Between 1937 and 1941, Republic Pictures would release four Tracy serials, the most sound cliffhangers based on a single character, all of which starred Ralph Byrd as Chester Gould's jut-jawed comic strip crime-buster.

Byrd later went on to star in two Tracy feature films for RKO in 1947 and the popular DICK TRACY televison series, which ended with his premature death from a heart attack at age 43 in 1952.