Dick Tracy 1990 Disney/Playmates toys

Any movie released in the summer of 1990 would have had to try and match the mammoth success of the previous years "Batman" and Dick Tracy (another 30's era comic book character) seemed like the perfect candidate for the task. Though Dick Tracy isn't quite the household name Batman is the original comic strips were some of the most popular of their time featuring a collection of kooky bad guys Batman would be proud to add to his own rouges gallery! In order to insure Tracy was a hit Disney ploughed almost as much as it cost to make the movie into the promoting of it  in what was at the time one of the biggest advertising and merchandising  campaigns  in movie history! When tallied up with the overall budget and compared to the movies box office takings made for a slightly disappointing gross despite a decent performance in cinemas and generally favourable reviews. In the end Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy is still one of the most visually impressive and colourful comic book movie adaptations ever produced and though often overlooked in favour of some of the more recent big screen offerings DT is possibly one of the most faithful and unique entries in the genre.  


Its a similar story when it comes to the action figure line produced by Playmates, the toy company best known for their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, who designed the Dick Tracy figures in that familiar TMNT style bringing the movie designs and the original Comic strip artwork together in a single figure!
14 figures were produced in total but only 13 of those were widely released with the 14th figure based on the mysterious "The Blank" held back as it was packaged with a removable mask revealing his secret identity which therefore would spoil a much guarded and highly teased twist for cinema goers! By the time the figure was due for release the toy sales had plummeted and so the figure only saw a very limited run in Canada when it was finally released and as a  result "The Blank" is now one of the most highly sought after and rare action figures ever produced! 
Here we will look in detail at some of the figures available from the line:    

Dick Tracy: Very much the "straight man" in a world of bizarre and grotesque villains, Tracy will do anything to bring these slimy scum bags to justice! Adorned with a bright yellow overcoat and fedora Tracy has his own brand of policing and he will risk everything to bring down the evil crime boss Big Boy and his gang even his own reputation!  

Playmates were still fairly new on the block when they released these Dick Tracy figures and as such felt the need to keep these figures in line with what they had already produced, namely the iconic TMNT series, which explains why the figures appear dwarfish in stature with large heads and in squat positions! but like those earlier Ninja Turtles figures DT features some nice detailing bright colour schemes and bold expressions that perfectly show off some of the great character make up designs from the movie. Tracy here is more "normal" looking perhaps than the others yet doesn't quite look the spit of Warren Beatty who played him in the movie still it is recognisably DT even if the figure isn't supplied with the iconic yellow trench coat!

Big Boy: Power mad Big Boy Caprice dreams of a world without Dick Tracy around to meddle in his affairs! After having successfully pocketed all of the crime bosses in town and with the D.A on his payroll Big Boy is almost untouchable if not for copper Tracy breathing down his neck and the mysterious face-less crook "The Blank" stirring up trouble!

The award winning make up job for the Dick Tracy movie still stands out as one of the best and most creative in the prosthetic make up field all of which make for interesting and quirky action figures! Al Pacino goes full OTT in his portrayal of Big Boy giving Jack Nicholson's Joker a run for his money and even earning an Oscar nomination for his efforts!and despite being buried under all of that glorious make up Pacino still shines right through as perfectly captured in this playmates figure which comes with a Gun/Holster and money bag accessories!  

Flattop: Big Boy's right hand man Flat Top is as loyal a henchman as they come and as a result does most of his boss's dirty work! He along with Itchy even manages to get one over on Dick Tracy on numerous occasions. In the comic book Flattop is one of the most frequent adversaries and one of the best liked amongst fans!

Flattop is easily one of the most recognisable Dick Tracy villains and his look in both the movie and the action figure is consistent to the numerous other incarnations of the character I'd say his look here however leans slightly closer  to the comic book incarnation as opposed to the film  version he even has a different attire here than what he wears on screen (which was inspired by early production photos) Flattop comes with A Tommy Gun and Bullet cartridge holster along with a unique accessory which appears to be a noose!

Pruneface: Along with Lips Manlis Pruneface is one of the city's most prolific and powerful mob bosses! After Big Boy eliminates former boss Lips and takes over his empire he presents an unrefusable offer to all of the Mob Bosses in Town: combine forces or face the same fate as Lips! Though Pruneface finds himself in a somewhat uneasy alliance he and Big Boy are ultimately united in their hate for Dick Tracy!

Prune Face stands out as one of the most gruesome looking figures in the bunch incredibly even more so  than he appears in the movie! he comes with a dynamite plunger and Tommy Gun/Bullet holster accessories!

