The Dick Tracy Show

The Dick Tracy Show

1961
The Dick Tracy Show
The Dick Tracy Show

The Dick Tracy Show

5.6 | en | Animation

The Dick Tracy Show was an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.

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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP27  Flea Ring Circus
Jun. 25,1961
Flea Ring Circus

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EP26  Episode 26
Jun. 18,1961
Episode 26

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EP25  Episode 25
Jun. 11,1961
Episode 25

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EP24  Episode 24
Jun. 04,1961
Episode 24

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EP23  Episode 23
May. 28,1961
Episode 23

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EP22  Episode 22
May. 21,1961
Episode 22

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EP21  Episode 21
May. 14,1961
Episode 21

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EP20  Episode 20
May. 07,1961
Episode 20

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EP19  Episode 19
Apr. 30,1961
Episode 19

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EP18  Episode 18
Apr. 23,1961
Episode 18

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EP17  Episode 17
Apr. 16,1961
Episode 17

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EP16  Episode 16
Apr. 09,1961
Episode 16

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EP15  Episode 15
Apr. 02,1961
Episode 15

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EP14  Episode 14
Mar. 26,1961
Episode 14

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EP13  Episode 13
Mar. 19,1961
Episode 13

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EP12  Episode 12
Mar. 12,1961
Episode 12

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EP11  Episode 11
Mar. 05,1961
Episode 11

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EP10  Episode 10
Feb. 26,1961
Episode 10

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EP9  Episode 9
Feb. 19,1961
Episode 9

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EP8  Episode 8
Feb. 12,1961
Episode 8

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EP7  Episode 7
Feb. 05,1961
Episode 7

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EP6  Episode 6
Jan. 29,1961
Episode 6

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EP5  Episode 5
Jan. 22,1961
Episode 5

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EP4  Episode 4
Jan. 15,1961
Episode 4

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EP3  Episode 3
Jan. 08,1961
Episode 3

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EP2  Pearl Thief Grief
Jan. 01,1961
Pearl Thief Grief

Dick Tracy contacts Joe Jitsu aboard the SS Purely to go after The Mole and Sketch Paree, who have stolen black pearls from the Maharajah.

EP1  Red Hot Riding Hoods
Jan. 01,1961
Red Hot Riding Hoods

The Eastside/Westside bank is being robbed by B.B. Eyes and Flattop, so Hemlock Homes and the Retouchables give pursuit.

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5.6 | en | Animation , Comedy , Crime | More Info
Released: 1961-01-01 | Released Producted By: United Productions of America , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.toontracker.com/tracy/dicktracy.htm
Synopsis

The Dick Tracy Show was an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.

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Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Everett Sloane , Benny Rubin

