Dick Tracy

The cartoon

Beginnings

Chester Gould was one of the first to introduce violence into a cartoon, reflection of the climate which reigned in Chicago in the Thirties. As a fine expert of the subject, Gould made of sound to better integrate the last projections as regards police investigation in its stories. Thus Dick Tracy often has it recourse to the forensic Sciences, gadgets and a methodical police reasoning, even if its adventures often end in a shooting. Besides some regard its stories as one of the first police intrigues. Others on the other hand find that such intrigues prove altogether rather rare in the stories of Dick Tracy - the cartoon lending itself little to this kind of scenarios. For the latter, the action is rather in the ceaseless tracking of the detective to stop the gangsters, gangsters increasingly desperate as Dick Tracy approaches them.

The malicious ones are undoubtedly the central element of the adventures of Dick Tracy. In the world Manichean in which it evolves/moves, the enemies of Dick Tracy can appear exaggeratedly deformed, as if their physical aspect announced in advance the horror of their crimes. These gangsters are nevertheless enough various, sometimes rough and without shame with image of Selbert Depool (character whose name is the anagram of the English word looped ), sometimes civilized like arrogant Shoulders, which cannot be prevented from thinking that all the women adore it. They can even curl the genius malefic: the spy Nazi Pruneface is not only engineer mechanical, but also designs a nerve gas.

However, the sworn enemy of Dick Tracy is Flattop Jones, an independent hired killer with the head punt. In a famous adventure, Flattop is engaged to kill Tracy and is about to arrive there, before it tries to obtain a larger premium for its contract. Fatal error, which gave to Tracy time to require of the assistance and finally to overcome the assassin in a spectacular final scene of combat. When Flattop was killed in the series, some fans took mourning publicly.

With the image of a black film, Gould tries to describe the misery of the criminal medium, the small crimes which lead to largest, the plans which fail, the life which can prove unforeseeable and cruel. Treason is omnipresent: the henchmen are killed coldly by their owners, who in their turn are betrayed by their boyfriends, whereas the innocent ones who are at the bad place at the bad time are cut down.

Evolutions

In spite of the controversies, Gould made evolve/move its character by introducing for example elements of Science-fiction the such radio-bracelet, the first of a long line of futuristic gadgets worked out by Diet Smith, the industrial eccentric. Among those, the Space Cut , an space engine with magnetic propulsion, made its appearance in the Sixties. It was the beginning of the period science fiction, where one can see Dick Tracy and his friends to go on the moon and to meet Moon Maid and his inhabitants in 1964. The adventures of Dick Tracy deviated more and more from the original screenplay. In 1970, Gould vainly tried to modernize Dick Tracy while making him raise long hair and a moustache.

The under-history of the Plenty family met on the other hand one big hit. It was about a family of Redneck S directed by two ex-gangsters, Bob Oscar " B.O." Plenty and Gravel Gertie. It offered during humorous to the adventures of Dick Tracy. Their daughter, Sparkle Plenty, was first of all introduced like a character of child. With the difference of much of characters of children in the cartoons, one can see it growing with the wire of the series and passing by adolescence. The arrival of " Lizz the policière" as one of lieutenants de Dick also was very well accommodated. It became a formidable female character, revolutionary fact for the time as a cartoon.

However, the last adventures were often punctuated of an implicit judgment by Gould of the right of marked the, Tracy being often frustrated by the legal formalities in its hunting for the gangsters. The increasingly reduced size of the magazines of Comic S also had an negative impact on the scenario.

Last years

Gould took its retirement in 1977 and Dick Tracy was taken again by max Allan Collins and Rick Fletcher, assistant of long time of Gould. Hakes returned to the original screenplay, while getting rid little by little of the elements of science fiction. It chooses a less cynical and simple approach legal system. With the death of Rick Fletcher in 1983, another assistant of Gould, Dick Locher replaced it. In 1992, the scenario was taken again by Mike Killian, leader-writer. He will die on October 27th 2005.

In 1995, the adventures of Dick Tracy one of the 20 were selected for the edition commemorative of postal stamps in the honor of the Comic S.

Other media

First films

The popularity and the success of Dick Tracy seized the radio and the Télévision. Ralph Byrd played for the first time the part of Dick Tracy in film of the same name in 1937. Its character continued in a succession of most known B films. of them names Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome , where the malicious one is played by Boris Karloff.

Television

There be some appearances of Dick Tracy on the small screen, televised series prematurely stopped like two cartoons. In the first, White Mel double the voice of several characters, of which an apprentice detective named Go-Go Gum - a human version of the famous Speedy Gonzales, also doubled by Blanc. In this cartoon, Dick Tracy delegates most of the time to Gomez and its associates the task to pursue brigands such Pruneface, Itchy, Mumbles, Flattop and other traditional enemies of Dick. It was isolated a long time of the waves because of its slightly racist tone, but was recently diffused again on cabled chains.

The second cartoon, which more accurately respected the comic of origin, passed in Archie' S TV Funnies , produced by Filmation. It have also an episode pilot creates there by the producers of the Batman series which was born never.

Film of 1990 and video game

In 1990, Warren Beatty revived the spirits with its film Dick Tracy . It carried out film and played the main role of Dick Tracy. It took as a starting point the universe of the comics, using bright colors and while taking a care particular to the make-up of the enemies of Tracy. However, some pointed finger the scenario, considered to be weak, even if compensated for by the skewer of stars such Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Dick Van Dyke. Written by Madonna, the original soundtrack of film, I' m Breathless: Music from and Inspired by Dick Tracy , contains hits such Vogue and Hanky Panky . The type-setter Stephen Sondheim also wrote some songs for the film, of which Sooner gold Later (I Always Get My Man) which gained the Academy Award of the best song. Other titles not published of Madonna were also recorded, but not used for film.

In August 1990, Bandaged America Inc. adapted film of Warren Beatty in video game éponyme for the Super Nintendo, carried on Game Boy in 1991. Sega also carried out a video game of the same name drawn from the universe of Dick Tracy for its consoles Megadrive and Master System, him also in 1990.

Recent events

A lawsuit is in hand between Warren Beatty, who wish to do one following his film of 1990, and of the producers of television eager to produce a new series. The two parts assert the paternity of the rights of the character of Dick Tracy.

Even if the popularity of the comic of Dick Tracy decreased since film of 1990, its stories are still published in some newspapers.

Dick Tracy on television and with the cinema

Dick Tracy (1937, series, 15 episodes, with Ralph Byrd)
Dick Tracy' S G-Men (1939, series, 15 episodes, with Ralph Byrd)
Dick Tracy (1945, film with Morgan Conway)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946, film with Morgan Conway)
Dick Tracy' S Dilemma (1947, film with Ralph Byrd)
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947, film with Ralph Byrd)
The Dick Tracy Show (1961, cartoon with the voice of Everett Sloane)
Dick Tracy (1967, episode controls with Ray McDonnell)
Archie' S T.V. Funnies, Dick Tracy episode, 1971
Dick Tracy (film) (1990, film with Warren Beatty)

Did you know?

Of many characters was create with the image of inhabitants of Woodstock in Illinois, where Chester Gould wrote the majority of the adventures of Dick Tracy. It also used as models its associates, Joseph Patterson who incarnates Big Frost or even Gould itself, incarnating Pear-Shape .

External bonds

Dick Tracy comic strip

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