Title: Dick Tracy – Chapter 6: Dangerous Waters Serial Title: Dick Tracy (1937, Republic Pictures, 15-part serial) Chapter: 6 of 15 Release Date: March 20, 1937 Directed by: Alan James & Ray Taylor Written by: George H. Plympton, Morgan Cox, Barry Shipman, Winston Miller Produced by: Henry MacRae Based on: Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould Studio: Republic Pictures Runtime: Approx. 20 minutes Format: Black and White, Mono Sound Language: English Country: United States Genres: Crime, Detective, Action, Adventure, Serial --- Synopsis: Chapter 6 plunges Dick Tracy into a literal and figurative underworld as he investigates The Spider’s smuggling operation through the city’s harbors. Picking up from the dramatic cliffhanger of the previous episode, Tracy rushes to intercept Gordon—still acting under the alias X-3—before he can complete the assassination of a judge presiding over anti-crime legislation. Although Tracy narrowly foils the plot, Gordon escapes once again, leaving only a matchbook with coordinates to an abandoned shipping yard. The trail leads Tracy and his team to the waterfront, where strange activity and missing crates suggest a larger smuggling ring at play. The Spider, growing increasingly impatient with Gordon’s faltering resolve, orders Dr. Moloch to initiate a full neural conditioning protocol to erase Gordon’s remaining identity. Meanwhile, Gwen and Junior go undercover as dockworkers to photograph and decode The Spider’s shipping manifests. A suspenseful chase ensues through flooded sewer tunnels and abandoned underwater docks. As Tracy and his men corner Spider agents in a hidden submarine hangar, explosives are triggered. The chapter climaxes with Tracy trapped in a rapidly flooding chamber while The Spider’s submarine begins its escape. --- Main Cast: Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy Kay Hughes as Gwen Andrews Lee Van Atta as Junior Carleton Young as Gordon Tracy / X-3 Smiley Burnette as Mike McGurk John Picorri as The Spider John Dilson as Dr. Moloch Jack Ingram as Henchman Karns Robert Kent as Federal Agent Norton --- Key Elements: Further explores Tracy’s moral crisis as he contemplates revealing the truth about Gordon to his superiors. Gwen develops a concealed camera hidden in a compact mirror, used during her infiltration of the docks. Junior’s street smarts lead to the discovery of a secret tunnel below the shipyard. Dr. Moloch demonstrates a mind-control device that temporarily causes Gordon to forget his real name. The submarine base set is one of the most elaborate built for the serial, featuring practical flooding effects. A tense scene where Tracy must hold his breath to retrieve a gate valve underwater. Cliffhanger: Tracy is locked in a chamber filling with water as a steel door seals shut behind him. --- Trivia: This chapter’s underwater sequences were filmed in a repurposed water tank originally used in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). Ralph Byrd trained with a diving coach to perform several of his own stunts, including the underwater valve turn. The script originally called for Gordon to shoot Gwen, but this was rewritten due to censors’ objections to fratricidal violence. Chapter 6 marked the first appearance of the mini-submarine prop that would be used in multiple Republic serials. A rare blooper reel exists showing Smiley Burnette slipping on the wet set during a chase scene. Early lobby cards for this chapter described it as “a breathless plunge into mystery,” emphasizing its action-heavy content.