Director

Abe Levitow

Producted By

United Productions of America ,

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Reviews

jonathan_k80 And what does this series have to do with the classic detective comic strip? Other than a couple of cameo appearances by the title character and watered-down versions of the strip's famous villains... absolutely nothing.The "Dick Tracy" comic has been around since 1931, and if you have ever read any of the strips, you would soon realize it was aimed at an adult audience. It was filled with grotesque criminals who often met their end in a gruesome manner such as a bullet through the head, impalement, or being burned alive. The creator, Chester Gould, had no qualms about visually depicting the grisly demise of these villains. It was definitely not for young children.So who thought Dick Tracy would make a great concept for a kids' show? Or what drugs were available in 1960 when this series was being developed? And why would Chester Gould allow his characters to be so trivialized? He is actually credited in the opening title sequence; if I were him I would have been embarrassed to have my name attached this horrible program.Yes, it is horrible. Minus the opening and closing credits, each episode runs less than four minutes, and Dick Tracy only appears for a total of about 30 to 50 seconds. We see him in the opening scene at his desk finishing up a phone call from his superior. "Okay, Chief, I'll get on it right away. Dick Tracy calling ________." This same footage and dialogue is recycled in every single episode. Yes, EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Tracy assigns the case to one of four assistant detectives, then is not seen again until the wrap-up at the end. So, why is this called "The Dick Tracy Show"?"The Lame Assistant Detective Show" would be a better description. Other reviewers have commented on these pathetic characters, so I won't recap what they have already described. However, I will re-emphasize the fact that two of the detectives are racist stereotypes. That alone should be enough to make viewers want to avoid this series, but there is more.The animation is atrocious. There is a lot of reused footage, flopped (reversed) images and other cost-cutting measures that make it obvious this was made on an extremely limited budget. A handful of classic villains from the comic strip have been transformed into overly- cartoonish children's characters, and these same villains are used over and over. The dialogue is filled with groan-inducing puns that first- or second-grade schoolkids might find funny. Sight gags consist of tired overdone rehashes from other cartoons. The "Hold Everything!" joke (where a character in a predicament freezes the surrounding action) gets really old when it appears in every, yes EVERY, episode, although we do get to see an extra ten seconds of Dick Tracy on screen when the assistant detective calls for help.This series is available on DVD. Unbelievable. I can't see anyone actually spending money on such mind-numbing material.
Little-Mikey I remember watching this cartoon weekday afternoons just before supper. It was 1961 and I was about 7. I was in the First Grade and had just started to learn to read. So what captured my curiosity with my newly acquired reading skills? You got it,the Sunday Funnies! I asked my mother what comics she liked to read. She liked to read DICK TRACY.So when DICK TRACY came on TV, I thought my mother would enjoy seeing her comic strip come alive on TV. Maybe she saw one episode. I don't remember. What I do remember is that she was always too busy to watch DICK TRACY on TV.Thirty five years later, I saw this cartoon on TV and now I can understand why my mother was always too busy to watch this cartoon. It was bad, really bad! Joe Jitsu, complete with his slant-eyes and buck teeth was such an offensive Japanese stereo-type that you don't even have to be Japanese to be offended. Then there is Go-Go Gomez! Given the choice between watching this horrible cartoon or slaving over a hot stove, my mother wisely chose the hot stove. I rest my case!
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre I acquired a complete run of this cartoon series on standard-8mm film, as part of a swap with someone at Blackhawk Video. Lucky me? Not likely! This television series is INCREDIBLY bad, with lackadaisical animation that makes 'Clutch Cargo' look high-tech.Having read the entire run of Chester Gould's 'Dick Tracy' strips (and some of his successors' work), I'm deeply familiar with the original 'Dick Tracy'. One of its great strengths was the cast of supporting characters: Tess, Junior, Sam, Lizz, Diet Smith, Vitamin Flintheart, Chief Brandon, Chief Patton, B.O. Plenty, Gravel Gertie, and the unfairly maligned Moon Maid. None of them are on offer here, possibly because Gould would have wanted more money. Dick Tracy himself is only barely seen at the start and finish of each episode, offering spoken set-ups and wrap-ups that don't interact with the (minimal) action.Any positive notes? Aye, just barely. The opening credits are impressive, with a catchy crime-marches-on music theme while Tracy fires his pistol directly at the viewer, and we see captioned head shots of the various villains, so we'll know their names. (None of them