Case Studies in Intellectual Property: Dick Tracy

[Kaodi]

Every time I start reading up on Dick Tracy I kinda come to the conclusion, "Actually, maybe I don't want this." I do not think I ever saw the 1990 movie, but I was a young kid then and I have to assume it indirectly had something to do with why I was a Dick Tracy fan at the time. Though to be fair every time I start reading up on Judge Dredd I am like, "Why the Hell would I want extradimensional infernal cops in my futuristic dystopia and yet I love Karl Urban's Dredd.
Also, it occurred to me last night that costume wise Dick Tracy and Carmen Sandiego have a bit of a Flash/Reverse Flash aesthetic and I wonder if you could go completely nuts and make some sort of crossover out of that.

 

[bostonmyk]

I'm sure I liked the movie when it was released, but I've never had the desire to rewatch it or get curious about a sequel. The WB part of the story is a mixed bag. Is he using his fame and fortune to preserve art or to shape it into his sole vision? Beats me

 

[Davies]

I'm sure I liked the movie when it was released, but I've never had the desire to rewatch it or get curious about a sequel. The WB part of the story is a mixed bag. Is he using his fame and fortune to preserve art or to shape it into his sole vision?

Yes.

Seriously, same thing said two different ways.

 

[Mannahnin]

I think The Shadow, The Phantom and the Rocketeer, heck, even Dick Tracy itself, had the good sense to keep their movies period pieces. Masked Mystery Men work better like this.

"The Shadow" was pretty good and didn't take itself too seriously. "Hey, that's the Yoo Ess of AA that you're talking about!" "The Rocketeer" was legitimately good. As you say, both were played as period pieces. I found "The Phantom" to be OK, but not the best of the Mystery Men genre. I put "Dick Tracy" along with "The Spirit" as the sort of film that took themselves far too seriously. "The Spirit" especially so, given the way that Frank Miller spoke in interviews. "I didn't want anyone to f&#* it up." And then he proceeded to do just that.

The Rocketeer was actually a modern (comic published 1982) pastiche of 1930s serials.

That's what I was going to point out. Writer/artist Dave Stevens invented him as a new homage to the pulp serials, perhaps not coincidentally, a year after Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. His big reference points were Republic serials King of the Rocket Men and Commando Cody , and Bettie Page, whom the hero's girlfriend was directly modeled on. Less so in the movie, which got shuffled from Touchstone to Disney and rated PG, so they cut more adult elements.

Still wound up a surprisingly good movie, despite a lot of ups and downs in production.

 

[Undrave]

That's what I was going to point out. Writer/artist Dave Stevens invented him as a new homage to the pulp serials, perhaps not coincidentally, a year after Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. His big reference points were Republic serials King of the Rocket Men and Commando Cody , and Bettie Page, whom the hero's girlfriend was directly modeled on. Less so in the movie, which got shuffled from Touchstone to Disney and rated PG, so they cut more adult elements.

Still wound up a surprisingly good movie, despite a lot of ups and downs in production.

I knew about the Rocketeer being recent, but it was still in the same mold. Just like Indiana Jones it works great as a between war period piece.

 

[Deset Gled]

I knew about the Rocketeer being recent, but it was still in the same mold. Just like Indiana Jones it works great as a between war period piece.

So, about the Rocketeer being recent... It came out 32 years ago, in 1991.

Coincidentally, Republic, who made the movies and serials that The Rocketeer is based off of, released it's last films in 1959. 32 years before the Rocketeer.

We are currently at a point of equidistant nostalgia.

 

[Mannahnin]

I knew about the Rocketeer being recent, but it was still in the same mold. Just like Indiana Jones it works great as a between war period piece.

Yeah, though in both cases they were new/modern inventions inspired by the old. I think despite drawing all that inspiration from older stuff, the fact that they were new creations impacted their accessibility. The writers were writing to the (early 80s) current audience, not trying to directly adapt an existing 1930s period property, story, or character.

I think that is a meaningful distinction between them and Tracy, The Shadow, The Phantom, and The Spirit, which may be an element of their greater success.

So, about the Rocketeer being recent... It came out 32 years ago, in 1991.

Coincidentally, Republic, who made the movies and serials that The Rocketeer is based off of, released it's last films in 1959. 32 years before the Rocketeer.

We are currently at a point of equidistant nostalgia.

Optionally shift ten years because the 1991 movie was an adaptation of the 1982 comic book. But an interesting observation.

 

[Undrave]

So, about the Rocketeer being recent... It came out 32 years ago, in 1991.

Recent at the time the movie adaptation came out.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So, about the Rocketeer being recent... It came out 32 years ago, in 1991.

Coincidentally, Republic, who made the movies and serials that The Rocketeer is based off of, released it's last films in 1959. 32 years before the Rocketeer.

We are currently at a point of equidistant nostalgia.

Not really a coincidence. The nostalgia cycle is 30-40 years. That's how long it takes for someone to go from enjoying something as a child to being in a position of power.

 

[ValamirCleaver]