Dick Tracy [#1] (detective, starring Ralph Byrd)
(ABC Primetime, 1950 - 1951;
Syndicated, 1952)
[Chester Gould's long-running syndicated newspaper comic strip
about a detective hero with an improbably square jaw had been
part of American pop culture since its debut in October, 1931;
The colorfully wicked villains had names that kids would enjoy
like "Pruneface", "Mumbles", "Flattop", Splitface", "Gruesome",
etc. No doubt many playground insults derived from these names;
The first name given the detective was "Plainclothes Tracy",
but the 1930s slang term for police detectives was "Dick",
so Gould changed it to "Dick Tracy" and that was the name
which stuck...
A hit radio series quickly followed aimed at a juvenile
audience; it bounced around four radio networks -- on NBC,
CBS, Mutual and ABC -- from 1934 to 1948; It's sponsor was
the "Tootsie Roll" candy company, so the THEME song for
this macho detective show was the improbable choice of
the Al Jolson novelty "Toot-Toot, Tootsie (Goo Bye)";
A couple of different series of motion pictures were made to
bring to life the character during the 1930s and 1940s, the
last of which was produced by RKO beginning in 1945; This
version starred Ralph Byrd, a character actor who became
identified permanently with the lead role;
In 1950, a very low-budget version was attempted on TV...
which was light on action (since it was in studio mostly it
showed talking heads and was more in the "Dragnet" genre but
without the fast pace...so it bombed) ABC television aired
this version in which Ralph Byrd again played Tracy; it only
lasted one season...but this wasn't the end just yet...
Another filmed series of 39 episodes was made for television
syndication by United Television Productions (UTP.) It had
an untimely end, due to the death of Ralph Byrd in 1952;
This syndicated production was the one most people remember,
since it actually was around a few years longer than the
ABC network live show...and had better production values;
A cartoon version was made by UPA in 1961, which see;
A 1967 made-for-TV movie tried to bring back Tracy in the
style of the 1960s campy "Batman" show...but it failed to
lead to a series...
In 1990, Warren Beatty directed and starred in a stylized
motion picture version which won awards for its imaginative
costumes and art direction]
Theme 1 (ABC, 1950 - 1951): "Dick Tracy Versus
Cueball (Main Title)"
[This was a motion picture THEME from the 1946 RKO film which
was also re-cycled for the low-budget television series;
aka: "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947 film);
aka: "Dick Tracy Meets Karloff" (1947 film alternate title)]
Composers: Paul Sawtell (ASCAP) and
Roy Webb (ASCAP)
Original Publisher: The Bourne Co. (ASCAP)
2001 Publisher: Bourne Company (ASCAP)
of New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
Open Theme 2 (Syndicated, 1952): "Dramatic
Main Title"
[Above is the title as listed in the BMI database;
This was one of the best known stock Main Title THEMEs from
the MUTEL (Music For Television) Music Service library; it
had also been used as the last THEME for the radio series
"Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"; and when MUTEL sub-licensed
the library to Capitol Special Products in the early
1950s, it showed up as the first THEME in the Capitol "Q"
Series library as well...so many other local uses were
made of it...since MUTEL often hired composers to adapt
earlier film cues and "change a few notes" before re-
recording them in France, it is not known which motion
picture Main Title this was taken from...
aka: "Theme No. 1 -- Long Version (Dramatic)"]
Composer: Joseph ("Joe") Mullendore (ASCAP/BMI)
Original Publisher: Byron Music Co. (BMI)
2001 Publisher: Byron Music Company (BMI)
of Beverly Hills, CA
2018 Publisher: David Chudnow d/b/a
Byron Music Company (BMI)
of Soquel, CA
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
in the "MUTEL" (Music For Television) library,
and 78 rpm reference disks in the Capitol "Q" Series library.
Q- 1:1 THEME NO. 1 - OPENING (Dramatic-Full) (0:51)
Q- 1:2 THEME NO. 1 - CLOSING (Dramatic-Full) (0:20)
Q-12:1 THEME NO. 1 - Long Version (Dramatic-Full) (1:07)
Close Theme 3 (Syndicated, 1952):
"Dramatic End Title"
[Above is the title as listed in the BMI database;
Musically this did not have much in common with the Opening
Main Title, but it did wrap it up; and for closing credits
the Main Title was reprised]
Composer: Joseph ("Joe") Mullendore (ASCAP/BMI)
Original Publisher: Byron Music Co. (BMI)
2001 Publisher: Byron Music Company (BMI)
of Beverly Hills, CA
2018 Publisher: David Chudnow d/b/a
Byron Music Company (BMI)
of Soquel, CA
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
in the "MUTEL" (Music For Television) library,
and 78 rpm reference disks in the Capitol "Q" Series library.
Q- 1:1 THEME NO. 1 - OPENING (Dramatic-Full) (0:51)
Q- 1:2 THEME NO. 1 - CLOSING (Dramatic-Full) (0:20)
Q-12:1 THEME NO. 1 - Long Version (Dramatic-Full) (1:07)
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