Editing Dick Tracy (section)

====Film serials====
Dick Tracy made his film debut in ''[[Dick Tracy (serial)|Dick Tracy]]'' (1937), a 15-chapter [[serial (film)|movie serial]] by [[Republic Pictures]] starring [[Ralph Byrd]].<ref name="DTM-20150218">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Dick Tracy Museum - February 18, 2015 |url=http://www.dicktracymuseum.com/headquarters/at-the-movies/ |date=February 18, 2015 |work=[[Old McHenry County Courthouse#Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum|Chester Gould Dick Tracy Museum]] |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218203242/http://www.dicktracymuseum.com/headquarters/at-the-movies/ |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Spider Gang was on the loose, tired of Dick Tracy's cunning skills. Through the 15-chapter serial, 15 different cases were solved, all plots by the Spider Gang. Dick Tracy was also in search of his missing brother, Gordon Tracy ([[Carleton Young]]). The Dick Tracy character proved very popular, and a second serial, ''[[Dick Tracy Returns]]'', appeared in 1938 (reissued in 1948). ''[[Dick Tracy's G-Men]]'' was released in 1939 (reissued in 1955). The last was ''[[Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.]]'' in 1941 (reissued as ''Dick Tracy vs. the Phantom Empire'' in 1952).

The sequels were produced under an interpretation of the contract for the first ''Dick Tracy'' serial, which gave license for "a series or serial". As a result, Chester Gould received no further money for the sequel serials.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}

Dick Tracy is portrayed as an [[FBI]] agent, or "[[G-Man (slang)|G-Man]]", based in California rather than as a detective in the police force of a [[Midwestern]] city resembling Chicago, and, aside from himself and Junior, no characters from the strip appear in any of the four serials.

However, comic relief sidekick "Mike McGurk" bears some resemblance to Tracy's partner from the strip, Pat Patton; Tracy's secretary, Gwen Andrews (played by several actresses in the course of the series, including [[Jennifer Jones (actor)|Jennifer Jones]] under a variation of her real name, Phyllis Isley), provides the same kind of feminine interest as Tess Trueheart; and FBI Director Clive Anderson ([[Francis X. Bushman]] and others) is the same kind of avuncular superior as Chief Brandon.

The first serial, ''Dick Tracy'', is now in the [[public domain]].