Directed and Produced by Stanley Kramer
Like many kids Stanley had a happy boyhood. Those that didn't, had happy girlhoods. That period of his life was devoted largely to make-believe.
At school, that took the form of writing. After graduation, he took his stories to Hollywood where he found work immediately -- as a carpenter.
He exchanged the saw for a pair of scissors to become a cutter, the scissors for a typewriter to become a writer, the typewriter for an ulcer to become a producer, the ulcer for spectacles to become a director.
What would have happened if he had had an unhappy childhood? Probably he'd have been running a studio.
-
Stanley Kramer
-
Spencer Tracey
-
Milton Berle
-
Sid Caesar
-
Buddy Hackett
Writing credits: William Rose & Tania Rose
Actors et al:
Spencer Tracy ... Capt. C. G. Culpepper
When they began thinking about casting the Dick Tracy of the Santa Rosita Police Department, his namesake was the obvious choice. SpencerTracy had been subduing scene stealers for a long time.
He was an easy-going actor who originally wanted to be a doctor, but he changed his mind when he discovered medicos worked late hours. His philosophy of life was best summed up by the answer he gave an interviewer who wanted to know the first thing that he looked for in a script. Spence fixed him with a beady eye and said -- "Days off." On a serious point Mr Tracy was the greatest actor of his generation.
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
When Milton Berle was born, people invented talking movies, radio and television so he could become a star of all three. He acted pretty good too, he had three brothers, a wife and two children. He did magic and shot billiards (the poor things). If anyone of the cast ever got to play Hamlet it would have been Milton - and it would have been very interesting watching him upstage his father's ghost.
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump
Sid grew up in New York City, where his neighbours complained "that boy doesn't talk straight." But he taught himself into the Coast Guard, which got him into Tars and Spars, which got him into show business, which got him into TV and that got him into trouble. Somewhere along the line he developed muscles in all the right places and even when he shook hands with you, it hurt. He called his home The Forum. It housed three little Caesars and a Mrs Caesar.
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Buddy was a poor kid who wanted attention and got it by being funny. He was a wise kid too, who one day said to himself: "Why should I be funny for nuttin'?" and thereuponcashed in on television, night clubs, stage and films. During the early days when he was not performing he did casual work as a truck driver, lumber salesman and upholsterer. He even upholstered himself, too -- when he enrolled at Duke University -- to diet. Mickey Rooney said that when they started work together he thought Buddy was the new Fatty Arbuckle. Later he wasn't even sure if he could make Slim Summerville on a clear day.
Actors et al:
Spencer Tracy ... Capt. C. G. Culpepper
When they began thinking about casting the Dick Tracy of the Santa Rosita Police Department, his namesake was the obvious choice. SpencerTracy had been subduing scene stealers for a long time.
He was an easy-going actor who originally wanted to be a doctor, but he changed his mind when he discovered medicos worked late hours. His philosophy of life was best summed up by the answer he gave an interviewer who wanted to know the first thing that he looked for in a script. Spence fixed him with a beady eye and said -- "Days off." On a serious point Mr Tracy was the greatest actor of his generation.
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
When Milton Berle was born, people invented talking movies, radio and television so he could become a star of all three. He acted pretty good too, he had three brothers, a wife and two children. He did magic and shot billiards (the poor things). If anyone of the cast ever got to play Hamlet it would have been Milton - and it would have been very interesting watching him upstage his father's ghost.
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump
Sid grew up in New York City, where his neighbours complained "that boy doesn't talk straight." But he taught himself into the Coast Guard, which got him into Tars and Spars, which got him into show business, which got him into TV and that got him into trouble. Somewhere along the line he developed muscles in all the right places and even when he shook hands with you, it hurt. He called his home The Forum. It housed three little Caesars and a Mrs Caesar.
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Buddy was a poor kid who wanted attention and got it by being funny. He was a wise kid too, who one day said to himself: "Why should I be funny for nuttin'?" and thereuponcashed in on television, night clubs, stage and films. During the early days when he was not performing he did casual work as a truck driver, lumber salesman and upholsterer. He even upholstered himself, too -- when he enrolled at Duke University -- to diet. Mickey Rooney said that when they started work together he thought Buddy was the new Fatty Arbuckle. Later he wasn't even sure if he could make Slim Summerville on a clear day.
