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Mad Cave Studios new title “Dick Tracy #1, available April 24, 2024 is written by Alex Segura and Michael Morecci, with illustrations by Geraldo Borges:

“…in the aftermath of World War II, the country stands frozen–waiting for the next shoe to drop. In ‘The City’, a killing draws the attention of rising star detective ‘Dick Tracy’…

“…who soon discovers this is just the beginning of a complicated web that threatens to ensnare everything he cares about…”

Originally created by Chester Gould as a newspaper comic strip, 'Dick Tracy' appeared in five movie serials 1937 -1941, six feature films, including actor/director Warren Beatty's 1990 movie, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.

Gould's "Dick Tracy" debuted October 4, 1931, reflecting the violence of gangster Al Capone's 1930's Chicago, while staying current with crime fighting techniques, forensic science and advanced gadgetry.

The "Dick Tracy" rogues gallery of villains include 'Flattop',...

Kids of the ’90s were fascinated with the movie Dick Tracy when it first came out. For one thing, they could get away with saying “Dick” because of the title. For another, here was a comic strip property that had the stylization of Tim Burton’s Batman that had previously hit, ultimately under the guise of a James Cagney-esque, noir-ish, gangsters vs. cops movie. Warren Beatty would star as the titular hero as well as direct it. And 33 years later, the legendary actor finally gives us a bizarre “sequel” to the movie, according to Polygon.

On Friday, TCM, a prestigious classic movie channel, aired what looked like something more akin to Adult Swim, with Beatty returning in character as Dick Tracys zoom calls with current TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and movie critic Leonard Maltin. Let me say that again — Dick Tracy zooms in an apparent sequel to the 1990 film.

Warren Beatty’s 1990 Dick Tracy movie holds a special, nostalgic place in many a fan’s heart. Released the summer after Tim Burton’s Batman kicked off a new wave of Batmania, a level of pop cultural superhero obsession not seen since the original Batmania that followed the 1966 TV series, Dick Tracy was supposed to be the next big franchise giant, with its all-star cast, larger-than-life villains in grotesque, over-the-top makeup, and a production design meant to recall nothing less than the comic strips that first brought the world’s most famous (non-costumed) detective to life. Hell, it even answered Batman’s Prince soundtrack with one of its own by Madonna, not to mention original tunes by no less than Stephen Sondheim.

Anyway, despite a heady summer where at least some kids (whistles innocently) inexplicably found themselves buying action figures of weird looking gangsters in pinstripe suits (because what kid...

Because of a "pre-existing licensing deal" with Tribune Co. "Archie" Comics had to kill their comic book reboot of plainclothes officer, private detective "Dick Tracy", with actor Warren Beatty ("McCabe & Mrs. Miller") continuing to hold onto the character's rights, despite a 'use it' or 'lose it' clause in a long-standing agreement with Tribune to produce a "Dick Tracy" movie or TV series:

The monthly comic book series was illustrated in a more realistic style, than that of "Dick Tracy" creator Chester Gould...

Created by Gould as a newspaper comic strip, 'Dick Tracy' has appeared in five movie serials from 1937 through 1941...

...six movies, including Beatty's 1990 feature, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.

In a previous announcement of the new comic book series, Tribune Co. was "...very excited to work with Archie Comics. 'Dick Tracy' is an iconic character, who still resonates with his fan base. 

"The reboot of the franchise...

According to new reports, because of a "pre-existing licensing deal" with Tribune Co. "Archie" Comics cancelled their comic book reboot of "Dick Tracy", as actor Warren Beatty continues to hold onto the character's rights, despite a 'use it' or 'lose it' clause in a long-standing  agreement with Tribune to produce a "Dick Tracy" movie or TV show:

The monthly comic book series was illustrated by Thomas Pitilli...

...with the first cover by Francesco Francavilla.

Created by Chester Gould as a newspaper comic strip, 'Dick Tracy' has so far appeared in five movie serials from 1937 through 1941, six movies, including Beatty's 1990 feature, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.

