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Quiz about Dick Tracy Laffy
Quiz about Dick Tracy Laffy

Dick Tracy: Laffy Trivia Quiz


The world of drug addiction during World War II is explored by Chester Gould in the story of Laffy Smith. Enjoy the quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by knto. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
knto
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
366,691
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
119
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Dick Tracy has a splitting headache after the Mrs. Pruneface case is over. Directed to Dr. Crawford by Chief Brandon, Tracy finds the doctor is out of his office. He calls on Dr. I. O. Dyne next door and is waited on by a large freckled man who checks him out and gives him aspirin. What was it about the doctor which Tracy remembered most? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Chester Gould uses 'poetic' deaths in his "Dick Tracy" comic strip to emphasize his criminals' persona. Tire bootlegger B-B Eyes was trapped by a used tire in his last moments; piano playing 88 Keyes stuffed recently murdered singer Jinny inside a piano. How had Laffy killed Dr. I. O. Dyne? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Laffy Smith sells his forged prescriptions to his contact, Needles, in "Dick Tracy". Needles becomes very angry when Laffy tells his he might quit the racket, threatening Laffy's life. Laffy proceeds to get Needles drunk, then excuses himself, goes outside and stands at the rear fender of Needles' car. What has Laffy done? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Dick Tracy finds a list of prescriptions in the office of the late Dr. I. O. Dyne which are supplying Laffy's drug ring. Selecting a name at random (Lois Lansen) he takes an apartment across from hers and begins watching her every move. How are her drugs delivered? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Like many an addict before her and many after, Lois Lansen is out of money and has hocked her jewelry for drugs. In Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy", what type of business does Laffy go to to get money for the jewelry? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Lois Lansen is saved from suicide by Tracy after realizing she has a drug problem. In attempting to jump off a high building, she attracted a large crowd below. As Ziggy shows Laffy the newspaper story of Tracy saving Lois, Laffy contracts lockjaw with his mouth locked open. What was he doing when it happened? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The doctor who is to treat Laffy for lockjaw in "Dick Tracy" recognizes him from a 'wanted' picture he has seen. What unethical action does he take to both treat Laffy's lockjaw and subdue him? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Tracy and Patton get to the doctor's office in time to save the doctor and nurse from Laffy's chloroform. But Laffy has left behind a clue. What was it? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In "Dick Tracy", local war hero Kirk Smith who is being honored by the mayor wants to see his brother, Laffy. Kirk has gunned down thirty Japanese in New Guinea. Tracy shows him into Laffy's cell, where he lays very ill. Laffy pretends not to know Kirk, but asks if he is making the Christmas music he can hear. Kirk responds, "No. The only music I make is with..." What does Kirk say he makes music with? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. "Dick Tracy" writer Chester Gould went from one story line to the next so smoothly the reader hardly knew when it had switched. On December 21, 1943 we see police discussing Laffy's death in the first two panels. In the third we see Lt. Kirk Smith boarding a train back to the war in the Pacific. In the background of the final panel we see Lt. Smith entering the train, recognized by a few people. In the foreground the reader sees a strange looking man getting off the train. He has a flat head, little round mouth, freckles and a unibrow and is asking for directions. Who is this most famous of all Tracy villains? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Dick Tracy has a splitting headache after the Mrs. Pruneface case is over. Directed to Dr. Crawford by Chief Brandon, Tracy finds the doctor is out of his office. He calls on Dr. I. O. Dyne next door and is waited on by a large freckled man who checks him out and gives him aspirin. What was it about the doctor which Tracy remembered most?

Answer: his constant laughing

Although all of these things were true about the doctor, the laugh was what Tracy remembered most. "Laughs like a fool! Laugh, laugh. I think he's nuts!"

Of course this is not Dr. Dyne but Laffy Smith, and the reader soon finds that Dr. Dyne, who has returned unexpectedly from vacation has been killed by Laffy, who is using stolen prescriptions for his drug ring.
2. Chester Gould uses 'poetic' deaths in his "Dick Tracy" comic strip to emphasize his criminals' persona. Tire bootlegger B-B Eyes was trapped by a used tire in his last moments; piano playing 88 Keyes stuffed recently murdered singer Jinny inside a piano. How had Laffy killed Dr. I. O. Dyne?

Answer: a scalpel

The ever suspicious Tracy calls Dr. Crawford only to find Dr. Dyne was away on vacation. As they enter Dr. Dyne's office, Laffy has just left. They discover Dyne's body with a scalpel in his heart only to be held at gunpoint by a masked Laffy, who has forgotten his prescriptions. Laffy locks them in the next room and leaves, laughing. Dick Tracy recognizes the laugh, as does Dr. Crawford who tells police that Laffy used to be a janitor in the building.
3. Laffy Smith sells his forged prescriptions to his contact, Needles, in "Dick Tracy". Needles becomes very angry when Laffy tells his he might quit the racket, threatening Laffy's life. Laffy proceeds to get Needles drunk, then excuses himself, goes outside and stands at the rear fender of Needles' car. What has Laffy done?

