Dick Tracy (1937)
FBI agent Dick Tracy pursues a masked mastermind known as the Spider, whose gang uses a flying-wing aircraft and a sonic weapon to sabotage the Golden Gate Bridge and steal an experimental plane. Complicating the fifteen-chapter chase, the Spider's men have used brain surgery to turn Tracy's own brother into an unwilling enemy agent.
Republic’s first serial built around Chester Gould’s comic-strip detective, Dick Tracy cast Ralph Byrd in the role he would reprise across four serials, establishing the square-jawed heroics and gadget-laden villainy that carried the studio’s serial output well into the 1940s.
Background
This was Republic Pictures’ first movie serial built around Chester Gould’s comic-strip detective Dick Tracy, told across fifteen chapters designed to be shown week by week in theaters to keep audiences returning. Ralph Byrd stars as Tracy and would go on to play the character across several more serials for the studio, becoming closely identified with the role for much of the 1930s and 1940s. The plot involves a masked villain called the Spider using a flying-wing aircraft and a sonic weapon against American infrastructure.
What to watch for
Watch for the fast-paced, cliffhanger structure typical of the format, with each chapter ending on a moment of peril meant to bring audiences back the following week, and for the gadget-heavy villainy that would remain a hallmark of the Dick Tracy character for decades. Serials like this one were an important part of the moviegoing experience at the time, especially for younger audiences, even though the format has largely disappeared since.
