Union Suit Fans in the Limelight

Undressed Under Duress, Season Two

Part 6 - Pintsize Don't Kid a Kidder

and, certainly not, "The Kid." Dick Tracy, a 1990 Universal Studios, Touchstone, Lake Buena Vista Pictures action film, was based on Chester Gould's classic comic strip of the same name. I remember first reading the strip in the newspaper comic pages when I was a little boy, about the same age as “The Kid.” It had the greatest characters and always an exciting story line. The film version debuted at the Walt Disney World resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on June 14th of that year. The movie received seven Academy Award nominations winning three. But none for acting or directing. Rather, the film won for best original song, art direction, and makeup. Warren Beatty (Dick Tracy), Madonna, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino starred. Beatty also produced and directed as well. One note of interest. The movie never explained why Mumbles (Hoffman) was interrogated by Tracy sans pants, wearing striped boxer shorts. Later with the questioning over, Mumbles walks out and down the hall still in his boxers, carrying his pants.

The scene stealer, however, was not Mumbles or one of the other famous actors but, rather, a skinny little boy played by twelve year old Charlie Korsmo, looking more like an eight year old. He was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1978. Madonna, as Breathless “The Blank” Mahoney who entertained at the Club Ritz, stole a few scenes herself. What a dame! Anyway, Korsmo played a 1938 scrawny street kid simply known in the movie and in the comic strip as “The Kid.” He was a small, malnourished “street urchin,” surviving on the dangerous metropolitan streets by eating out of garbage cans. One day, The Kid witnessed the deadly shooting of mobsters by Flattop and Itchy, Big Boy Caprice's (Al Pacino) proteges and henchmen. Realizing the boy had seen them before hightailing it away, the race was on to find him. It was “curtains” for The Kid.

When detective Dick Tracy noticed the boy stealing, he caught him. Along with his girlfriend, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), Tracy took him under his wing, eventually discovering he was in mortal danger. Getting him fed, properly clothed and off the streets was the new goal.

After some grub, Tracy and Trueheart proceeded to take The Kid to a men's and boys' clothing store to buy him some decent clothes. The boy, thinking they were buying him a suit of new clothes only to take him to an orphanage, ran out of the dressing room, out of the store, and down the city street in his union suit underwear. He was easy to spot in his white underwear so Tracy quickly caught up to him.

Standing in the middle of a busy downtown intersection with car horns honking, Tracy, in his trademark yellow overcoat and fedora and The Kid in his well worn union suit, had grabbed the urchin, forcing him to slow down, stop and listen. He told him his clothes smelled and he had to get some new ones. Tracy convinced him he was a friend and only wanted to keep him safe from the treacherous men who would do him ill.

Tracy and The Kid were on the road to becoming allies and later great friends. He led the escape artist, in his underwear, back to the haberdashery and to Trueheart for some new duds as the gangsters cased the joint, intently watching the detective and boy for their opportunity.

Having gotten the boy washed, new clothes, and filling the ravenous kid up with copious amounts of food and ice cream, Tracy took him back to his apartment for a good night's sleep. The Kid now appeared to be on a straight and narrow path.

Early the next morning while Tracy was shaving and getting ready to take on the city's crime syndicate, The Kid, having woken up in his a new red union suit, played around the apartment, delaying having to get dressed.

Tracy tried to get him to brush his teeth and get ready for the day.

A knock at the door stopped both man and boy in their tracks. A feminine voice called out they were there to take the boy to the orphanage. The suspicious Tracy cautiously opened the door.

With guns drawn, Caprice's hoodlums barged in, intent on kidnapping the boy. They were set on putting an end to the young witness. Hearing the intrusion, The Kid hurried back to his bedroom and grabbed a handful of his clothes.

Having seen Tracy's wallet full of money laying on the dresser and knowing he would be better off on the streets with some cash, The Kid, paused, ran back to grab his chance at survival when once again he'd find himself back on the street.

Laying hands on the wallet and still clutching his clothes, he ran back to the window in his long red underwear and jumped out. He then was back out onto the city street in no time.

Taking time to only pull on his knickers and a coat on over his union suit, he expertly jumped on the back of the sedan, the one Tracy had been forced into as he was taken hostage.

Tracy was in big trouble. A large boiler was about to explode in a building basement where Tracy had been taken and tied to a chair. The Kid rescued Tracy from certain death by freeing the detective from his bindings.