Dick Tracy, 1990

[hatguy1]

OK.... I realize the flick isn't really Golden Era (far from it). But, I caught a rerun of the 1990 Warren Beatty - Madonna "Dick Tracy" movie which WAS set in the 1930s-1940s.

I'd forgotten what a great movie that was - writing, acting, sets, costume/makeup etc. Enjoyed watching it again immensely.

 

[LolitaHaze]

I have my 12 inch Breathless Mahoney doll sitting up on my shelf -- I'm looking right at her!

 

[Edward]

I'd like to see it again now. I remember seeing it on television a couple of years after it came out, and having the feeling that while I could see the comic book look they were going for, it just didn't quite work. Bit too yellow spandex. Still, Dick Tracy must be due a revival, surely? I'd love to see a Nolan take on it.

 

[1mach1]

Sadly, I thought it was unbearable. The acting was painful to watch. Perhaps a good remake is in the works?

 

[Dennis Young]

I liked it. I wasn’t crazy about the visuals but I see what they were going for. (I prefer B&W). And I’m not a big Madonna fan either. Or Beatty. Still, I love the Tracy character.
1990 was 25 years ago and I’d love to see another remake made with new actors. Who would you cast in a new film?
Offhand I could see George Clooney in the lead role. I think he’d do a fine job.
Is Robert Downey Jr tall enough? I don’t know. I like him though.
I don’t remember in the comic strip if Tess Trueheart’s hair was red of blond. I thought she was a blond. She was a redhead in the latest film. Who would play her?
Also, what would you like the plot to be? Any major villain from the series you’d like to see them focus on? Breathless Mahoney has already been used. Cueball might be interesting but I fear he’d run the risk of being compared to Lex Luthor. Flattop is a favorite of mine.
I don’t know if they *had* a villain like this, but one villain type I’d like to see them use would be a Dr Fu-Manchu type. It wouldn’t even have to be male. I saw a good Victor Mature film called The Shanghai Gesture and the main villainess in that movie was Mother" Gin Sling, played by Ona Munson. She was really good in that role and her type would make a heckuva good villain in a new Tracy film. J

 

[Fading Fast]

After I gulped as you rightly pointed out that 1990 was 25 freakin' years ago - I agree, I'd love to see what Nolan could do with it.

 

[Zombie_61]

I liked it. I wasn’t crazy about the visuals but I see what they were going for. (I prefer B&W)...

I understand why they went with only primary and secondary colors (they wanted it to look like a live-action comic book), but that look didn't really work for me. I'd much rather they would have gone with a more natural/realistic color palette, or black and white.

...1990 was 25 years ago and I’d love to see another remake made with new actors. Who would you cast in a new film? Offhand I could see George Clooney in the lead role. I think he’d do a fine job...

I think Clooney would be a good choice. I know this was something of a "pet" project for Beatty, but I wish he would have stayed behind the camera and cast someone else to play Tracy because his performance in the movie didn't remind me of the Dick Tracy I remember from the comic strip.

A couple of years ago there was a rumor going around that Beatty wanted to make a sequel to Dick Tracy and wanted to play the character again. I, for one, hope that doesn't happen.

...Is Robert Downey Jr tall enough? I don’t know. I like him though...

Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly 5'8-1/2" tall. I don't know how tall Tracy is supposed to be, but I always got the impression that he was of an above-average height. Then again, Clooney is allegedly 5'11", so he's not what I'd call "towering" either.

...I don’t remember in the comic strip if Tess Trueheart’s hair was red of blond. I thought she was a blond. She was a redhead in the latest film...

She was blonde in the comic strip. And since you mentioned Madonna, I've never thought she was attractive except for her appearance in this movie (probably because she had to gain weight to "fill in" her wardrobe, and I prefer curvy women).

 

[Dennis Young]

Morgan Conway played Tracy in the 1940s.
From Wikipedia: RKO's earliest publicity photos posed Conway in profile, hoping to emulate Gould's square-jawed caricatures. Although this screen Tracy didn't resemble the print Tracy physically, Conway's dramatic interpretation was faithful; he gave the role an understated, businesslike quality totally in keeping with a police procedural. Morgan Conway is considered by many (including Dick Tracy writer Max Allan Collins
) to be the best screen Dick Tracy.

I think that would be important. The business-like quality of the character. Though one might say Beatty did this as well, he seems almost too stoic for me. But I guess he did ok. But to revisit the character? How old is Beatty now anyway? I’m not sure what it would look like to have grampa out there trying to be Dick Tracy…maybe like the Simpsons’ Montgomery Burns trying to play the role lol

 

[hatguy1]

Wow, a remake of a remake of a....


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[scottyrocks]

If ya want an old guy to play a long-time-ago guy in a hat, you could always have Harrison Ford do it.

Actually, anyone would be better than Beatty.

 

[Frunobulax]

If ya want an old guy to play a long-time-ago guy in a hat, you could always have Harrison Ford do it.

Actually, anyone would be better than Beatty.

Why old? Shouldn't Dick Tracy be between 40-50? Seasoned veteran, but not yet promoted to a higher rank?

I think Clooney is too old. Ford would have been OK a couple of decades ago. Not sure who I would cast these days.

As a side note, back in the '70s, when us younguns would go to the "Midnight Movies" to see such fun stuff as Gimme Shelter and Reefer Madness, they played Part 8 of a Dick Tracy serial for us. Nope, they never showed 1-7, or anything after 8, because this is all they had.

Hey, it was the '70s!

 

[Zombie_61]

If ya want an old guy to play a long-time-ago guy in a hat, you could always have Harrison Ford do it...

...Ford would have been OK a couple of decades ago...

According to IMDb.com, Harrison Ford was considered for the role, along with Robert Redford, Paul Newman, George C. Scott, and James Caan. Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson were each offered the role but turned it down. Beatty was initially offered the job of Director, but agreed only on the condition that he play Tracy as well; the producers, having trouble casting the part, agreed.

 

[Frunobulax]

According to IMDb.com, Harrison Ford was considered for the role, along with Robert Redford, Paul Newman, George C. Scott, and James Caan. Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson were each offered the role but turned it down. Beatty was initially offered the job of Director, but agreed only on the condition that he play Tracy as well; the producers, having trouble casting the part, agreed.

Better than Ned Beatty.

 

[Dennis Young]

‘Deliverance’ ruined me from watching Ned Beatty movies. That film scarred me lol

 

[Burma Schave]

Ned Beatty conquered the movie "Network". It is impossible to imagine that film without him.