Tracy was the tough cop America needed to take on the gangsters of the 1920s, who were still around in 1931, when the strip premiered. However, fans forget Tracy was recruited by Naval Intelligence in the 1940s. Not surprisingly, he did double duty, simultaneously remaining a police detective in his unnamed but very Chicago-like city. Naturally, his work for both would often dovetail, as it did in the classic arc, “The Brow.” Indeed, the titular villain entered the Tracyverse as an Axis spy.
Tracy was often “criticized” for being the “Dirty Harry” of the 1930s and 1940s, as if that were a bad thing. However, original artist-writer Chester Gould deserved more credit than he ever got for inviting compassion compassion for some of the desperate people who sometime let themselves get caught up crime, like the titular villainess of the “Crewy Lou” story-arc and the Summer Sisters, whom the Brow forced into his treasonous service.
If you actually read every strip chronologically, you would witness the trials and tribulations of the Tracy family, along with the capture of hundreds of criminals. Perhaps most notably, his adopted son, Junior Tracy’s first love, Model Jones, and his first wife, Moon Maid, were both killed by criminals Tracy was investigating. In fact, the strip was literally born in tragedy, because Tracy first joined the force in hopes of avenging his girlfriend’s murder.
Frankly, none of that depth or edginess comes through in either Beatty’s film or the Ralph Byrd serials, B-movies, and TV series of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. It is time for Beatty to let someone else have a try. We’re all good capitalists here, so nobody is saying he should just relinquish them for free. He should sell for as much as he can get—and since it looks like the character will enter the public domain in 2027, he should try to make a lucrative deal sooner rather than later.
Regardless, when you read the old school strips, you will be impressed with Gould talent for creating a ripping-good manhunt sequence. He consistently added complications that dramatically raised the stakes and the tension. Frankly, his run on the strip still holds up and his successors, particularly Max Allan Collins, maintained the consistency of the original characters and the quality of the hardboiled storylines. The strips have always been so much better than the movie that opened on this date in history, so go back and rediscover them (since a new film or series won’t be coming anytime soon).