Itchy: Another member of Big Boy's Gangster entourage Itchy works closely with Flattop assisting in the various crimes set out by their boss! Cackling and wise-cracking his way through various criminal activity's until the final show down with Dick Tracy sees Itchy scratched out!  

Itchy here bares a strong likenesses to his on screen counterpart and even has some extra details to emphasise his name sake (IE the scratch marks on his arms) He comes with a lead pipe ready to put the frighteners on some poor old store owner who isn't quick enough with Big Boys cut of the profits!

Influence: One of Pruneface's  main henchmen Influence joins Big Boy's ranks along with his former boss when all of the city's mob are brought together in a bid to finally take total control!

Influence is featured sparingly throughout the movie itself despite being a pretty popular character in the comic books and even appearing in some of the early black and white serials of the 40's! this figure does a decent job in capturing the characters likeness and even gives him a touch more personality by adding various little sculpted details on his suit such as a spider and syringe!  

Mumbles: Having worked closely with Big Boy Caprice during the time they worked for Lips Manlis Mumbles quickly joined Big Boy's ranks after the murder of Lips and the take over his night club! Though Mumbles loyalty was eventually tested when he was arrested and integrated by Tracy!

This is one of the nicest looking figures in the line and, though it might not be readily apparent at first glance, there is certainly more than a hint of Dustin Hoffman (who played the role) in the face sculpt! 

Shoulders: Bruiser and enforcer to boss Lip's Manlis Shoulders find himself at the wrong end of a Tommy gun when Flattop and itchy turn up uninvited during a  game of poker where fellow gang members Rhodent, Little face and The Brow are also taken out as part of Big Boy's take over from Lip's!

 Shoulders appearance in the movie is very brief to say the least though he is featured heavily throughout the original comic book run. This figure does a nice job at capturing the more subtle makeup design work done on shoulders I feel, though the accessories are pretty much as the same as several other gangster figures in the line but seeing as his screen time is so limited it is just nice to have a figure based on him at all!

Sam Catchem: The only other "Copper" in this line is Tracy's most trusted and loyal fellow detective Sam Catchem who even after Tracy is Framed for murder by the mysterious "man without a face" stands by his fellow officer of the law!

Sam has some really nice sculpted details on his shirt with a camera and police badge visible though throughout the film he is usually seen with his orangery/Brown overcoat  here however he has a more relaxed appearance with his loosened tie and rolled up sleeves and comes armed with a Gun/Holster and Baton similar to Dick Tracy.The face sculpt is also very nice capturing his on screen likeness rather well as well as adding some extra details such as the bullet hole's on his hat!

Steve The Tramp: The only Bad Guy in the line who isn't a part of either Lips, Big Boy or Pruneface's organisations! Steve is the Fagan like street tramp who uses orphaned children to do his bidding within the petty crime circuit but a brief encounter with dick Tracy soon puts an end to his

Steve The Tramp is probably the best figure in the whole set despite only appearing on screen for mere seconds, the figure was hugely controversial on his initial release causing the figure to be pulled from store shelves prematurely due to complaints of insensitivity towards homeless people. Of course the bio on the back of the packaging didn't help matters describing Steve as an "ignorant Bum" who would "use and abuse any young, helpless prey" (the full Bio card can be viewed bellow) Steve also came with three accessories A Trash Can Lid, Knife and Plank of Wood, apparently the weapons of choice for a homeless thug! The figure is very nicely detailed and brightly coloured and what's more if you don't much care for Dick Tracy he will fit in perfectly with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of figures!     

Each figure came with a short comic book story drawn in the style of the movie to give you a flavour of the character!

each figure came with a cut out and keep Bio card designed to look like a police file on that particular villain.

Finally we have the full list of figures that were available including the extremely rare "The Blank"!

These figures, as with the Movie itself, are hugely underrated in my opinion and the stick these toys get for being "ugly" is largely misguided. Fans of Playmates TMNT and Toxic Crusaders lines will find much to love in the Dick Tracy series of figures which are very collectable and quirky if nothing else. The highlights of the series are most certainly some of the more bizarre looking characters including the elusive "The Tramp" and the extremely Rare "The Blank" figures! With good general likenesses that lean more towards the comic book iterations and a decent selection of accessories despite some repetition these figures are a whole lot of fun!


Also available in the line:


-Dick Tracy
-Big Boy
-The Brow
-Rodent
-Pruneface
-Shoulders
-Flattop
-Itchy
-Lips Manlis
-Influence
-Mumbles
-Sam Catchem
-Steve The Tramp
-The Blank


Vehicles:


-Big Boys getaway Car
-Police Squad Car