-
Ethel Merman
-
Mickey Rooney
-
Dick Shawn
-
Phil Silvers
-
Terry-Thomas
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
When the newborn daughter of Mr and Mrs Edward Zimmerman of Long Island was patted on her -- shall we say backside? -- her first wail was heard loud and clear in the talent agencies of Manhattan. That little lady became Ethel Merman, the first lady of musical comedy. Her great voice, like a shot on D-Day has since been heard all around the globe. When in New York she often used to speak to her friends in Hollywood without bothering to use the telephone.
Mickey Rooney ... Ding Bell
Mickey was born in Brooklyn of show-business parents, he was a Yule present to his mother and father who bore that surname. He came up the hard way, not getting his name in lights until he was seven years old. His talents continued to grow long after he stopped (at 5-foot-3) and he became the categorical proof that a child star can make it as an adult star.
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Buffalo, where he was born, was very proud of Dick because he was born there and that makes it his birthplace and places like that were proud to be the place. He was a great believer in health foods because they keep him healthy, like nuts, persimmons, grapefruit, herbal tea, raw eggs and also eggs that aren't cooked. He was no man to Indian wrestle with or against.
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
In his native (pardon the expression) Brooklyn, Phil was less than a day old when, squinting from behind his horn-rimmed glasses, he devised the original scheme for selling the Brooklyn Bridge. (So I am informed on excellent authority). Some years later, his larcenous representations were providing him a fortune. He lived in Beverly Hills like a caliph and helped to perpetuate the dreadful American matriarchy by raising five beautiful daughters.
Terry-Thomas ... J. Algernon Hawthorne
He was once described, by a British journalist, as the perfect example of how completely a mad-cap comedian can blow his top. Of course, you are interested in the hyphenated name. Born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens, his first stage name was Mot Snevets, which is Tom Stevens spelt backwards. Then he tried Thomas Terry. Next, Terry Thomas. Then the hyphen. Howzat grab you?
When the newborn daughter of Mr and Mrs Edward Zimmerman of Long Island was patted on her -- shall we say backside? -- her first wail was heard loud and clear in the talent agencies of Manhattan. That little lady became Ethel Merman, the first lady of musical comedy. Her great voice, like a shot on D-Day has since been heard all around the globe. When in New York she often used to speak to her friends in Hollywood without bothering to use the telephone.
Mickey Rooney ... Ding Bell
Mickey was born in Brooklyn of show-business parents, he was a Yule present to his mother and father who bore that surname. He came up the hard way, not getting his name in lights until he was seven years old. His talents continued to grow long after he stopped (at 5-foot-3) and he became the categorical proof that a child star can make it as an adult star.
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Buffalo, where he was born, was very proud of Dick because he was born there and that makes it his birthplace and places like that were proud to be the place. He was a great believer in health foods because they keep him healthy, like nuts, persimmons, grapefruit, herbal tea, raw eggs and also eggs that aren't cooked. He was no man to Indian wrestle with or against.
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
In his native (pardon the expression) Brooklyn, Phil was less than a day old when, squinting from behind his horn-rimmed glasses, he devised the original scheme for selling the Brooklyn Bridge. (So I am informed on excellent authority). Some years later, his larcenous representations were providing him a fortune. He lived in Beverly Hills like a caliph and helped to perpetuate the dreadful American matriarchy by raising five beautiful daughters.
Terry-Thomas ... J. Algernon Hawthorne
He was once described, by a British journalist, as the perfect example of how completely a mad-cap comedian can blow his top. Of course, you are interested in the hyphenated name. Born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens, his first stage name was Mot Snevets, which is Tom Stevens spelt backwards. Then he tried Thomas Terry. Next, Terry Thomas. Then the hyphen. Howzat grab you?
-
Jonathan Winters
-
Edie Adams
-
Dorothy Provine
-
Jimmy Durante
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
There was no sound or person that was not born with Jonathan. You name him, her, or it -- he can do it, him or her. Uncanny, that was the word for his imitations. He was the daddy of a boy and a girl. And they were uncanny at mimicking their father's imitations.
