Lester Abbott is meant to be delivering diamonds to his boss Jules Sparkle but he and Mr Sparkle's other employees have other ideas. Before Abbott can get away he is confronted by bald-headed ex-con Cueball; he refuses to hand over the diamonds and is strangled with Cueball's braided hatband. It isn't long before Dick Tracy is on the case. He and his partner visit Mr Sparkle and are suspicious of two of his employees; Mona Clyde and Simon Little. It soon becomes obvious that they are both involved with the plan to steal the diamonds and they are soon plotting to buy them off Cueball for substantially less than they are worth
something rather dangerous given that he has killed already. As Tracy gets closer to Cueball things get more dangerous; both for Dick and his girlfriend Tess Trueheart who helps him as part of an undercover sting.
Having neither read the original comics nor seen other films in the series I can't say how this compares but as a stand-alone piece of entertainment it passes the time nicely. There are some laughs to be had; mostly at the expense of Tracy's partner Pat Patton. The character names are pretty funny too and betray the films comic book origins; where else would you get such great names as Jules Sparkle, Percival Priceless and Vitamin Flintheart, not to mention Tracy's alliterative girlfriend Tess Trueheart! While one is unlikely to doubt that Tracy will get the villains there are some tense moments. While there are amusing moments the tone of the film is dark at times and doesn't shy away from showing the murders in a way that is fairly dramatic. Overall an enjoyable way to pass an hour.
Having neither read the original comics nor seen other films in the series I can't say how this compares but as a stand-alone piece of entertainment it passes the time nicely. There are some laughs to be had; mostly at the expense of Tracy's partner Pat Patton. The character names are pretty funny too and betray the films comic book origins; where else would you get such great names as Jules Sparkle, Percival Priceless and Vitamin Flintheart, not to mention Tracy's alliterative girlfriend Tess Trueheart! While one is unlikely to doubt that Tracy will get the villains there are some tense moments. While there are amusing moments the tone of the film is dark at times and doesn't shy away from showing the murders in a way that is fairly dramatic. Overall an enjoyable way to pass an hour.