Answer: punched a hole in the tire

Laffy used a punch on his pocket knife to poke a small hole in the tire. He quickly got Needles drunk while pouring his own drinks out. As they drove to Laffy's secluded cabin, the tire had to be changed. While the intoxicated Needles changed the tire, Laffy pushed him underneath and kicked the jack away, breaking Needles' neck.
Although Gould doesn't say so in the comic strip, it seems likely the ankle injury was also what caused Laffy's later problems.
Also his pocket knife will be used later in the story.
4. Dick Tracy finds a list of prescriptions in the office of the late Dr. I. O. Dyne which are supplying Laffy's drug ring. Selecting a name at random (Lois Lansen) he takes an apartment across from hers and begins watching her every move. How are her drugs delivered?

Answer: the daily newspaper

Ziggy, a short, fat jowled cigar smoking man with big spectacles drops her daily paper outside the door. Dick Tracy orders coffee, which the bellboy spills on her paper. Tracy trades papers with her and discovers the small packet of 'snow' encased in a corner of the paper.

He confronts Lois with the evidence just as her mother arrives. Lois is distraught and threatens suicide by standing on the building ledge.
5. Like many an addict before her and many after, Lois Lansen is out of money and has hocked her jewelry for drugs. In Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy", what type of business does Laffy go to to get money for the jewelry?

Answer: diner

Gould had a vivid imagination and used it in the many devices the underworld needed to keep out of the eye of police. Laffy politely returned his dinner claiming he had ordered boiled potatoes, not mashed. The cook washed the mashed potatoes off the jewels, calculated their value and slipped a $500 bill under the crust of a piece of mince pie Laffy had for desert. Very ingenious.
6. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Lois Lansen is saved from suicide by Tracy after realizing she has a drug problem. In attempting to jump off a high building, she attracted a large crowd below. As Ziggy shows Laffy the newspaper story of Tracy saving Lois, Laffy contracts lockjaw with his mouth locked open. What was he doing when it happened?

Answer: laughing

Laffy is laughing at Lois' dilemma and his jaw locks open. Ziggy rushes him to a doctor for treamtment.
7. The doctor who is to treat Laffy for lockjaw in "Dick Tracy" recognizes him from a 'wanted' picture he has seen. What unethical action does he take to both treat Laffy's lockjaw and subdue him?

Answer: an uppercut to the jaw

The blow both closes Laffy's mouth and knocks him out. He then goes into the next room to call police. Ziggy enters the room, hears the conversation, and holds the doctor and nurse at gunpoint. Ziggy and Laffy lock them in a closet and Laffy uses his pocketknife to open a can of chloroform and put it under the door to knock the two out.
On the cab ride back to their room, Laffy's jaw locks closed. He spends the rest of the story slowly losing weight due to starvation. He is afraid to go to another doctor because he's "always had bad luck at the doctor's".
8. In the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, Tracy and Patton get to the doctor's office in time to save the doctor and nurse from Laffy's chloroform. But Laffy has left behind a clue. What was it?

Answer: his pocketknife

Dick Tracy found an inscription on the knife and traced it to Laffy's girlfriend. She denied knowing Laffy, but Tracy followed her to Laffy's room and arrested him.
Ziggy had been arrested at a doctors office trying to get medicine for Laffy.
By now Laffy is so thin and frail he needs help walking.
9. In "Dick Tracy", local war hero Kirk Smith who is being honored by the mayor wants to see his brother, Laffy. Kirk has gunned down thirty Japanese in New Guinea. Tracy shows him into Laffy's cell, where he lays very ill. Laffy pretends not to know Kirk, but asks if he is making the Christmas music he can hear. Kirk responds, "No. The only music I make is with..." What does Kirk say he makes music with?

Answer: an army typewriter punctuating Japs

This is a tear jerking scene as we see the emaciated Laffy saying "Can't eat plum pudding and turkey this Christmas - can't get my teeth apart." between Kirk trying to tell him who he is.
Dick Tracy knows Laffy is faking. After Kirk leaves he says "You sounded very convincing, Laffy. Very convincing."
"I tried to. Why should I wreck his life?"

Laffy died soon after with a clipping of brother Kirk's reception by the mayor clutched in his hand.
10. "Dick Tracy" writer Chester Gould went from one story line to the next so smoothly the reader hardly knew when it had switched. On December 21, 1943 we see police discussing Laffy's death in the first two panels. In the third we see Lt. Kirk Smith boarding a train back to the war in the Pacific. In the background of the final panel we see Lt. Smith entering the train, recognized by a few people. In the foreground the reader sees a strange looking man getting off the train. He has a flat head, little round mouth, freckles and a unibrow and is asking for directions. Who is this most famous of all Tracy villains?

Answer: Flattop

In four panels we see the death of one villain and the wrapping up of the story, then the entrance of the next. Chester Gould was at the top of his game during the 1940's as one story flowed easily into the next. Many Tracy fans say 1944 is his greatest year with only three major criminals: Flattop, The Brow and Shaky. Gould's imagination also comes to life with many memorable secondary characters which he used for years.
Source: Author knto

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