Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 22, 2015

Orlock was no suicide. The Hangman strung him highTracy gathers up the facts, he’ll solve this by and by.Morgan Byrd he shared the word, gave Tracy a few factsGeorge as well had tales to tell, now less that Tracy lacks.Producer had been reticent, so shy in interviewTracy calls him in to chat, half-measures will not do.Later at the MCU, called in to meet the MayorArmstrong wields a heavy hand while in Chief Patton’s lair.Gives Tracy a role to play, the part not such a stretchHe shall play Boss Tracy, so the Hangman he might fetch.Tracy resists the assignment, no thespian is heBrutally frank, the Mayor pulls rank, thus Tracy must agree.Might this be his greatest role? Lights! Camera! Now bold action!Tracy knows this just might work, despite his gut reaction.Ace Tower Aftermath (Mysta After Midnight)

In the last panel, the Mayor tells Tracy, “WE want you on the set playing BOSS TRACY!” Looks to me like she’s a majority of one, as Pat Patton doesn’t seem quite as enthused!

This much we sorta saw coming.

.Good morning guys!.The last time DT was on stage, he was running from Johnny Nothing aka The Blank and hiding in a submarine and an airplane!

cpalmeresq mentioned,Good morning to you, VBR&C!Guess we can’t blame Tracy for his reluctance then, can we?-———————————————————————————-.G’morning cpalmeresq!.That was quite a night! I wonder if they ever removed the dead body from the stage!

Surely you don’t mean Vic Sage aka The Question?;>))

Oh-ho-ho!!! This curve ball did come not out of left field, but the Outer Limits of the Twilight Zone field.

And yet, a few people here actually guessed that this was going to happen a few days ago. I would never have thought it would. So much for Tracy keeping his distance from the production.

Good morning, DT fans!Dick playing his evil doppelganger…what irony! Wonder whose idea it was…

“Nothing like getting the “kitties” to chase the red dot !”That cleever remark dererves an LOL< Gweedo!

I’ve been waiting for someone else to suggest Ralph Conway take over the starring role as Tracy. After all, Morgan Byrd played the part already. Check your film records if you don’t understand my choice. I have all four movie serial and one feature. That’s your clue.

I never, ever trust Mayor Armstrong! She ain’t no Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy (gender aside)! But Dick Tracy as Boss Tracy? He might look the part (though I’m sure there will be critics who will say he doesn’t look enough like Tracy), and maybe if he hasn’t too many spoken lines he might sneak by the acting bar, but surely he will be distracted by the need to be alert for any appearance by The Hangman.Will surly Lloyd Newman go along with this mayoral gem (it clearly was not Pat Patton’s idea)?

Looks like Mr. Newman got some connection to Mayor Armstrong. I wonder what did he say to convince the mayor to personally get involve in this. I am starting to really believe that Mr Newman is a principal in all the deaths,

Thank you Pequod for this week’s recap

This reminds me of Ed Wood’s “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” Wood had filmed some scenes of Bela Lugosi but when Lugosi died, he hired his wife’s chiropractor to stand in for Lugosi. The problem was, Tom Mason, the chiropractor, did not resemble Lugosi whatsoever in either looks or body stature. Instead, the tall slim Mason simply held his cape over his face.

A similar thing happened when Shemp Howard died and the Stooges had several more films left on their contract. They hired another actor to stand in for Shemp and only filmed him from the back of the head. Ever since then, hiring a second actor to stand-in for the main actor who has died has been called, “using a fake Shemp.”

@Ray Toler

I was quite aware of the Stooges history, including the one show where all three Stooge brothers was on, at the same time (Moe, Shemp, and Jerome (Curley)) but the term I never heard of. Interesting!—A similar thing happened when Shemp Howard died and the Stooges had several more films left on their contract. They hired another actor to stand in for Shemp and only filmed him from the back of the head. Ever since then, hiring a second actor to stand-in for the main actor who has died has been called, “using a fake Shemp.”

@John KOh dear, I’m truly sorry to hear that. I do pray for a miracle, but also hope for your continued good health.

THAT was an unexpected little twist…and i also remember the last few times Tracy was involved with a movie or show that were rather harrowing at best…..-——————————————————————————————————-Thank you everyone for your responses…i am going to fight this thing, no matter what.

Thanks for your response yesterday. Yes, it’s horrible and dehumanizing to see racism in whatever form to be sanctioned and institutionalized by governments that should be working for the better of us all.

In 1990, when the Dick Tracy movie came out, Max Allan Collins did a story where Dick Tracy played himself in a movie about his life.

All of that going on and Liz is all like ‘But that’s none of my business’. :)

So, I’m wondering – is that Flattop and the Brow on the MCU screens, or the actors playing them? lol

We’ve been treated to a wide variety of locations since joining Tracy on the film set in the wake of Vic Smith’s murder: In the box with Sam and Newman, in the studio with Wendy, at the restored Patterson Playhouse, at George’s apartment in NYC with Gouldian décor touches, back at the MCU with two 2-panel looks at Orlock on film, and today in Patton’s office, where Armstrong strong-arms Detective Tracy into the role of Boss Tracy. She’s not bossy, she’s the boss. She struck a markedly different tone with Warbucks, who made possible the establishment of an endowment scholarship fund for the children of fallen officers. I appreciate the way Team Tracy takes us places. Good use of multiple locations, even as Tracy & co. gather facts.

Thanks to Night-Gaunt49, cpalmeresq, Willy007, Gweedo, Neil Wick, 22ph and Ray Toler for the kind words. Very much appreciated! Best wishes to you, John K.

Gweedo mentioned,Good morning, Vista B., riding on the hooves of thunder !-——————————————————————————-.Good afternoon Gweedo. “Thunder” is the name of my never used netbook!

Some of us had seen this one coming: Tracy will play his doppelganger, but much to Tracy’s chagrin.

I wonder if his voice will be a giveaway of his identity—his appearance won’t be the problem, but his voice, however……unless “Boss Tracy” speaks the same way Tracy does.

And will he go to it alone? Have Sam and Lizz join him to play their mirror roles?

Can you imagine a director telling Tracy “act like a bad guy!”

Gweedo inquired,Do you shoot dead horses, Bill ?-————————————————————————.I should! Thunder was a complete failure.

Gweedo suggested,Sounds like he needs to go to the dog food factory.-—————————————————————————-.Or the mattress yard.

Ah, I was waiting for this :)

Orlock was no suicide. The Hangman strung him high

Tracy gathers up the facts, he’ll solve this by and by.

Morgan Byrd he shared the word, gave Tracy a few facts

George as well had tales to tell, now less that Tracy lacks.

Producer had been reticent, so shy in interview

Tracy calls him in to chat, half-measures will not do.

Later at the MCU, called in to meet the Mayor

Armstrong wields a heavy hand while in Chief Patton’s lair.

Gives Tracy a role to play, the part not such a stretch

He shall play Boss Tracy, so the Hangman he might fetch.

Tracy resists the assignment, no thespian is he

Brutally frank, the Mayor pulls rank, thus Tracy must agree.

Might this be his greatest role? Lights! Camera! Now bold action!

Tracy knows this just might work, despite his gut reaction.