and some pretty interesting camera movement. It feels like more of a filler and is a few notches below the first entry but "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball" still turned out to be an interesting and fun watch.
In this one, Tracy battles imposing criminal Cueball and his band of diamond thieves. Morgan Conway, in his second and final appearance as DT, does an OK job but doesn't have the presence he had in "Dick Tracy Detective". The rest of DT's sidekicks also come off as less energetic then in the first film but still do a decent job. This entry does seem a bit corny though, especially when you look at the names of the other characters and settings in the film. For example, the antique store owner is called Percival Priceless and the diamond store where some of the action takes place is called Sparkles and so on. The real problem though is the lead criminal in the film. Cueball certainly is imposing to look at and he does strangle someone to death but basically the guy is a clumsy ox with a pretty low IQ to match. The gang that works for him doesn't appear to be too frightened of him also judging from the way they talk to him and lecture him. His demise is also a hoot to watch! Still, despite the drawbacks, director Gordon Douglas keeps the pace brisk and jumping right along and again creates a nice film noir look and feel to the movie. We get some nice touches of light and shadow and some pretty interesting camera movement. It feels like more of a filler and is a few notches below the first entry but "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball" still turned out to be an interesting and fun watch.