History YMMV / DickTracy

* NoYay: The Blank sleazily whispering to the imprisoned Tess, "I hope you like being alone with me", gets even creepier [[spoiler: when it's revealed to have been Breathless the whole time, if you consider the attitude towards homosexuality at the time of the movie's setting]]

* {{Anvilicious}}: Chester Gould's stories got really bad for this during TheSeventies, with Tracy frequently going on [[AuthorFilibuster lengthy speeches about how the law should operate]]. Mike Kilian had a tendency to do this as well (most infamously with the movie piracy story), though to a much lesser extent than Gould.

** The "Mr. Crime" storyline that ran in 2011-2012 revealed early on that there was a mole inside the police department. This turned out to be Lt. Teevo, the one recurring character that had been introduced by Dick Locher, and at the conclusion of the storyline he ended up being fed to a giant, carnivorous plant.

** Flyface was this to a lot of readers at the time, thanks to actively opposing murder committed by his colleagues, not actually doing anything criminal until he breaks out of jail after being forcibly dragged in as an accomplice to a murder he never intended to let happen, ditching his criminal acquaintances to have Christmas with his innocent family, and his OddFriendship with Willie the Fifth (whose deeds at first consist of attempting to avenge his brother). Some also felt that his seeming death of being repeatedly being dragged and rammed by tidal waves before being rammed into rocks underwater by said waves was a little too cruel, particularly the way the police watch and find it amusing. A recent 2011 storyline seemed to agree, having him be revealed to be alive and having him [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere walk out on]] the attempted murder of Lizz.

* MagnificentBitch: [[FemmeFatale Breathless Mahoney]] is the main singer at the Club Ritz who secretly becomes the faceless gangster "The Blank". Seeking to get out from under [[TheDon Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice]], Breathless secretly makes plans to undermine his business and takeover while also stringing along Dick Tracy whom she is in love with. She discreetly learns about Big Boy's plans and as Blank, saves Tracy from a trap Big Boy set from him. Wanting to tarnish Tracy's name so he'll join her acquisition of the city and choose her over girlfriend Tess Trueheart, Breathless kills the corrupt DA Fletcher and sets Tracy up for it. She then kidnaps Tess, pins it on Big Boy and then tries to bargain Tracy into killing Big Boy and then joining her.

* MoodWhiplash: Several strips aren't necessarily this when read on a daily basis (as was the original medium), but quickly become this when read in one sitting. The most extreme example of this has to be when Junior's girlfriend dies. Junior is seen mourning her at her grave, saying he'll always love her... [[RefugeInAudacity and the next day's comic]] has the goofy looking Tonsils singing about muddy rainbows while his assistant "[[WhoNamesTheirKidDude Dude]]" forces a talent agent to listen at gunpoint.

* SpotlightStealingSquad:
** Moon Maid and the "Moon Period", for reasons listed above -- suddenly, the strip which for decades had been about one man's eternal war on crime became heavily sci-fi-focused, and while there are arguments to be made both for and against, few would deny it was [[GenreShift to the detriment of that core concept]].
** Despite their immense popularity at the time (see above), the increasing focus on B.O. and Gertie in the late 40s led to weaker storylines: Gould excelled at action and suspense, not domestic comedy, and if a reader didn't like B.O. in the first place, they could find themselves subjected to weeks, if not ''months'', of the guy.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Also on [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse/DickTracy its own page.]]

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: These days, if people remember Dick Tracy at all, they'll almost certainly think of the film, which was very colorful and shot through with [[UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}} Broadway]]-style [[Creator/StephenSondheim Sondheim]] musical numbers -- two elements that were ''not'' present in the original comic strip. Other changes include the true identity of the Blank and the facial features of Big Boy Caprice (which, except for the mustache, looked nothing like Creator/AlPacino's makeup in the film).
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The original songs performed by Breathless are considered by some to be among the best of {{Music/Madonna}}'s career. "Sooner or Later" even won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: There were two {{Creator/Nintendo}} games, a side-scrolling shooter for UsefulNotes/GameBoy and a genre mashup for [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]. The NES version was actually pretty unique in that you had to drive around a big city and collect clues. There are five "cases" to solve, and although you can raid the gangsters' hideouts and nab them at any time, you [[FetchQuest need evidence]] to nail them ''à la VideoGame/CarmenSandiego''. [[NintendoHard The difficulty]] is what makes this game so notorious in the annals of licensed games.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: There were two {{Creator/Nintendo}} games, a side-scrolling shooter for UsefulNotes/GameBoy and a genre mashup for [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]. The NES version was actually pretty unique in that you had to drive around a big city and collect clues. There are five "cases" to solve, and although you can raid the gangsters' [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub hideouts]] and nab them at any time, you [[FetchQuest need evidence]] to nail them ''à la VideoGame/CarmenSandiego''. [[NintendoHard The difficulty]] is what makes this game so notorious in the annals of licensed games.

** The six dancers/back-up singers get no dialogue outside of their singing and are all unnamed but are decently popular for being the source of some {{Funny Background Event}}s and becoming noticeably better singers throughout the movie after sounding HollywoodToneDeaf during the rehearsal montage.

