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Quiz about Dick Tracy 1937
Quiz about Dick Tracy 1937

"Dick Tracy": 1937 Trivia Quiz


Secret gangs, insurance scams, and spoiled playboys are the themes Chester Gould explores during 1937. Hope you have fun with the quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by knto. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
knto
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
355,413
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
122
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Question 1 of 10
1. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, the Purple Cross Gang begins terrorizing the city. While committing their crimes, they wear a black hood with a cross cut out between their eyes. During interrogation of one member, Tracy notices they also have a purple cross tattoo. Where is the tattoo located? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. After several members of the Purple Cross Gang are killed or taken into custody in the "Dick Tracy" comic, their leader, who is only shown in his hood, comes up with a new idea. They are to rent four very fast cars, take separate routes to a Midwest city, rob the bank and return by four different routes. They also buy a special outfit for the crime. What are they dressed as? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy", the four remaining members of the Purple Cross Gang do the unthinkable. They demand an equal cut of the money from their leader. Naturally, this infuriates the leader, and he later sets up an appointment with them for their next crime. Three of the four remaining members show up at their garage, only to be gunned down by their leader with tommy guns. What famous gangland rub-out did Chester Gould borrow this outcome from? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Baldy Stark leaves town and gets an honest job in "Dick Tracy". He is found not only by Tracy, but by the leader of the Purple Cross Gang as well. As Tracy and Patton listen through their 'magnifying ear phones', the Purple Cross leader enters Stark's room and prepares to eliminate him. Baldy Stark turns the light off in the room, and the comic strip spends several panels in total darkness. While maneuvering silently in the dark room, one of the men bumps into something which creates a sudden light. The other man, seeing the silhouette, shoots him. What did the man bump that made the light? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In late spring of 1937, Dick Tracy becomes involved with three female perfume thieves. With the help of Junior, they and their buyer are apprehended. Just as the arrest is made, a rich young playboy named Johnny Mintworth comes calling on his girlfriend Marge Denton, one of the thieves. After acting very suspicious for several weeks, Mintworth reveals that he is being blackmailed. Who is this dog of a blackmailer? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Marge Denton is fed up with prison. She writes a letter to Johnny Mintworth, telling him to go see Nikki Carr. Together, Mintworth and Carr use electrical tape and completely tape up several guns. They are caught outside the womens prison on top of a rail car by police. What was in the car they were arrested on? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In the "Dick Tracy" comic, Johnny Mintworth is arrested but jumps out a window and runs away with no money and no place to go. After a few days, he is recognized by two men in a bar, friends of Danny Supeena. Supeena gets Mintworth to sign an insurance policy using the name of Bill Botts. His arm is then broken by Supeena and his pals using a weight dropped onto it from the ceiling. What crime is being carried out? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In the "Dick Tracy" comic, Johnny Mintworth's mother, Ella, is found dead in her mansion. Tracy's investigation reveals nothing out of the ordinary except a questionnaire on the shopping habits of women sealed and ready to mail. Always suspicious, what does Tracy guess killed Mrs. Mintworth? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Junior Tracy and Tess Trueheart go to the beach in the "Dick Tracy" comic strip. At the edge of the water they see a man drowning, held against his will by three men. Junior recognizes Johnny Mintworth as the drowning man. What is the next scam Supeena is planning? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Managing to escape the Supeena gang during his fake drowning, Johnny Mintworth gives himself up. Mintworth now knows Supeena has killed his mother and volunteers to help Dick Tracy catch the killer. Dressing as Supeena's girlfriend, Mable Marmer, he sets up a meeting in a theater. Supeena realizes the set up and kills Mintworth in the crowded theater, then taking refuge in the projection room. The crowd is gone and the theater dark. Tracy decides to use something not well known by the public to surprise Supeena in the dark. What did he use? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, the Purple Cross Gang begins terrorizing the city. While committing their crimes, they wear a black hood with a cross cut out between their eyes. During interrogation of one member, Tracy notices they also have a purple cross tattoo. Where is the tattoo located?

Answer: Their tongue

Dick Tracy traces the buyer of the tattoo ink to Maylie, a humpbacked Chinese man. Although not the leader of the gang, this gives Tracy clues to explore.
'Shirtsleeve' Kelton enters the strip, posing as an informant. However his information is always wrong, taking the police to a different place than where the crime is being committed.
2. After several members of the Purple Cross Gang are killed or taken into custody in the "Dick Tracy" comic, their leader, who is only shown in his hood, comes up with a new idea. They are to rent four very fast cars, take separate routes to a Midwest city, rob the bank and return by four different routes. They also buy a special outfit for the crime. What are they dressed as?

Answer: Chauffeurs

Who would suspect a speeding car driven by a chauffeur? Jim Trailer is also investigating the gang and is flogged, beaten, and has his feet burned before being rescued by Tracy. Pat Patton is also knocked out in a separate investigation of the gang, and left for dead in a refrigerated truck, barely alive.

These are not people to get involved with. Although never openly stated in the "Dick Tracy" strip, Tracy's home city is Chicago. One of the maps the gang had for the first bank robbery showed four different routes from north east Illinois, converging on what appears to be Springfield, Missouri.
3. In Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy", the four remaining members of the Purple Cross Gang do the unthinkable. They demand an equal cut of the money from their leader. Naturally, this infuriates the leader, and he later sets up an appointment with them for their next crime. Three of the four remaining members show up at their garage, only to be gunned down by their leader with tommy guns. What famous gangland rub-out did Chester Gould borrow this outcome from?