move ... except Itchy, who scratches himself.) The good news is that these are all classic villains from the peak years of Tracy's strip. Even more intriguingly, we actually get TWO villains per episode, working as a team. The bad news is that the team-ups are completely arbitrary, and -- having been made by whoever set up this series -- the arbitrary team-ups remain in place for every subsequent cartoon. So, f'rinstance, Sketch Paree is ALWAYS paired with the Mole, and Stooge Viller is ALWAYS paired with Mumbles. (The single most interesting thing about this series is voice-artist Paul Frees's performance as Mumbles: he speaks his lines in a weird hyperactive quack that sounds like Donald Duck on helium.) Some of the pairings make no sense: in the original strip, Sketch Paree (a one-off villain) was a delusional psychotic artist, while the Mole (a recurring character who eventually reformed) was a dissociated murderer who lived underground: why would these two men team up on an ongoing basis? As depicted here, the Mole is a genial Buddy Hackett-like schlub who enjoys digging tunnels with his bare hands.The biggest problem with this awful series is that Tracy doesn't do the actual detecting, and the characters who do the sleuthing -- created for these cartoons -- are awful. Each toon begins identically to all the others, with Tracy at his desk speaking into a phone: "O.K., Chief. I'll get on it right away." (We never see this chief: is it Chief Brandon? Chief Patton? Big Chief Wahoo?) Tracy then rings off the phone and uses his wrist TV to summon one of his three detectives, whom he briefs on this episode's case.Oo-er! Those detectives! The least painful of the lot is Joe Jitsu, a Mr Moto-ish Japanese midget who signs off each of his episodes by saying 'Sayonara!' (In one episode, he tried to hypnotise a Siamese cat: the cat hypnotised him back, and then the CAT said 'Sayonara!') Jitsu has the ability to subdue much larger opponents by seizing their wrists and casually pounding their heads against the floor. Wish I could do that! The other two tecs are Go Go Gomez (a Mexican in sombrero, serape and sandals) and Hemlock Holmes. After the detective collars the villains, Dick Tracy briefly deigns to put in an appearance and offer a quick verbal wrap-up. Dick Tracy actually has more screen time in the opening credits than in any of the cartoons themselves.Apparently the Jitsu and Gomez episodes became taboo on Yank TV because these characters are allegedly ethnic stereotypes. It makes sense to take them off TV for being crap-awful, but not for being stereotypes: Jitsu and Gomez are both intelligent, brave and resourceful. True, they speak in (very dodgy) 'ethnic' accents, but we never hear any comments about them being unsanitary, stupid, work-shy, dishonest, nor any of the other negative traits attributed to minorities.FULL DISCLOSURE: I wanted to see these cartoons because the allegedly 'Japanese' Joe Jitsu was voiced by my friend the late Benny Rubin, a former vaudeville comic who had trouble getting on-camera acting jobs because of his extremely Jewish looks! So much for ethnicity...Hemlock Holmes is a talking bulldog in an old-fashioned constable's helmet, but otherwise naked. Neither Dick Tracy nor anybody else finds it odd that a talking animal has entered Chester Gould's universe. There are fewer Hemlock episodes than Jitsu or Gomez episodes, but (due to the ethnic stigma) these get televised more often. Holmes, unlike his efficient colleagues Jitsu and Gomez, is a bumbling idiot. Apparently it's wrong to depict Japanese and Mexicans as brave efficient police officers, but it's O.K. to slander talking bulldogs.A few of these episodes feature the Retouchables, a mob of stumblebum bobbies clearly based on the Keystone Cops. Mack Sennett should have sued.A distinctive motif of Chester Gould's strip was its chillingly accurate depictions of violence. This cartoon series was intended for kiddies, so the 'violence' was all very slapsticky and bloodless.What most horrifies me about this series is that Dick Tracy's voice is supplied by that great character actor Everett Sloane, formerly of 'Citizen Kane'. Sloane's eyesight was failing, and he committed suicide soon after making these Dick Tracy toons ... allegedly because he was going blind. I think he committed suicide out of embarrassment over these cartoons. Really, they're AWFUL!
Puck-20 This goes way back; I watched this in the very early 60's. It was quite faithful to the strip, as I remember. The episodes started out the same: Tracy calling one of his cops [Hemlock Holmes, more often than not] on his TV wristwatch. The episode would revolve around the not-too competent Hemlock and the Keystone Kops trying to get the bad guys, which they would invariably do. I still remember the final shot of the show, the timpani pounding out the theme, and a high overhead shot of a busy city intersection, looking at all the ant-like cars letting a police car go by...then continuing on their way as it passed.What made this show interesting were the voices. Everett Sloane [Citizen Kane] was Tracy...but it also had such greats as Mel Blanc and Paul Frees, Jerry Housner [I Love Lucy] and Benny Rubin [Citizen Kane]...I don't recall this show being shown since the mid-sixties. I hope they bring it back.