Lee Tracy RKO 4 Film Collection (DVD)

Patter master Lee Tracy (Dinner at Eight) commands the spiel in this collection, culled from his post-Code career, that sees him playing a slippery shyster (o' course), a newshound (natch), a screen hack (ditto) and a circus promoter (he's got the gift of gab). Margot Grahame costars in Criminal Lawyer (1937), in which Tracy plays a defense attorney-turned-DA caught between his methods and a murder. Behind the Headlines (1937) finds Tracy playing a wireless reporter competing with his news-hen girlfriend (Diana Gibson) while trying to gum up the plans of a group of gangsters. Crashing Hollywood sees Tracy collaborating on a studio score with an ex-con (Paul Guilfoyle). Finally, in Fixer Dugan, Tracy plays a circus pro scrambling to keep his shows afloat while caring for a young orphan (Virginia Weidler).

• comedy
• drama