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
What a body she had! She was colossal in TV, clubs, stage and films. Jimmy Durante thought it would be good if he taught her to sing. An interesting idea and he gave it his all. When he taught her he made Maria Callas sound like George Burns with a sore throat.
Dorothy Provine ... Emmeline Marcus-Finch
Dorothy had everything a girl could need -- she was not only pretty and talented and intelligent, she was lucky. After all, not everybody got to play Milton Berle's wife and Ethel Merman's daughter. She was born in Deadwood, South Dakota but she gleefully failed to live up to her home town name.
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Everybody knows that Jimmy Durante was the handsomest, most fascinating man in the world. What you don't know was that he started out as a photo engraver. He had to quit that profession because his eyes weren't sharp enough for working at a distance and he could never bend down close enough to work at anything else. Before he hit the big time, he played the piano for a singing waiter named Eddie Cantor. He was a star in every phase of show-business, including television although, as expected, he didn't make it there until the advent of 21 inch screens!
There was no sound or person that was not born with Jonathan. You name him, her, or it -- he can do it, him or her. Uncanny, that was the word for his imitations. He was the daddy of a boy and a girl. And they were uncanny at mimicking their father's imitations.
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
What a body she had! She was colossal in TV, clubs, stage and films. Jimmy Durante thought it would be good if he taught her to sing. An interesting idea and he gave it his all. When he taught her he made Maria Callas sound like George Burns with a sore throat.
Dorothy Provine ... Emmeline Marcus-Finch
Dorothy had everything a girl could need -- she was not only pretty and talented and intelligent, she was lucky. After all, not everybody got to play Milton Berle's wife and Ethel Merman's daughter. She was born in Deadwood, South Dakota but she gleefully failed to live up to her home town name.
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Everybody knows that Jimmy Durante was the handsomest, most fascinating man in the world. What you don't know was that he started out as a photo engraver. He had to quit that profession because his eyes weren't sharp enough for working at a distance and he could never bend down close enough to work at anything else. Before he hit the big time, he played the piano for a singing waiter named Eddie Cantor. He was a star in every phase of show-business, including television although, as expected, he didn't make it there until the advent of 21 inch screens!
-
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... First Cab Driver
-
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
-
Ben Blue ... Airplane Pilot
-
Alan Carney ... Police Sergeant
-
Barrie Chase ... Mrs Halliburton
-
Peter Falk ... Second Cab Driver
-
Paul Ford ... Colonel Wilberforce
-
Leo Gorcey ... Third Cab Driver
-
Edward Everett Horton ... Dinckler
-
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the Crook
-
Don Knotts ... Nervous Man
-
Carl Reiner ... Tower Controller at Rancho Conejo
-
The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe De Rita) ... Firemen
-
Joe E. Brown ... Union Official
-
Andy Devine ... Sheriff Mason
-
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
-
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
-
Charles McGraw ... Lieutenant Matthews
-
Zasu Pitts ... Gertie - Switchboard Operator
-
Madlyn Rhue ... Police Secretary Schwartz
-
Madlyn Rhue ... Police Secretary Schwartz
-
Arnold Stang ... Ray
-
Jesse White ... Radio Tower Operator at Rancho Conejo
-
Stan Freberg ... Deputy Sheriff
-
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
-
Jerry Lewis ... Nutty Driver who runs over hat
-
Allen Jenkins ... Police Officer
The rest:
