Dick Tracy
ABC; September, 1950 thru May, 1951
39 Episodes

The very first listing in Chicago for this show was on Wednesday, September 13, 1950.  It was listed without any fanfare on WENR-TV (ABC Television) in the 7:30 - 8:00 time slot.  Curiously though on the last page of COLUMN ONE of TV Forecast for that week we had the following notice: "...Watch for an exclusive interview TV Forecast has just landed with Sparkle Plenty of Dick Tracy's cartoon strip."

First Series

THE BRAIN  Part 1
The Brain and his accomplices have masterminded a series of crimes whereby they short-circuit the city’s burglar alarm system and confuse the police by setting off false alarms all over the city. The Brain and Mrs. Volts, plan a raid on a gambling club and posing as B.R.Ayne, a stock broker, the Brain lures Diet Smith to the club.    Lyle Talbot as The Brain.

THE BRAIN  Part 2
Dick sets out to arrest an ex-convict known to be involved with the criminal master-mind. A man tries to cash Diet Smith’s check.

THE BRAIN  Part 3
The Brain plans to have his mob hi-jack a box car of woolens <sic> and sends Choo-choo Lawless to plant a time bomb on the axle of the car. and/or  Choo-choo Lawless is sent to plant a time bomb on a train the Brain plans to hijack.

THE BRAIN  Part 4
Choo-choo and the Angel are both in jail and the Brain fears they may decide to expose his part in the recent crime wave.

THE BRAIN  Part 5
While listening to a short wave radio Tracy overhears the Brain and Mrs. Volts discuss killing him by means of an explosive gas device. and/or  The Brain attempts to kill Tracy by an ingenious bomb set to explode when the telephone rings.
Cast: Christine Larson, John Damler, Dick Alexander, Frank Jenks
Director: Willard Shelton;  Writer: P.K. Palmer;   Producer: P.K. Palmer

Dick Tracy and THE STOLEN EMERALDS
Diet Smith’s emerald is stolen by Blowtop. Breathless Mahoney hires a fence by the name of Pickets to handle the hot Emerald.
Cast: Carroll Dennison as Breathless, Byron Foulger, Nestor Paiva

BREATHLESS MAHONEY 
Con and Turk are pursued by Tracy.

THE MISSING BONDS
Picket the fence conspires with Shoulders and Breathless Mahoney. Dr. Weasel works on Shoulders gunshot wound.
Shoulders: Dennis Moore; Gadget: Elisha Cook

THE MOLE  Part 1
The Mole slips Tracy a mickey while he is waiting to meet with Diet Smith in the Mole’s restaurant. The Mole disguises himself in order to kill Joker.

THE MOLE  Part 2
Wheels is sprung to help the Mole get started with his counterfeiting plans, but hatches a scheme of his own to double cross the Mole. He gets unexpected help from Joker. The Mole: Raymond Hatton;  Fluff: Lois Collier;  Murphy: Dick Elliott;  Joker: William Tracy;  J. Blackstone Springum: John Harmon; Mountain: Frank Hagney; Pawn: Jack Clifford; Z.V. Wheels: Don Brodie. Directed by: B. Reeves Eason

THE MOLE  Part 3
Tracy fills the underground tunnels of the Mole with gas in order to flush him out. Written by P.K. Palmer

The Payroll Robbery
Coffeehead is responsible for a rash of bank robberies. Tracy and Sam Catchem pose as bank officers in order to capture Coffee Head.
Tom Tyler as Coffeehead

SWAMI
Sam Catchem is rigged up to an ingenious booby trap by Swami.
(Shown in Dick Tracy promo, but does this episode exist?)

FLATTOP   Part 1
Flattop is hired by crime kingpin Namgib to kill Dick Tracy for $10,000

FLATTOP  Part 2 (coded: TF2)
Dick Tracy is kidnapped from his home by Flattop, who decides to hold out for $50,000.   John Cliff as Flattop. George Pembroke as Namgib. Mote: Pedro Regas; Dixon: Richard Reeves; Timmy: Danny Welton;  Jenk: Frank Stanlow.    Director: B. Reaves Eason Writer/Producer: P.K. Palmer

