Dick Tracy Returns (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty-six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial Dick Tracy, with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as the title character. It was successful enough that two further sequels were released in 1939 and 1941, and Byrd become so connected with the character he went on to play him in a subsequent television series.

This serial charts Tracy’s efforts to capture the gang of Pa Stark (Charles Middleton) and his five criminal sons….Champ, Trigger, Dude, The Kid and Slasher.

Plot
Tracy and his group must battle saboteurs and spies in his effort to bring down the Stark gang, a major crime family syndicate led by the vicious and brutal Pa Stark. A young promising G-Man named Ron Merton (David Sharpe) is murdered by the Starks while trying to help Tracy bring the gang to justice. With the help of his friends Gwen, Junior and Mike McGurk, Tracy battles the vile criminal gang, and kills off Stark’s sons one by one, until the only ones left are Pa Stark and his son Champ. Tracy faces off against Stark in a final battle aboard an out-of-control airplane three miles up in the sky in the final episode.

Cast
Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy
Lynne Roberts as Gwen Andrews
Charles Middleton as Pa Stark. Pa Stark was based on the real criminal Ma Barker.
Jerry Tucker as Junior
David Sharpe as Agent Ron Merton, a newly trained agent.
Lee Ford as Mike McGurk
Michael Kent as Agent Steve Lockwood
John Merton as Champ Stark
Raphael Bennett as Trigger Stark
Jack Roberts as Dude Stark
Ned Glass as Kid Stark
Jack Ingram as Slasher Stark