Fearless detective Dick Tracy meets his match when he tangles with Gruesome, the cold-blooded killer with the hideous face. Portrayed by the legendary horror star Boris Karloff, Gruesome gets Tracy's attention when he begins robbing banks with the aid of a mysterious gas. Ralph Byrd is cast as the square-jawed, two-fisted Tracy, and Anne Gwynn is on hand as the always loyal Tess Truehart. Upon it's 1947 release, Variety called this film "... a chiller diller," and added, "Karloff, per usual, (steals) every scene in which he appears."