* ThoseTwoActors: Creator/AlPacino and Creator/JamesCaan are reunited nearly 20 years after their star-making roles in Film/TheGodfather. Both play characters who are mafia types as well. [[spoiler: And like in the film, a character is killed by car bomb, in this case, Caan's character on orders from Pacino's character.

** Mumbles' final scene makes it ambiguous as to whether he only [[TheUnintelligible speaks incoherently to mess with people]] and can really talk normally, or if his speech impediment is genuine and he only manages to string together a coherent sentence when his life depends on it through heavy concentration and willpower.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: These days, if people remember Dick Tracy at all, they'll almost certainly think of the film, which was very colorful and shot through with UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}}-style [[Creator/StephenSondheim Sondheim]] musical numbers -- two elements that were ''not'' present in the original comic strip. Other changes include the true identity of The Blank and the facial features of Big Boy Caprice (which, except for the mustache, looked nothing like Creator/AlPacino's makeup in the film).

* LesYay: The Blank's interactions with Tess get this [[spoiler: once it's revealed to have been Breathless all along.]]

** Colm Meaney of ''Star Trek'' fame has a bit part as [[OfficerOHara an Irish cop.]]

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: [[UnintentionalUncannyValley Creepy as they may be,]] you can't deny the sheer quality of the makeup design that won this movie the Academy Award for Best Makeup. They actually look realistic to a degree. Add to that the set design and color scheme throughout, this is one good looking movie!

** A particularly weak storyline about three actors with weak characterization and confusing motives... follows B.B. eyes's first outing.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** 3D Magee, for [[GenericDoomsdayVillain utterly lacking any personality]] outside of "evil", and having a storyline that dragged on for ''SEVEN MONTHS''. Throw in that he's super creepy around both his hired maid and the Plenty children, and we have a character more hated than the rest of 'em. [[WereStillRelevantDammit The 3D glasses also seem a bit random.]]

* WereStillRelevantDammit:
** In the '70s, he tried to update Tracy's distinct look with long hair and a mustache, along with a hippie sidekick named "Groovy Grove". The mustache went over so poorly he later drew a strip in which several characters pinned Tracy down and shaved it off. Gould's successor, Max Allan Collins, had both Moon Maid and Groovy Grove killed off as soon as he inherited the strip.
** Later writer Dick Locher was ''far'' too displaced from reality to make many references like this (although he did have Tracy fight a terrorist with the PunnyName of Al Kinda, and introduced a communications officer called Lt. Teevo).
** The current team of Curtis and Staton have included a computer criminal named Phishface, and a rock star who is secretly an undercover cop battling [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil digital piracy]].

** And Mumbles. Popular enough to [[NotQuiteDead be brought back from the dead]] [[UpToEleven THREE]] [[DeathIsCheap TIMES!]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Mumbles is pretty popular, despite his limited screen time and how he's TheUnintelligible. Being played by Creator/DustinHoffman, having some funny lines (so to speak), and being one of the least AxCrazy of the villains all contribute to his status.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: [[UncannyValley Creepy as they may be,]] you can't deny the sheer quality of the makeup design that won this movie the Academy Award for Best Makeup. They actually look realistic to a degree. Add to that the set design and color scheme throughout, this is one good looking movie!

** Despite their immense popularity at the time (see above), the increasing focus on B.O. and Gertie in the late 40's led to weaker storylines: Gould excelled at action and suspense, not domestic comedy, and if a reader didn't like B.O. in the first place, they could find themselves subjected to weeks, if not ''months'', of the guy.

** Bookie Joe from an early 30's storyline suffers as a villain from a very strange case of this. We follow a crooked bank teller named Mark, who keeps stealing from his bank to bet on horses, despite Bookie Joe constantly warning him not to (Mark denies everything). Bookie Joe does nothing in the story at first but the aforementioned warnings. Suddenly Mark suffers the consequences of his very stupid actions [[TooDumbToLive and decides that the best course of action is to blackmail Joe about his business and that he'll blame the robbery on Joe]]. Surprisingly Joe merely reacts by telling him that he will not get him out of another hole (as he evidently has once before) and to tell Mark to get out his apartment, rather than doing anything drastic, and is met by ''getting shot'' by Mark. Mark's girlfriend Toby drags him to the hospital where he wakes up unsure of how he got there and has Mark bombed. This is supposed to be him being an UngratefulBastard, but given he just woke up from being shot, and has no idea Toby had him saved, it instead comes across as self-preservation more than anything. [[ValuesDissonance The Chief of Police responds by having Tracy and his fellow officers break into various areas assumed to be owned by Bookie Joe and destroying them all with AXES!]] Toby later says that [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic all Mark's problems were somehow all Joe's fault (without giving reasons beyond "gambling bad")]]. He ceases to be sympathetic for much longer, but it is very safe to say his name/status as a Bookie was supposed to paint him as an irredeemable monster from the start.

** Of particular note is the depiction of foreign cultures. While caricatures of blacks and Native Americans were (thankfully) mostly restricted to the 30's and early 40’s era, discomfort happens when Mexico, Cuba, England, or really anywhere outside America is visited.

* ValuesResonance: The character of Lizz still holds up pretty well today. Even Tess's characterization from the 40's onward is pretty darn ahead of its time.