Dick Tracy (1990)

The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.

Director:

Warren Beatty

Writers:

Chester Gould (characters), Jim Cash,

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Madonna

Won 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Beatty	...	Dick Tracy
Charlie Korsmo	...	Kid
Michael Donovan O'Donnell	...	McGillicuddy
Jim Wilkey	...	Stooge
Stig Eldred	...	Shoulders
Neil Summers	...	The Rodent
Chuck Hicks	...	The Brow
Lawrence Steven Meyers	...	Little Face
William Forsythe	...	Flattop
Ed O'Ross	...	Itchy
Glenne Headly	...	Tess Trueheart
Marvelee Cariaga	...	Soprano
Michael Gallup	...	Baritone
Seymour Cassel	...	Sam Catchem
James Keane	...	Pat Patton

Storyline

All Tess Trueheart wants is to settle down to a quiet life with her boyfriend, detective Dick Tracy. But there's something pretty rotten going on in town, with someone pretty rotten behind it, and Tracy has his hands full with the likes of villain Big Boy Caprice and with the almost irresistable Breathless Mahoney.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | dick tracy | police | gangster | orphan | 

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Taglines:

I'm on my way.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$103,738,726 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, Mulholland Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (analog 70 mm prints) CDS (digital 70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of The Rodent, one of Lips Manlis' henchmen seen playing poker in the opening scene, is indeed from the comic strip. He appeared in 1959, and his name was called "The Rhodent".

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Goofs

When Big Boy Caprice has all the mob bosses together, Itchy stands behind him. In a close-up, Itchy scratches his neck with his right hand. But then it cuts back to Big Boy and Itchy has his right hand at his side.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Announcer: Gangland enforcers broke the arms of an elderly newsdealer this afternoon when he refused to share his week's receipts with them. Stacks of newspapers were tossed in the gutter as the thugs wrecked the business and made their getaway. Lunchtime crowds were paralyzed by the suddenness of the crime. Not a hand was raised in protest.

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Connections

References Ishtar (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Ridin' The Rails"
Written by Ned Claflin and Andy Paley
Performed by k.d. lang and Take 6
k.d. lang courtesy of Sire Records
Take 6 courtesy of Reprise Records

User Reviews

Incredible Colors, Incredible Cast

This is amazing-looking movie with the whole thing done in just six or seven colors. When it came out over 15 years ago, it stunned audiences with its color scheme, being so different from anything else that had ever been put on film. Those colors, for me at least, make this an absolutely fascinating film to watch. There are literally thousands of scenes I wish could freeze and somehow convert them to a painting to study for their artwork.

The characters and the story don't match up to the greatness of the photography, but they are all over-the-top, especially the villains. The famous actors who played them here must have a had a lot of fun on the set playing "Flatop," "Pruneface," "Lips," "Mumbles," etc.

Meanwhile, Warren Beatty and Gleanne Hedley are good as Dick Tracey and girlfriend Tess Truehart, and she's as sweet and soft as her name. Another good addition is Charlie Korsmo as the delinquent young boy Dick and Tess take under their wing. The colorful other characters are played by Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, William Forysthe, Paul Sorvino, Mandy Patinkin, Madona and other names you know but are too numerous to list here. Check the full credits on the main page and you'll amazed.

The only negatives I found were Pacino's voice which grates on you after awhile, Madonna's off-key singing voice and the fact that the film would have been better trimmed about 10 minutes. Those "faults" are all minor because overall, this is a fun movie....a cartoon strip coming to life in an incredibly-colorful fashion.....like nothing you have ever seen.