![all posters](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w140/files/images/film/posters/000/012/12317_0ba81d.jpg)
Directed by:
John RawlinsScreenplay:
Eric TaylorCinematography:
Frank RedmanComposer:
Paul SawtellCast:
Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, Anne Gwynne, Edward Ashley, June Clayworth, Tony Barrett, Joseph Crehan, Lex Barker, Robert Clarke, Ernie Adams, Tom Keene, Bert Roach (more)Plots(1)
The film gets off with a rollicking start at The Hangman's Knot, a gritty dive with an ominous neon-lit noose blinking in the bar's window, where the terrifying Gruesome (Boris Karloff) has just arrived, fresh from being sprung from the slammer. A crony informs him of a new scheme in the works that involved this use of paralyzing gas to pull off flawless robberies. Sure enough, the evil Gruesome and his gang hold up a bank, freezing everyone inside (except Dick Tracy's gal, Tess Truehart) with the poisonous substance. It appears as though the invincible Tracy has met his match, so much so that his faithful right-hand man, Pat Patton (Lyle Latell), quips, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear we were doing business with Boris Karloff!" Undaunted, Tracy devises a clever plan to beat Gruesome at his own sinister game. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Boris Karloff](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/522/163522520_00c5a5.jpg)
Boris Karloff
UK
Best movies:
The General (1926)
Scarface (1932)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
![Ralph Byrd](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/948/157948793_3f65ff.jpg)
Ralph Byrd
USA
Best movies:
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Swing Time (1936)
![Anne Gwynne](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/488/488839_05080e.jpg)
Anne Gwynne
USA
Best movies:
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) - a.f.
The Black Cat (1941)
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
![Edward Ashley](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/142/161142140_bdefdd.jpg)
Edward Ashley
Australia
Best movies:
King Rat (1965)
The King (2019)
The Court Jester (1955)
June Clayworth
USA
Best movies:
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
Dream Wife (1953)
![Tony Barrett](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/935/160935763_400174.jpg)
Tony Barrett
USA
Best movies:
Deadlier Than the Male (1947)
Pushover (1954)
The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
![Joseph Crehan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000321_652af3.jpg)
Joseph Crehan
USA
Best movies:
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Love Crazy (1941)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
![Lex Barker](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/932/164932903_c1f1a0.png)
Lex Barker
USA
Best movies:
Treasure of Silver Lake (1962)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Apache Gold (1963)
![Robert Clarke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/042/871/42871863_fddf7f.jpg)
Robert Clarke
USA
Best movies:
Band of Angels (1957)
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Back to Bataan (1945)
![Ernie Adams](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/886/157886814_8df218.jpg)
Ernie Adams
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
![Tom Keene](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/407/158407105_690694.jpg)
Tom Keene
USA
Best movies:
Blood on the Moon (1948)
Crossfire (1947)
Berlin Express (1948)
![Bert Roach](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/042/871/42871873_697f70.jpg)
Bert Roach
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
Fury (1936)
Love Crazy (1941)
![Harry Harvey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000168_b63048.jpg)
Harry Harvey
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
![Sean McClory](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/162/159162686_3fd208.jpg)
Sean McClory
Ireland
Best movies:
Storm Warning (1951)
Mary Poppins (1964)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
![Jason Robards Sr.](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/726/159726641_6d702e.jpg)
Jason Robards Sr.
USA
Best movies:
San Francisco (1936)
Juarez (1939)
Wild in the Country (1961)
![Milton Parsons](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/556/159556182_4dd248.jpg)
Milton Parsons
USA
Best movies:
Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story (1976) (TV movie)
Edison, the Man (1940)
White Heat (1949)
![Phil Arnold](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/936/159936031_659e0d.jpg)
Phil Arnold
USA
Best movies:
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
The Big Heat (1953)
Lover Come Back (1961)
![Harry Strang](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/948/159948710_66f16a.gif)
Harry Strang
USA
Best movies:
Edison, the Man (1940)
North by Northwest (1959)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
![Robert Bray](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/404/160404837_fd341b.gif)
Robert Bray
USA
Best movies:
Ride Clear of Diablo (1954)
The Lusty Men (1952)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
![Lew Meehan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/592/160592510_aa49d0.jpg)
Lew Meehan (a.f.)
USA
Best movies:
Annie Oakley (1935)
The Return of Frank James (1940)