In a previous announcement of the new comic book series, Tribune Co. was "...very excited to work with Archie Comics. 'Dick Tracy' is an iconic character, who still resonates with his fan base. 

"The reboot of the franchise will keep 'Dick Tracy' and...

Archie Comics has confirmed a comic book reboot of "Dick Tracy", available April 11, 2018, as actor Warren Beatty continues to hold onto the character's screen rights, despite a 'use it' or 'lose it' clause in a long-standing  agreement with Tribune Co. to produce a "Dick Tracy" movie or TV show:

The monthly comic book series will be illustrated by Thomas Pitilli...

...with the first cover by Francesco Francavilla.

Created by Chester Gould as a newspaper comic strip, the character has so far appeared in five movie serials from 1937 through 1941, six movies, including Beatty's 1990 feature, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.

Tribune Co. is "...very excited to work with Archie Comics. 'Dick Tracy' is an iconic character, who still resonates with his fan base. 

"The reboot of the franchise will keep 'Dick Tracy' and his cast of rogue villains at the forefront of heroic characters in the battle of good and evil.

Mike Cecchini Kirsten Howard Dec 13, 2017

A new Dick Tracy series exploring the character's early years is coming next year...

In news that is long, long overdue, Dick Tracy will finally return to the world of comics.

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Archie Comics has acquired the rights to publish a Dick Tracy comic, the first time new adventures of comics' most famous cop have been published in comic book form since Kyle Baker and John Moore's 'True Hearts And Tommy Guns' Trilogy in 1990. The new series comes from co-writers Michael Moreci and Alex Segura, with art by Thomas Pitilli.

"The first arc of the series is going back to square one - as we explore the very early days of Dick Tracy's time in The City, soon after the second World War,...

Republic raids an early Rko talkie for a fantastic special effects sequence, and you won’t believe how it’s repurposed — in a story about a TV personality (in 1939!) taking on a corrupt political mob. New York crumbles and is then washed away — sort of. It’s yet another resurfacing of a title that not long ago we couldn’t see to save our cinema-curious souls.

S.O.S. Tidal Wave

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1939 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 62 min. / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring: Ralph Byrd, George Barbier, Kay Sutton, Frank Jenks, Marc Lawrence, Dorothy Lee, Oscar O’Shea, Mickey Kuhn, Ferris Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Raymond Bailey.

Cinematography: Jack A. Marta

Film Editor: Ernest Nims

Musical Director: Cy Feuer

Written by Gordon Kahn, Stanley Rauh, Maxwell Shane, story by James Webb

Produced by Armand Schaefer

Directed by John H. Auer

If Republic wasn’t...

Canadian-born actress Alexis Smith (born 1921) would have turned 96 years old today, June 8. Turner Classic Movies is celebrating her birthday by presenting nine of her movies, mostly during her time as a Warner Bros. contract player. In addition to Michael Curtiz's box office hit Night and Day, a highly fictionalized Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a heterosexual version of the famed gay composer. Night and Day is being shown as part of TCM's Gay Pride Month celebration. Alexis Smith died on June 9, 1993, the day after she turned 72. After her film career petered out in the 1950s, she went on to receive acclaim on the Broadway stage, making sporadic film appearances all the way to the year of her death. Smith's last film appearance was in a minor supporting role in Martin Scorsese's overly genteel period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder.

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The Dick Tracy movie was a defining summer blockbuster, yet somehow never got a sequel. Here's why...

Make no mistake, the 1990 Dick Tracy movie was intended to be the next Batman. That's amusing when you consider how much of a debt Batman comics owed the grotesque rogues' gallery of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy comic strips. But from a box-office perspective, this is where things stood as we headed into the summer of 1990. And as surely as Batman launched a franchise that has continued (in some form or another) for 25-plus years, so too did Disney have ambitions for Dick Tracy 2.

Just as Bat-merchandise had begun to flood shelves in early spring of 1989, so did Dick Tracy trading cards, bubble gum, a remarkably ugly (but strangely appealing) line of action figures from Playmates (who ruled the world at that moment with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license), making-of books, and (best of all) new reprints of the original daily and Sunday comic strips. That's a fairly optimistic program of licensing, and that doesn't even include the T-shirts, bath towels, and other novelties that followed.

