Breathless Mahoney is a fictional character in the American comic strip Dick Tracy, created by Chester Gould. She first appeared in the strip on May 11, 1945, and was apparently killed on August 26, 1946.
The character found worldwide fame in 1990 in the film Dick Tracy, as a villainous nightclub singer played by singer/actress Madonna. The character's glamorous outfits, described extensively in the press, sparked a brief fad for 1940s fashion.
Comic strip character
Breathless Mahoney was created by Chester Gould and introduced to the Dick Tracy comic strip on May 10, 1945. Garyn G. Roberts, author of Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context, noted that the introduction of Breathless coincided with Gould's efforts to "integrate characters and episodes with a sophistication that would mark the 1950s Tracy continuities". The character was illustrated as an attractive young blonde intended to resemble actress Veronica Lake. Breathless is portrayed as greedy and obsessed with money, willing to murder to obtain it. She is the stepdaughter of Shaky, a Dick Tracy antagonist who had recently been killed in the storyline; she discovers his skeletal remains near the waterfront in one of the strips. Writer Meredith M. Malburne-Wade said the character is named "Breathless" because "she both speaks in a breathy voice meant to pull others closer to her and strives to leave the men around her breathless in her wake".
The original comic strip version of Breathless Mahoney is depicted as a ruthless killer, in contrast to the character's more sympathetic later version in the 1990 film adaptation of Dick Tracy. At one point, she stabs a man in the back with a pair of pruning shears. During one of her storylines, Breathless encounters B.O. Plenty, an unkempt hillbilly-like character who schemes to steal her money. Roberts said of this storyline: "The conflict between the physically beautiful villainess and the unwashed country bumpkin makes for entertaining reading." Breathless made her final appearance in a Dick Tracy comic strip on August 25, 1946, in which the character dies. Just before her death, while laying in a hospital bed, she writes a final letter forgiving B.O. Plenty for past issues she had with him.
1990 movie
Breathless Mahoney appears in the film adaptation Dick Tracy (1990), in which she is portrayed by actress and singer Madonna The film character differs from the original comic strip counterpart, most notably in her profession as a nightclub singer. She is also less violent than the comic strip version of the character, more calculating in her actions, and is revealed to be as intelligent as Dick Tracy himself. Writers Christopher L. Lukinbeal and Cristina B. Kennedy wrote of the character: "Breathless, in the film, provides a complex, more 1980s, opposition of good and evil, moral and amoral." In another difference from the source material, Breathless was not introduced in the comic strip until 1945, but the film is set in the 1930s. She is one of several characters in the film who was introduced in the 1940s in the comic, along with 88 Keyes and Sam Catchem. Breathless Mahoney also disguises herself in the film as the vigilante "The Blank", wearing a mask that makes her appear to have no face. Madonna, who was dating Dick Tracy star and director Warren Beatty at the time, sought the role of Breathless, but offered to work for scale to avoid the perception of nepotism, earning just $35,000 for the film.
In the film, she is introduced as a nightclub singer and the moll of gangster Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino). When Manlis is murdered by his rival and former right-hand man Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino), she switches her allegiance to Caprice and starts singing in his club, even though she is personally repulsed by him. She is immediately attracted to Caprice's nemesis, Detective Dick Tracy (Beatty), and tries to seduce him, but he remains faithful to his girlfriend, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly). She disguises herself as "The Blank", a vigilante criminal wearing a faceless mask, and robs several of Caprice's front businesses, making enemies of both Caprice and Tracy. In the film's climax, Breathless, as the Blank, rescues Tracy and Tess from Caprice, who shoots and mortally wounds her. After Tracy kills Caprice, he removes Breathless' Blank mask, and she dies in his arms.