Tracy followed this success with another Cohan play, "Whispering Friends", and in 1929 took over from Clark Gable in "Conflict", a Broadway drama. Other roles followed, but it was the lead in "Dread", written by Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Owen Davis that gave Tracy high hopes for success. The story of a man's descent into madness, "Dread" previewed in Brooklyn to an excellent reception, but on the next day—October 29—the New York stock market crashed. Unable to obtain funding, "Dread" did not open on Broadway. Following this disappointment, Tracy considered leaving the theatre and returning to Milwaukee for a more stable life.