The Batman similarities even extended to the minimalist movie posters, which featured an outline of Warren Beatty in primary-coloured profile, or speaking into a two-way wrist radio promising "I'm on my way." Disney's marketing department perhaps overestimated the recognisability and mass market appeal of the character, who hadn't been seen in live-action since the mid-50s, and who last actually made it to television in any form as part of a poorly-animated (and horrifically racist) Saturday morning cartoon in the '60s. Batman, on the other hand, was still an indelible pop culture icon, thanks in no small part to the inescapable presence of the Adam West TV series in syndication throughout the decade.

After Tim Burton's star-studded Batman dominated the summer of 1989 with a $250 million American haul (over $400 million worldwide), and since Dick Tracy had similar elements (top drawer celebrities in ridiculous makeup, remarkable set design, the biggest pop star of the era providing a soundtrack), studio expectations were probably stratospheric. Instead, Dick Tracy finished its theatrical run with a far more modest $162 million worldwide. While still a hefty profit over the film's $47 million budget, those certainly weren't Batman numbers, and brightly colored Dick Tracy merchandise stayed on shelves well past its Christmas 1990 sell by date.

Batmania, this wasn't. In the aftermath of the film's box office, Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg would pen his infamous 1991 memo (which in turn inspired the film Jerry Maguire, many years later).

Dick Tracy did, however, manage to win three Oscars (two more than Batman), well-deserved ones for makeup and art direction, and a less surefire one for the Stephen Sondheim-penned and Madonna sung 'I Always Get My Man'. Even that is less puzzling than the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Al Pacino, whose slide into shouty, slouchy self-parody can perhaps be traced directly to his role as Alphonse 'Big Boy' Caprice in this film.

Dick Tracy received a somewhat less enthusiastic critical reception as well, and it's easy to see why. Despite Richard Sylbert's eye-popping and perfectly comic strip visuals, the film is remarkably thin on story, full of lifeless characters painted broadly even by blockbuster standards, and makes little use of the world's most enduring creations, the villains, virtually all of whom end up full of lead or otherwise dispatched by the film's end.

With all of the above in mind, it's almost no wonder that Dick Tracy 2 was an impossibility. Setting aside the fact that the novelty of seeing so many of the iconic villains on screen at once (William Forsythe's Flattop was a particularly memorable creation), trying to duplicate the almost absurd parade of talent on display under the makeup (including Dustin Hoffman as well as gangster movie luminaries James Caan and Paul Sorvino) for a sequel would have been a fool's errand.

But it's nothing so simple as story or economics that have kept Dick Tracy in the pen. After all, Hollywood has mounted franchise attempts no less Quixotic for lesser films, and it's surprising that there hasn't been any reboot traction for the property, either. That's because, as usual, you can blame lawyers.

Warren Beatty first acquired the rights to Dick Tracy from comic strip publishers Tribune Media in 1985. At some point, these rights were supposed to revert to Tribune if no new Tracy projects were forthcoming from Beatty, as long as they requested them via some legal gymnastics and a two-year notification process (that window would allow Warren Beatty enough time to make another Dick Tracy movie before handing the character over).

Tribune tried to make this happen in 2002, but for legal reasons that I'm not qualified to understand let alone write about, their claim was rejected after Beatty filed a suit indicating that the proper procedures weren't followed, the two-year window wasn't respected, and he still had plans to make a sequel. The case was resolved in his favour. Since then, Beatty has retained the rights, presumably with the same two-year window in place to allow him to make another movie should Tribune come knocking.

That three-year period, from when Tribune tried to exercise their claim on the Dick Tracy rights to when the suit was resolved, still doesn't account for the decade since then. At the time, Mr. Beatty claimed that Tribune's attempt to get the rights back made progress on his own Dick Tracy sequel "impossible." But considering that Beatty has never been known as the most prolific filmmaker or actor, moving at a deliberate pace with all of his projects, the fact that Dick Tracy 2 never materialised shouldn't surprise anyone.