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius, Charles Lane ... Airport Manager, Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor, Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpepper (voice), Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpepper (voice), Ben Lessy ... George the Steward, Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's Wife, Mike Mazurki ... Miner, Nick Stewart ... Truck Driver, Sammee Tong ... Chinese Laundryman, Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site, Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese Laundromat, Cliff Norton ... Reporter, Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage, Jack Benny ... Man in Car in Desert, Paul Birch ... Policeman, John Clarke ... Helicoper Pilot, Stanley Clements ... Detective in Squad Room, Minta Durfee ... Woman in Final Crowd Scene, Roy Engel ... Patrolman / Police Radio Voice Unit F-14, James Flavin ... Patrolman, Stacy Harris ... Police Radio Voice Unit F-7 (voice), Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in Helicopter, Robert Karnes ... Police Officer Simmy, Tom Kennedy ... Traffic Cop, Harry Lauter ... Police Dispatcher, Bob Mazurki ... Eddie - Miner's Son, Barbara Pepper ... Undetermined Role, Eddie Ryder ... Air Traffic Control Tower Staffer, Charles Sherlock ... Crowd Extra, Eddie Smith ... Extra, Doodles Weaver ... Hardware Store Clerk
Other crew:
Saul Bass .... Titles by
Anne Kramer .... Assistant to producer
Paul Mantz .... Aerial supervisor
Bud Pine .... Production coordinator
Marshall Schlom .... Script supervisor
Frank Tallman .... Aerial supervisor
Ivan Volkman .... Assistant to director
Clarence Agress .... Physician for Phil Silvers
Robert E. Blair .... Dog Trainer
William T. Hurtz .... Director: animated title sequence
Original Music by Ernest Gold
Cinematography by Ernest Laszlo
Film Editing by Gene Fowler Jr., Robert C. Jones, Frederic Knudtson
Production Design by Rudolph Sternad
Art Direction by Gordon Gurnee
Set Decoration by Joseph Kish
Costume Design by Bill Thomas
Makeup Department
George Lane
Connie Nichols
Lynn F. Reynolds
Steven Clensos
Rolf Miller
Production Management
Clem Beauchamp
Adrian Woolery
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Batcheller
Bert Chervin
Charles Scott
Carey Loftin
Art Department
Art Cole
Sound Department
Walter Elliott
Roy Granville
John Kean
Clem Portman
Vinton Vernon
Glenn E. Anderson
Richard Portman
Gordon Sawyer
Special Effects by
Danny Lee
Chuck Gaspar
Visual Effects by
Linwood G. Dunn
Farciot Edouart
James B. Gordon
Jim Danforth
Marcel Delgado
Willis H. O'Brien
Camera and Electrical Department
Joe Edesa
Dick Johnson
Martin Kashuk
Hal McAlpinin)
Irmin Roberts
Morris Rosen
Charles F. Wheeler
James V. King
Jack Woolf
Stunts
Carey Loftin
Max Balchowsky
Paul Baxley
May Boss
Richard E. Butler
Tap Canutt
Bill Couch
Chuck Couch
Philip Crawford
Dick Crockett
John Daheim
Carol Daniels
George DeNormand
Gary Epper
Stephanie Epper
Fred Gabourie
Dick Geary
Sol Gorss
Chuck Hayward
Bob Herron
Robert F. Hoy
John Hudkins
Loren Janes
Walt La Rue
Carey Loftin
Paul Mantz
Harvey Parry
Regis Parton
Gil Perkins
Jack Perkins
Janos Prohaska
George Robotham
Wally Rose
Carl Saxe
Fred Scheiwiller
Bill Shannon
Alex Sharp
Paul Stader
Tom Steele
Frank Tallman
Helen Thurston
Buddy Van Horn
Dale Van Sickel
Jesse Wayne
Marvin Willens
Joe Edesa
Dick Johnson
Martin Kashuk
Hal McAlpinin)
Irmin Roberts
Morris Rosen
Charles F. Wheeler
James V. King
Jack Woolf
Stunts
Carey Loftin
Max Balchowsky
Paul Baxley
May Boss
Richard E. Butler
Tap Canutt
Bill Couch
Chuck Couch
Philip Crawford
Dick Crockett
John Daheim
Carol Daniels
George DeNormand
Gary Epper
Stephanie Epper
Fred Gabourie
Dick Geary
Sol Gorss
Chuck Hayward
Bob Herron
Robert F. Hoy
John Hudkins
Loren Janes
Walt La Rue
Carey Loftin
Paul Mantz
Harvey Parry
Regis Parton
Gil Perkins
Jack Perkins
Janos Prohaska
George Robotham
Wally Rose
Carl Saxe
Fred Scheiwiller
Bill Shannon
Alex Sharp
Paul Stader
Tom Steele
Frank Tallman
Helen Thurston
Buddy Van Horn
Dale Van Sickel
Jesse Wayne
Marvin Willens