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About This Quiz
From the funny pages to the 1990 movie, test your knowledge of comics' most famous copper.
Which U.S. cartoonist created the character of Dick Tracy in 1931?
Harold Gray
Chester Gould
Chester Gould originally named his smart, square-jawed police detective “Plainclothes Tracy.” Gould retired in 1977, but the strip he created is still published today (as of 2016), with art by Joe Staton and script by Mike Curtis.
Frank King
Chic Young
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What American city is “the City” in Dick Tracy based on?
Detroit
New York
Chicago
Although Gould’s strip never identified Chicago by name, it did explicitly mention many Chicago suburbs and landmarks.
San Francisco
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Who is Dick Tracy’s long-time sweetheart (and, eventually, wife)?
Tess Trueheart
Reluctant to write a story in which Tracy and Tess wed, Gould only did so in 1949 at his wife Edna’s urging.
Breathless Mahoney
Lizz Worthington-Grove
Julie Marrlin
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Who starred as the detective in the 1990 movie, "Dick Tracy"?
Warren Beatty
Beatty (whose films include "Reds" and "Heaven Can Wait") not only starred as Tracy but also directed the movie. In April 2016, Beatty confirmed he had plans to make a sequel.
Robert Redford
Kevin Costner
Bruce Willis
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As the film begins, what are Tracy and Tess doing when Tracy is called to a crime scene?
Eating at Mike's diner
Attending an opera
Before he leaves to investigate what's happened at the 7th Street Garage, Tracy tells Tess he’ll be back because he wants to know how the opera ends.
Going out for ice cream
Watching a movie newsreel
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Which two of Big Boy’s lieutenants carry out the hit on Lips Manlis’ men at the 7th Street Garage?
Pruneface and Mumbles
Itchy and Scratchy
Itchy and Flattop
Flattop Jones is arguably Dick Tracy’s most popular and iconic nemesis. He first appeared in a 1943-44 comic strip storyline, and has been portrayed not only on film but also on radio and in animated cartoons. He has even been “meet and greet” character in Disney theme parks.
Flattop and Pruneface
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Which of these "Law & Order" actors plays a character on the wrong side of the law in "Dick Tracy"?
Paul Sorvino
Paul Sorvino plays Lips Manlis. In Chester Gould’s comic strip, Tracy eventually helped Manlis reform. He changed his name to “Bob Honor.”
Jerry Orbach
Sam Waterston
Chris Noth
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How does Big Boy kill Lips Manlis?
Gives him a "bath" in cement
Big Boy condemns Lips to “the bath,” meaning he will be smothered in cement, placed in a crate, and dumped in the bay.
Shoots him
Hangs him
Arranges a train accident
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What message does Flattop shot into the wall at the 7th Street Garage?
Drop Dead Tracy
Eat Lead Tracy
Flattop’s action is an homage to the animated "Dick Tracy Show" (1961), where bad guys often wrote messages on walls using Tommy guns.
Tough Luck Tracy
You're Next Tracy
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What clue does Tracy find at the 7th Street Garage?
prunes
rolled bank notes
gold-plated bullet casings
walnuts
Tracy finds walnuts, a favorite snack of Big Boy Caprice, who believes they are “good for the liver.”
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Who plays would-be head mob boss Big Boss Caprice?
Robert de Niro
Robert Duvall
Al Pacino
Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Big Boy, but lost to Pesci ("Goodfellas").
Joe Pesci
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What illegal business is Big Boy running at the Club Ritz?
gambling
Gambling was no doubt only part of Big Boy’s criminal enterprise. Chester Gould modeled the character of Big Boy after Al Capone.
bootlegging
gun-running
prostitution
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Who played femme fatale Breathless Mahoney?
Madonna
Romantically involved with Warren Beatty at the time, Madonna also released a "Dick Tracy"-related album entitled "I’m Breathless," now arguably best remembered for its closing track, ”Vogue.”
Cher
Cyndi Lauper
Sharon Stone
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Finish the quote: “If a woman don’t wear ____, she don’t wear nothin”?
pearls
mink
When Big Boy tells Breathless this opinion, she replies, “Well, I look good both ways.”
silk
diamonds
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To whom does Big Boy attribute the quote, “All’s fair in love and business”?
Benjamin Franklin
Big Boy misquotes many historic men during the movie.
Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Who plays 88 Keys, “the best piano player in town”?
Michael Crawford
Joel Grey
Colm Wilkinson
Mandy Patinkin
Patinkin played 88 Keys, who, in Gould’s comic strip, was the ruthless head of a mercenary killers’ gang.
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Which famous musical theater composer wrote the songs for the movie?
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Alan Menken
Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim is best known for such musicals as “A Little Night Music,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.” He won an Academy Award for the song “Sooner or Later” in "Dick Tracy."
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Which song does Big Boy rehearse with Breathless and chorus at the Club Ritz?