But there always seem to be plans afoot for more...

Periodically, Warren Beatty makes some noises about his intention to make Dick Tracy 2, although I suspect this is posturing to allow him to hold on to the rights. I did reach out to representatives for Beatty to see if he'd be willing to offer some comment on this, but as of this writing, nobody has responded.

“I’m gonna make another one," Mr. Beatty told a crowd at the Hero Complex Festival in 2011. “I think it’s dumb talking about movies before you make them. I just don’t do it. It gives you the perfect excuse to avoid making them.” This was probably a self-directed jab at the fact that he hasn't made a movie since 2001, but as with many things related to this project, I have to wonder if occasionally expressing a public desire to make Dick Tracy 2 is all that stands between Beatty and another battle with Tribune.

In a strange maneuvre that was simply a required flexing of creative muscle to satisfy some minimum legal requirement, Beatty even donned the yellow overcoat and fedora in 2011 for the Dick Tracy Special. Beatty appears in character as Dick Tracy to give an interview with film critic Leonard Maltin, where he, as Tracy, refers to Warren Beatty...the actor who played him. "He was no Ralph Byrd or even Morgan Conway," Beatty/Tracy cracks, referencing two classic live-action Dicks from the '30s and '40s, "but I have to admit he looked remarkably like me."

No, really. See for yourself:

More recently, Beatty still made some noises about his plans to make Dick Tracy 2. This seems as unlikely now as it did five years ago.

The lawsuit that allowed Beatty to retain control of the Dick Tracy rights may have also scuttled all plans to revive the character in other media. In 2005, Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, along with Bobby Newmyer and Scott Strauss, struck a deal with Tribune to develop a live-action Dick Tracy TV series, which would have brought the famed detective into the present day. More powerful than tommy guns, a team of lawyers put a stop to that before it got off the ground.

Reportedly, these same legal issues even put the brakes on a plan by Powers creators Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming to kick off a new Dick Tracy comic book series (it's tough to imagine a more perfect creative team for that). In other words, the same thing that kept Dick Tracy 2 from happening, has also essentially retired the detective from any and all potential new adventures. So, not only will we never see a sequel to the 1990 film (which is probably for the best), but the prospects of seeing the iconic detective again in any new adventures appear increasingly dim.

However, for those devoted fans of the movie, there are other ways to immerse yourself in the film's continuity, all of which can be considered 'official' extensions of the story...

In the lead up to the film's release, three prestige format comics were released, written by John Francis Moore with wonderful art by the always brilliant Kyle Baker. The first two of these ("Big City Blues" and "Dick Tracy vs. The Underworld") are adventures that take place before the events of the movie, while the third adapts the film. You can usually find the collected edition, Dick Tracy: The Complete True Hearts and Tommy Guns on the cheap at comic conventions.

Dick Tracy: True Hearts and Tommy Guns is absolutely worth your time if you're a fan of the movie or of the character in general. Kyle Baker's art is always a treat, but he captures the larger than life flavour of the movie on these pages as well as the horrific nature of the villains in a way that the sometimes rubbery makeup of the film simply didn't. The over-the-top cartoon violence of the films is a little bloodier and more impactful here, particularly the original tales in the first two chapters. Interestingly enough, these were the first Dick Tracy comics to feature original material to arrive in thirty years, and now, twenty-five years later, they're still the only ones since 1961 (reprints of the comic strips, however, are in good health thanks to Idw Publishing, as are the comic strips themelves...published by Tribune).