HI-JACK
A set of die making tools used to stamp serial numbers in automobile engines is to be sold to Hi Jack by Rough. Hi Jack take takes the tools and Rough as a prisoner. Mike Ragan as Hijack, Riley Hill.
Director: Willard Sheldon;   Writer: P.K.Palmer

THE FOREIGN AGENTS  Part 1 (coded: TML1)
While Tracy and Professor Minds are busy catching a foreign agent named Karl Kirk after stealing Z-93 from the Professors laboratory, a janitor named Memory Long successfully steals the mineral and turns it over to Influence. Tracy is taken to meet the leader of the Foreign agents.
CAST:  William Gerstle as Influence; Memory Long; Richard Reeves; Karl Kirk:Henry Rowland;   B.Lough Mines: Leslie O'Pace.
Director: Thomas Carr Writer: William Lively

THE FOREIGN AGENTS  Part 2
Tracy sends Sam to check out Memory Long. Influence kills Professor Mines while trying to steal the formula that shows how to use the Z-92 mineral.  
CAST: William Gerstle as Influence; Memory Long: Richard Reeves;  Karl Kirk:Henry Rowland;  B.Lough Mines: Leslie O'Pace.
Director: Thomas Carr Writer: William Lively

Second Series

B. B. EYES  Part 1 (coded: T.E.1)
After Carrie Cash (a wealthy widow who has invested $10,000 in Vitamin Flinthearts acting school) gets suspicious and calls the police, B.B. Eyes arranges a scenario wherein Vitamin thinks he has killer her.

B. B. EYES  Part 2
Two of B.B. Eyes henchmen (Twister and Knuckles) are suppose to wrest a murder confession from Vitamin. Tracy is suspicious of B.B. Eyes story that Flintheart slugged him and escaped.
CAST: Richard Kean as B.B. Ize; Isabel Randolph as Mrs. Carrie Cash; Wyott Ordung.              Director: Charles Haas Writer: Robert Leslie Bellum

B.O. PLENTY’S FOLLY
B.O. Plenty buys a birthday gift for his wife. and/or/maybe Dick Tracy solves a series of baffling art museum robberies.
CAST:  Si Jenks as B.O. Plenty, Almira Sessions as Gravel Gertie.  Skelton Knaggs, Karl Davis.        Director: Nate Watt, Writer: Edmund Kelso

DICK TRACY AND THE BROW
Dick investigates a $250,000 radium theft and saves Sam Catchem, who is being framed for murder.
CAST: Norman Rice as The Brow. Margia Dean, William Bakewell, Isabel Randolph.         Director: Nate Watt;   Witers: Robert Leslie Bellum, William Lively

JUNIOR AND THE SAPPHIRE MYSTERY
A pawnbroker mistakenly sells Dick a genuine sapphire instead of an imitation. and/or    Tracy stumbles on a jewel smuggling racket.
CAST: George Pembroke, Percy Helton.
Director: Nate Watt Writers: Robert Leslie Bellum, Todhunter Ballard.

DICK TRACY AND PRUNE FACE   Part 1
Dr. Cutter, head of Gem Research Laboratory, has been using his laboratory as a front for his activities as a fence in stolen gems. and/or  Prune Face is out to steal a formula for making synthetic diamonds.

DICK TRACY AND PRUCE FACE  Part 2
With his prisoner, Prune Face and Soup await Tracy’s arrival at their hideout. and/or   Dick Tracy narrowly misses death when he is caught in an electrical spark gap in Dr. Cutterís laboratory.
CAST: Alan Keyes as Pruneface; Margia Dean, Gene Roth, Hans Schumm, Bruce Edwards.
Director: Thomas Carr, Writers: William Lively, Robert Leslie Bellum.

PRUNE FACE RETURNS   Part 1
Prune Face attempts to take over the stolen jewelry rackets.

PRUNE FACE RETURNS  Part 2
Dick almost falls into another trap set by Prune Face.
CAST: Alan Keyes as Pruneface; Margia Dean, Gene Roth, Bruce Edwards:
Director: Thomas Carr;   Writers: William Lively, Dwight Babcock

HEELS BEALS  (coded: T.H.)
Heels Beals is using an antique furniture refinishing shop as a front to rob the rich patrons of the shop.
CAST: William Benedict as Heels Beals;  Hefty: Karl Davis;  Mrs. Varnish: Isabel Randolph.
Director: Thomas Carr Writer: Don Brinkley. Produced by P.K. Palmer.

