Comics / Cult Favorite

Retro Review: Dick Tracy (1990)

By Philip Schweier
May 22, 2009 - 20:02

Warren Beatty as Dick Tracy

When Dick Tracy was released in 1990, I remember one reviewer (who had a reputation for not liking any movie) commenting that he did like the colors. After watching the film recently, I have to say, the colors are one of the highlights of the film.

Set in a vague "second quarter of the 20th century," the film might take place during the Great Depression, and given our current economic climate, the bright colors offer a certain uplifting feeling to what otherwise could have been just another gloomy gangster flick.

Warren Beatty, who also produced and directed the movie, stars as pure cop Dick Tracy in a nameless city in which crime and corruption run rampant, thanks to hoodlum Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino). After setting up shop at the Club Ritz, Caprice is out to take over the rackets of the entire town, uniting the fractured underworld under his authority. But Tracy stands in his way.

William Forsythe as Flattop; Dustin Hoffman as Mumbles

The Dick Tracy comic strip was known for its gruesome rogues gallery of villains, such as Flat Top, Mumbles, 88 Keys and Prune Face. The film features most of them, almost all under heavy make-up, which adds to the cartoonish quality of the film.

Live actors performing against a CGI background is nothing new these days, but in 1990, before computer generated imagery existed, Dick Tracy pulls off an imaginative coup by creating surreal city backgrounds of vivid color; kind of a Maxfield Parrish meets Edward Hopper painting. Set decoration is sparse and minimal, but that's okay. It enhances a certain "flat" quality to the cinematography that permits the audience to focus on the characters.

Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice; Madonna as Breathless Mahoney

That's what this movie is – a character film. Each is an archetype, be it the hero's long-suffering girlfriend (Glenne Headly as Tess Trueheart) or kid sidekick (Charlie Korsmo as Kid/Dick Tracy Jr.). Many of the featured actors turn in easy, comfortable performances, such as Charles Durning as the white-haired Irish chief of police, or Madonna as nightclub singer Breathless Mahoney.

While that may suggest the film may not have much depth, let's not forget that it's based on a comic strip. It's Dick Tracy, not Death of Salesman. As gangster films go, it's got all the elements – an untouchable cop, a mad-dog crime boss, corrupt politicians and tommyguns. LOTS of tommyguns.

Again, that may suggest a straight and narrow road from start to finish, but not so. The story takes enough twists and turns to be easily followed without becoming boring or predictable. Perhaps it was influenced by 1989's Batman, and there are some valid comparisons, but Dick Tracy steps off in its own stylish direction rather than be a copy-cat film or a mirror image.

As comic-related films go, Dick Tracy is an admirable effort, and while I'm disappointed there wasn't a sequel, I take comfort in the fact that the film is very satisfying all by itself.

Last Updated: March 3, 2025 - 20:40