The Dick Tracy Show - The 1961 animated series

October 6, 2021

The Dick Tracy Show is a television cartoon series based on the famous 30s comic detective by author Chester Gould. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.

On the Dick Tracy Show, cop Dick Tracy has a number of subordinate cops at his side to fight crime every week, whom he contacts from his wrist radio. Dick Tracy himself barely appeared on the show. The opening was designed so local TV hosts dressed as cops could introduce the cartoon by barking orders into a stage intercom, with Tracy replying "Okay, boss, I'll take care of it now."

A live show by Dick Tracy, it aired on ABC from 1950 to 1951.

Characters

Everett Sloane voiced Tracy, while Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Benny Rubin, and others voiced many of the other characters, including:

Joe Jitsu , a parody of Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto (with many images of Chinese and Japanese culture films). He is an intelligent detective who fights with martial arts (repeatedly slamming his victim to the ground while saying “I'm sorry!… Excuse me, please!… I apologize!”). It takes its name from the Japanese martial art of jujitsu. Benny Rubin provided his voice throughout the series.

Hemlock Holmes , a loud and clumsy Cockney police bulldog (named in honor of Sherlock Holmes and with a voice modeled on that of Cary Grant) voiced by Jerry Hausner. He is supported by his police squad, the Touchbeables, who are named after the Untouchables, but look and act more like the Keystone Kops.

Heap O'Calories , a parody of Andy Devine, voiced by "Uncle" Johnny Coons. This red-haired street cop has a serious weight problem and a penchant for stealing apples from an outdoor fruit stand. Before leaving on an assignment, Heap invariably received the "word on the street" from a beatnik playing bongo (called "Nick") who communicated exclusively by typing coded messages on his drums.

Manuel Tijuana Guadalajara Tampico “Go-Go” Gomez, Jr. , essentially a human version of Speedy Gonzales, another Blanc character, although Paul Frees voiced most of the series. Go-Go wears a big sombrero and a big smile and is often seen lying in a hammock waiting for an assignment.
A gag used in several shows was that if one of Tracy's detectives was in sudden danger (a bullet accelerating towards them, falling off a cliff, etc.) he would yell: "Hold it all!" The action obediently stopped and "waited," while the detective called headquarters for further instructions. The action will resume only after the closing slogan, “Six-two and also, over and out” has been pronounced at the end of the call.

Villains taken from the popular comic by Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould usually had names that served as descriptions of their physical appearance or some other peculiarity. All of them were paired with another villain for the cartoon series. They included Flattop who has worked with BB Eyes, Prunefacee Itchy, Stooge Viller and Mumbles, The Brow and Oodles and The Mole and Sketch Paree. Each pair of scammers had at least one member smoking a cigar or cigarette on an extender. One villain created specifically for the cartoon was Cheater Gunsmoke, who appeared in two episodes. Gunsmoke was a Texan-pronounced cigar smoker with a cloud of smoke obscuring his face and head. Of all the villains in the animated series, Stooge had made his first appearance in the comic (1933) and the last Oodles (1955), six years before the show aired.

Some of the villains have been given voices modeled after famous actors. Flattop sounded like Peter Lorre, BBEyes like Edward G. Robinson, Pruneface like Boris Karloff and The Brow like James Cagney.

The cartoons rarely involved the title character. The opening scene of each episode showed Tracy in her office, speaking the words on a two-way radio: “Okay, boss! I'll deal with it right away. Dick Tracy calls… ”Then he would turn the case over to one of his law enforcement comedic assistants, who engaged in slapstick battles with the scammers (who, compared to their comic book counterparts, were ante penny and not so bright) . Tracy showed up at the end, usually by car or helicopter, to congratulate the assistant on her job well and to arrest the thieves. Tracy, as chief investigator, presented an image of calm professionalism in contrast to the comedic roles played by the humorous subordinates.

Mr Magoo crossover

UPA was also the producer of the Mr. Magoo cartoons, and a crossover was staged between Tracy and Magoo in a 1965 episode of the TV series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. In this episode, "Dick Tracy and the Mob," Tracy convinces Magoo (a well-known actor in the context of the Famous Adventures series) to impersonate an international hitman who he resembles named Squinty Eyes, and to infiltrate a gang of criminals made of Pruneface ( their leader in this case), Itchy, Flattop, Mumbles, The Mole, The Brow and Ooodles. Unlike Tracy's previous animated shorts, this longer episode was played relatively smoothly, with Tracy getting much more screen time and boss Patton being part of the episode. He is known for pitting Tracy against a coalition of most of her enemies, a concept that would be adopted more than two decades later in the 1990 film. None of Tracy's assistants (Hemlock Holmes, Joe Jitsu, etc.) appeared and many villains didn't sound like their Dick Tracy Show counterparts. For example, Howard Morris took on the roles of Flattop and Oodles, although Everett Sloane reprized the role of Tracy.

Controversy over racist undertones

The Dick Tracy Show was pulled from syndication in the mid-70s and mid-80s, and was not seen for years after due to what some perceived as racist undertones and the use of ethnic stereotypes and accents. The show re-emerged on television in 1990 to coincide with the release of the feature film, as well as in 2006 on digital cable channels and pay-per-view DVD.

The cartoon appeared on various independent stations in the United States in June 1990 (coinciding with the release of the live-action film, as previously mentioned). Some Asians and Hispanics claimed that the characters Joe Jitsu (an Asian character with protruding teeth) and Go Go Gomez (a Mexican wearing a sombrero) were offensive stereotypes. Two Los Angeles stations removed their broadcasts and the edited episodes were then sent while one station, KCAL Channel 9, which was owned by Disney at the time, continued to air The Dick Tracy Show until July 4, 1990. Henry G. Saperstein, then UPA president, said "It's just a cartoon, for God's sake." Others pointed out that the "stereotypes" included two Anglo-Saxons (Hemlock Holmes and Heap O'Calorie), and that the Joe Jitsu character (Ju-Jitsu is a Japanese martial art) was a deliberate attempt to reintroduce a likeable character. Japanese after the passions of the last war had died out.

Technical data

Gender Detective / Adventure / Comedy
Author Chester Gould
Written by Homer Brightman, Bob Ogle, Al Bertino, Dick Kinney, Ed Nofziger, Chester Gould
Regia Grant Simmons, Clyde Geronimo, Ray Patterson, Brad Case, Steve Clark, John Walker, David Detiege, Paul Fennell, Abe Levitow
Presented by UPA
Music Carl Brandti
Country United States
Number of seasons 1
Number of episodes 130
Executive producers Peter DeMet, Henry G. Saperstein
Editor Ted Baker
Episode duration 5 minutes
Publication
Original network First run syndication
Image format Color (Technicolor)
Audio format Mono
Transmission date January 1, 1961 - January 1, 1962
Related shows The famous adventures of Mr. Magoo