Dick Tracy Returns (1938) was the second in the series of four movie cliffhanger serials created around the famous police detective. The first was simply named Dick Tracy (1937), followed later by Dick Tracy’s G-Men (1939) and Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941). All were released by Republic Pictures.

Ralph Byrd (1909-1952) played the newspaper comic strip character in all four serials. Tracy and his sweetheart Tess Truheart were introduced in a daily strip by Chester Gould on Oct. 12, 1931. Gould continued to draw and script Dick Tracy until Dec. 24, 1977.

Warren Beatty updated the character with his 1990 big screen movie which co-starred the singer Madonna.

There was also a 48-episode TV series in the 1950s starring Byrd. He died at the age of 43, and his death is generally reported as a heart attack. Other sources say he had cancer.

Chapter Titles for the 15 Chapter cliffhanger perfectly represent both the premise and the theme for the Dick Tracy serials. Chapter 3 portends “Handcuffed To Doom” while Chapter 14 promises our hero will be “In The Hands Of The Enemy.” The entire 15-chapter serial can be viewed at Internet Archive.