Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy is a popular character in American pop culture. The character of Dick Tracy is a hard hitting, fast shooting, and supremely intelligent police detective who has matched wits with a variety of often grotesquely ugly villains. Dick Tracy was created by cartoonist Chester Gould in 1931 for a newspaper comic strip also entitled Dick Tracy. The strip was distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. Gould wrote and drew the strip until 1977.

Other media depictions

Early films

The popularity and success of the Dick Tracy’s comic strip spread to radio and to movie serials. Ralph Byrd first played Dick Tracy in a movie of the same name in 1937. Byrd’s career continued through a series of B-grade Tracy movies. The best known of the films is Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, with the title's villain played by Boris Karloff.

Related Topics:
Radio - Movie - Serial - Ralph Byrd - 1937 - B-grade - Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome - Boris Karloff

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Television

The strip also had limited exposure on television with a short-lived live action series and two animated ones. In the first cartoon, Mel Blanc voiced several characters including a junior detective named Go-Go Gomez which was essentially a human version of his famous fast mouse Speedy Gonzales. Tracy would simply sit back and let Gomez and his other subordinate flatfoots mop up crooks like Pruneface, Itchy, Mumbles, Flattop, Cheater Gunsmoke, B.B. Eyes, and Tracy's other idiosyncratic villains. The show has not been seen in years because of its slightly racist undertones and use of ethnic stereotypes and accents, however it has recently resurfaced on in-demand digital cable channels. The second exposure to television was a feature in Archie's TV Funnies which adhered more closely to the comic strip. There was also an unsuccessful television pilot from the producers of the live action Batman television series.

Related Topics:
Television - Animated - Mel Blanc - Speedy Gonzales - Archie's TV Funnies - Television pilot - Batman - Television series

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1990 film

In 1990, Warren Beatty revived some interest in the character with his film Dick Tracy. Beatty directed the movie and starred as Tracy. In the film, Beatty was after a surreal comic strip-inspired world with only primary colors, restyled automobiles, and extensive makeup treatments for Tracy's famed villains. However, some people complained that the weak storyline was slightly overwhelmed by the casting which included stars such as Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Dick van Dyke as well as many other notable cameos. Madonna's soundtrack album ' spawned two top-ten hits including "Vogue" and "Hanky Panky". Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim wrote several songs for the film, including "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" which won the Academy Award for Best Song. There were also several other unreleased Madonna songs that were recorded for the film but not used at all.

Related Topics:
1990 - Warren Beatty - Dick Tracy - Madonna - Al Pacino - Dustin Hoffman - Dick van Dyke - Stephen Sondheim - Academy Award - Unreleased Madonna songs - Film

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In August 1990, Bandai America, Inc. made Dick Tracy into an NES game based on Beatty's film. It was also released in 1991 on the Game Boy. Sega also made a Dick Tracy video game for the Sega Genesis and Master System in 1991.

Related Topics:
NES - 1991 - Game Boy - Sega - Sega Genesis - Master System

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Recent events

Media outlets recently reported that there is a legal battle being waged over just who owns the rights to the Dick Tracy character. Warren Beatty has announced plans to make a sequel to his 1990 movie. At the same time, television producers have announced plans for a new Dick Tracy TV series. Both sides claim that they are the legal owners of the rights to Dick Tracy. A lawsuit is pending.

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Although the comic strip's public profile has diminished since the 1990 Beatty film, it is still run in several newspapers. Apart from that, it is a common allusion in North America for unusual-looking criminals often to be described as resembling the strip's grotesque villains, while the lead character's wrist communicator is a typical example used when the possibility of an actual communication device being developed along the lines of something from science fiction is raised.

Related Topics:
Allusion - North America

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Dick Tracy on film and televison

• Dick Tracy (1937, serial, 15 episodes, starring Ralph Byrd)
• Dick Tracy (1937, feature version of the above serial, starring Ralph Byrd)
• Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939, serial, 15 episodes, starring Ralph Byrd)
• Dick Tracy (1945, film starring Morgan Conway)
• Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946, film starring Morgan Conway)
• Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947, film starring Ralph Byrd)
• Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947, film starring Ralph Byrd)
• The Dick Tracy Show (1961, animated television series starring Everett Sloane)
• Dick Tracy (1967, television pilot starring Ray McDonnell)
• Dick Tracy (1990, film starring Warren Beatty)