“Sooner or Later”
“Back in Business”
“More”
“More” quotes several classic songs of the era in its lyrics, such as Gershwin’s “I Got Plenty O’ Nothing” and “I Got Rhythm.”
“What Can You Lose”
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How does Breathless respond when Tracy asks her whether she grieves for Lips Manly?
“I’m crying on the inside.”
“Why cry over dead Lips?”
“I’m wearing black underwear.”
The line is one of several Breathless uses in a fruitless attempt to seduce Tracy.
“Time for tears later, Dick.”
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What has “The Kid” just stolen the first time Tracy and Tess meet him?
A watch
In the comic strip, "The Kid" eventually founded "The Crimestoppers' Club," became a police sketch artist and, in the strip's 1960s Space Age-inspired adventures, married a woman from the Moon!
A purse
The diner tip jar
A newspaper
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What have Tess and The Kid gone to get when they come back and find Breathless with Tracy?
evening newspaper
a suit for The Kid
ice cream
Breathless makes an eyebrow-raising innuendo comparing herself to peach ice cream: “Better eat it right away. It's starting to run a little.”
fresh lemonade
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After an attempted hit on him, Tess tells Tracy, “When you play in the street, it’s part of the game… Just don’t ask me to _____.”
play along
cheer you on
like it
Tess also tells Tracy, “If you weren't out in the street every night riskin' your neck, you could have a wife-- I mean, a life.”
stop caring
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What prompts The Kid to run away from Tracy’s apartment?
He overhears Tracy plan to take him to an orphanage
Itchy pretends to be a social worker come to take him away
Using a high-pitched voice, Itchy claims to be Mrs. Skaff from the welfare department.
He believes he is ruining Tracy and Tess’ romance
He wants to solve the mystery of The Blank’s identity
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How does The Kid earn his honorary detective certificate?
He rescues Tracy before the boiler in the basement explodes
The Kid is told his certificate can’t be permanent until he chooses a name. He settles, of course, on “Dick Tracy, Jr.”
He solves the mystery of The Blank’s identity
He finds evidence of Big Boy’s involvement in Lips’ death
He lures Flattop into a police sting operation
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All-around entertainer Dick Van Dyke played which role in "Dick Tracy"?
Pat Patton
District Attorney Fletcher
Positive reviews of Van Dyke in the role helped lead to his later TV series, "Diagnosis Murder."
Chief Brandon
Steve the Tramp
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Where does Tess Trueheart work?
Mike's diner
The City Library
The Club Ritz
A greenhouse
Tess is a horticulturist: “I have to get to the greenhouse, I have those new delphiniums coming in.”
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Which day is Dick Tracy’s day off?
Saturday
Sunday
When Tracy tells Breathless Sunday is his day off, she replies, “It’s a big world. It must be Sunday somewhere.”
Monday
Wednesday
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Who kidnaps Tess Trueheart?
Big Boy
Flattop
Pruneface
The Blank
The Blank kidnaps Tess in order to lure out Tracy, and frames Big Boy for the crime.
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For whose murder do The Blank and 88 Keys frame Tracy?
Chief Brandon
The Mayor
D.A. Fletcher
88 Keys has a letter in Tracy’s handwriting forged that draws Fletcher to the hotel where The Blank kills him.
Pat Patton
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Who secretly is “The Blank” (“No-Face”), Big Boy and Tracy’s faceless antagonist?
Pat Patton
Chief Brandon
Tess Trueheart
Breathless Mahoney
In the comic strip, “The Blank” was a man named Frank Redrum (“murder” spelled backwards).
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On what holiday does the film end?
Christmas Eve
New Year's Eve
In the film, Breathless dies just before midnight. In the comic strip, Tracy put “The Blank” behind bars on January 3, 1938.
Halloween
Fourth of July
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What does Tracy toss to Tess at the movie’s end?
A ring
He tosses Tess what the audience presumes is an engagement ring, but only after his stumbling proposal has been interrupted by the police’s call to action.
His two-way wrist radio
A rose
His iconic yellow fedora
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What famous crooner played the detective in the 1945 musical broadcast, "Dick Tracy in B-Flat"?
Bing Crosby
The cast also featured Bob Hope as Flattop and Dinah Shore as Tess.
Nat King Cole
Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra
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Which notable horror actor played Tracy’s antagonist in "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947)?
Lon Chaney
Vincent Price
Bela Lugosi
Boris Karloff
The film was the fourth and final Dick Tracy movie released by RKO. A character inspired by Gruesome entered the "Dick Tracy" comic strip in 2014.
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In 2014 the "Dick Tracy" comic strip crossed over with what other classic comic?
"Steve Canyon"
"The Shadow"
"Annie"
“Daddy” Warbucks hired Tracy to investigate the abduction of his adopted daughter in a storyline that tied up the "Annie" cliffhanger that had ended that strip four years previously.
"The Phantom"
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