TESS AND THE SMUGGLERS
Tess Tracy is framed with a jewel smuggling charge in an attempt to discredit Dick. and/or  Smugglers plant some Sapphires in Tess’ luggage in an effort to keep Dick Tracy from testifying at a forthcoming trial.
CAST: Don Harvey, George Pembroke
Director: Nate Watt;  Writer: Todhunter Ballard.

TRACY IS MISSING
Dick is locked in a trunk which is to be fumigated with cyanide gas.
CAST: Don Harvey, Frank Jaquet.
Director: Thomas Carr;   Writers: Todhunter Ballard, Robert Leslie Bellum

THE BROW RETURNS
A brilliant criminal plants one of his men on the police force with instructions to get Dick Tracy in trouble.
CAST: Norman Rice as the Brow; Hugh Sanders, Margia Dean.
Director: Nate Watt;   Writer: William Lively

SHAKEY’S SECRET TREASURE   (coded: T.S.T.)
 Shaky sends Buck to search an apartment for Blow Tops map that will help them to find the $100,000 stolen from the Malcolm City Bank.
CAST: Dabbs Greer as Shakey;  Cherry Yates: Lois Hall;  Dick Reeves: Buck: Dick Reeves;   Barksdale: Stephen Carr.
Director: Thomas Carr;   Writer: Roy Hamilton;   Produced by P.K. Palmer.

THE MOSQUITO MURDERS
Dick Tracy faces death from mosquito’s infected with a rare tropical disease as part of a scheme to steel the formula for tripling the power of gasoline.
CAST: Lyle Talbot as 88 Keyes, Percy Helton.
Director: Thomas Carr;   Writers: Dwight Babcock, Robert Leslie Bellum.

THE EGYPTIAN MUMMY CASE
Dick Tracy hides in an Egyptian mummy case in order to trap museum thieves. and/or  Tracy goes after some thieves who are using a museum as their headquarters but faces death when the mummy case in which he’s hiding is about to be thrown into an incinerator.       CAST: Charles Evans, Noel Cravat
Director: Duke Goldstone Writers: Fritz Blocki, Robert Leslie Bellum

DICK TRACY MEETS THE SHARK
Dick foils a daring plot to defraud an insurance company and encounters a Countess and a notorious swindler. and/or  Tracy and Catchem investigate the disappearance of a wharf guard and come against a master waterfront criminal known as The Shark.   CAST: Dabbs Greer as the Shark; Monica Keating. Director: Duke Goldstone Writer: Robert Leslie Bellum

THE GHOST OF GRAVEL GERTIE
Gravel Gertie is tricked into taking part in a phony séance after quarreling with her husband B.O.Plenty, but winds up helping Tracy save a wealthy woman’s fortune. CAST: Almira Sessions as Gravel Gertie, Si Jenks as B.O. Plenty, Frank DeKova
Director: Nate Watt, Writers: Edmund Kelso, Robert Leslie Bellum

DICK TRACY AND BIG FROST
Tracy comes to grips with Big Frost, a criminal responsible for the sale of poisoned alcohol that has caused a number of deaths.
CAST: Lyle Talbot as Big Frost, Phil Van Zandt.
Director: Thomas Carr Writers: Milton Raison, Robert Leslie Bellum

DICK TRACY AND THE TEEN MOB
No information is available.    (does this exist?)

THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DOLLARS
Tracy tries to foil the heir of one of the members of a land holding syndicate, who has worked out an ingenious scheme to murder all of the partners.
CAST: George Eldredge, Leonard Penn, John Doucette
Director: Duke Goldstone;   Writers: Todhunter Ballard, Robert Leslie Bellum

*Please note: There seems to have been two different groups of episodes made within a year of each other. The first group had a very plain opening showing Tracy coming out of a back alley firing his pistol. The second group of episodes had an excellent theme music opening, and showed a drawing of Tracy’s head in profile which is then merged with the head of Ralph Byrd.

*My sincere thanks to longtime friend and fellow hobbyist, Boyd Magers for sending me copies of his files on the Dick Tracy television series. Many of the above Dick Tracy half hour episodes are available from his company, Video West, 1312 Stagecoach Road, S.E., Albuquerque, NM 87123