For that matter, the Dick Tracy novelisation by Max Allan Collins is also well worth seeking out. Collins, an experienced crime fiction writer who also had the distinct honour of writing Dick Tracy's comic strip adventures for 15 years after creator Chester Gould retired, brought a more authentic voice to the proceedings. Without the over the top visuals of the film, the book feels decidedly more violent (particularly the opening description of the St. Valentine's Day style massacre that begins the movie), and closer to the character's crime solving roots than what got put on screen. Warren Beatty was so impressed with Collins' flourishes that some of the dialogue from the novel was later added to the finished film.Collins also wrote two novels which can be considered 'official' sequels to the films. Dick Tracy Goes to War was published in 1990, within months of the movie's release, and was followed in 1991 by Dick Tracy Meets his Match. Another prose collection, Dick Tracy: The Secret Files was released to cash in on that year's Tracymania and was edited by Collins, but doesn't share any continuity with the film. But in short, if you want some kind of official "Dick Tracy movie universe," start with True Hearts and Tommy Guns and follow straight through with the Collins novels.

It'll have to do...because Dick Tracy is most assuredly not on his way.

This article originally ran on June 15th, 2015. It has been lightly updated with some new information. Movies Feature Mike Cecchini dick tracy 15 Jun 2016 - 16:22 Dick Tracy 2 Warren Beatty...

Actor who cheerfully exploited Hollywood's conception of French glamour

In the 1950s, Denise Darcel, who has died aged 87, profited from Hollywood's "ooh-la-la" conception of young, shapely French womanhood, generally inviting the adjective "sultry" and playing characters called Fifi, Gigi and Lola. In fact, her entire acting career was spent in America, cheerfully exploiting that image.

She was born Denise Billecard in Paris, one of five daughters of a baker and his wife. After studying at the University of Dijon, she returned to Paris, where she won the title of "most beautiful girl in France". Making the most of the publicity, she built up a nightclub act as a dancer and singer.

In 1947, in Paris, she met and married an American army captain, who returned to the Us with her. The marriage lasted for less than a year. With her name changed to the easier-to-pronounce Darcel, she landed an uncredited spot...

After 21 years of inactivity, following his 1990 starring and directing turn adapting creator Chester Gould's newspaper comic strip detective character "Dick Tracy", actor/producer Warren Beatty has won his lawsuit against a unit of Tribune Co, to prevent Tribune from taking back film/TV rights to creator Chester Gould's newspaper comic strip detective character.

Budgeted at $47 million, Beatty's "Dick Tracy" earned $103,738,726 domestic and $59,000,000 foreign for a worldwide box office of $162,738,726.

According to court documents, rights to the character would have reverted back to Tribune if "a certain period of time" lapsed without Beatty having produced another "Dick Tracy" movie, TV series or TV special.

Tribune sent Beatty a letter November 17, 2006, giving him two years to begin production on new "Dick Tracy" programing.

"Tribune asserted it still wanted to terminate Beatty's 'Dick Tracy" rights and effect a reversion, and purported to do so," the lawsuit said, with Beatty seeking...

After years of inactivity, following his starring/directing turn in the 1990 Disney feature "Dick Tracy", actor/producer Warren 'Clyde Barrow' Beatty recently sued a unit of Tribune Co, to prevent Tribune from taking back film/TV rights to creator Chester Gould's newspaper comic strip detective character.

Budgeted at $47 million, "Dick Tracy" earned $103,738,726 domestic and $59,000,000 foreign for a worldwide box office of $162,738,726.

According to court documents, rights would revert to Tribune if "a certain period of time" lapsed without Beatty having produced another Dick Tracy movie, TV series or TV special.

Tribune sent Beatty a letter November 17, 2006, giving him two years to begin production on new "Dick Tracy" programing.

"Tribune asserted it still wanted to terminate Beatty's 'Tracy' Rights and effect a reversion, and purported to do so," the lawsuit said, with Beatty seeking a declaration that his work on a developing Dick Tracy documentary TV special precludes Tribune from...

Cowboy film pin-up Virginia Carroll has died at the age of 95.

The model-turned-actress passed away of natural causes last week (23Ju09).

Carroll made her film debut in 1935's Roberta and she went on to appear alongside cowboy stars including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry in movies such as The Masked Rider and Overland Trail. She was also a regular on The Roy Rogers Show.

Her first husband was actor Ralph Byrd, who played Dick Tracy on the big and small screen.