Answer: St. Valentines Day massacre

He also had the leader using a police tommy gun to do the rub-out.
Baldy Stark was late to the meeting because he was with his young daughter. He was trying to get out of the gang, and now the leader was on his tail to eliminate him.
4. Baldy Stark leaves town and gets an honest job in "Dick Tracy". He is found not only by Tracy, but by the leader of the Purple Cross Gang as well. As Tracy and Patton listen through their 'magnifying ear phones', the Purple Cross leader enters Stark's room and prepares to eliminate him. Baldy Stark turns the light off in the room, and the comic strip spends several panels in total darkness. While maneuvering silently in the dark room, one of the men bumps into something which creates a sudden light. The other man, seeing the silhouette, shoots him. What did the man bump that made the light?

Answer: The refrigerator door

Baldy Stark shot the leader of the gang, and Tracy and Patton burst into the room seconds later. Removing the hood reveals the leader to be 'Shirtsleeve' Kelton. Tracy stands up for Stark in the courtroom, and instead of getting 'the chair', he gets twenty years. He now has hope that he can reunite with his daughter someday.
5. In late spring of 1937, Dick Tracy becomes involved with three female perfume thieves. With the help of Junior, they and their buyer are apprehended. Just as the arrest is made, a rich young playboy named Johnny Mintworth comes calling on his girlfriend Marge Denton, one of the thieves. After acting very suspicious for several weeks, Mintworth reveals that he is being blackmailed. Who is this dog of a blackmailer?

Answer: Collie Vinsso

After some investigative work, Vinsso is easily taken into custody. Tracy found that the picture Vinsso was using for blackmail was a fake and got the photographer to admit doctoring it. In the case of Johnny Mintworth, 'rich playboy' could be substituted with spoiled brat. Chester Gould didn't mind rich people-as long as they had worked to get their money. Frequently he used wealthy spoiled children to show the need for parental guidance in their lives.

In the earlier episode of Jimmy White, Jimmy blamed his father for never being home when he needed him as he was always out making money.

In the case of Johnny Mintworth, his father is dead and he still lives at home with his overly protective mother.
6. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Marge Denton is fed up with prison. She writes a letter to Johnny Mintworth, telling him to go see Nikki Carr. Together, Mintworth and Carr use electrical tape and completely tape up several guns. They are caught outside the womens prison on top of a rail car by police. What was in the car they were arrested on?

Answer: Coal

Tracy suspects something is up, and watches the coal room in the prison. He finds Marge Denton going through the coal, tossing out the tape covered pistols. Mintworth and Carr are held in jail.
Mintworth stupidly goes along with the scheme, never realizing what is transpiring. He has either led a very sheltered life, or is just plain dumb.
7. In the "Dick Tracy" comic, Johnny Mintworth is arrested but jumps out a window and runs away with no money and no place to go. After a few days, he is recognized by two men in a bar, friends of Danny Supeena. Supeena gets Mintworth to sign an insurance policy using the name of Bill Botts. His arm is then broken by Supeena and his pals using a weight dropped onto it from the ceiling. What crime is being carried out?

Answer: Insurance fraud

Supeena has several clients, many of whom have broken arms. All are attributed to a car backfiring while being started. (Keep in mind this is 1937 and many cars still had crank starters.)
Tracy is called by the insurance company and proves many of the breaks are false claims as the bones have been broken from the opposite side the crank would have hit.
8. In the "Dick Tracy" comic, Johnny Mintworth's mother, Ella, is found dead in her mansion. Tracy's investigation reveals nothing out of the ordinary except a questionnaire on the shopping habits of women sealed and ready to mail. Always suspicious, what does Tracy guess killed Mrs. Mintworth?

Answer: Poison

Sampling the glue on the return envelope revealed mercuric cyanide, a deadly poison. Now the investigation turns to murder, with Danny Supeena the main suspect.
Johnny knows nothing of his mothers death as he is being held against his will by Supeena.
9. Junior Tracy and Tess Trueheart go to the beach in the "Dick Tracy" comic strip. At the edge of the water they see a man drowning, held against his will by three men. Junior recognizes Johnny Mintworth as the drowning man. What is the next scam Supeena is planning?

Answer: Faking a drowning

Supeena is getting the lifeguards to recognize Mintworth can't swim before faking the drowning. Junior goes to Tracy and tells him he recognized Mintworth and the men holding him.
Several times, Mintworth threatens Supeena and tries to leave his clutches, but is easily subdued.
10. Managing to escape the Supeena gang during his fake drowning, Johnny Mintworth gives himself up. Mintworth now knows Supeena has killed his mother and volunteers to help Dick Tracy catch the killer. Dressing as Supeena's girlfriend, Mable Marmer, he sets up a meeting in a theater. Supeena realizes the set up and kills Mintworth in the crowded theater, then taking refuge in the projection room. The crowd is gone and the theater dark. Tracy decides to use something not well known by the public to surprise Supeena in the dark. What did he use?

Answer: A tracer bullet

Dick Tracy fired the tracer bullet into the room, temporarily blinding and surprising Supeena, who was subsequently shot. He realized he had wasted his life on crime and later died while writing his confession.
Source: Author knto

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
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