The Cheap Detective

Looking for (but not quite finding) the footsteps of "Murder by Death."

While I love this movie and watch it quite often, it is a rather cheesy knock-off of "Murder by Death." This time spoofing "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca," Neil Simon's hit or miss style misses this time, but only by a small margin.

This movie is not hilarious, nor exceptionally intelligent comedy, but it is still very entertaining. I honestly found "Murder by Death" to be a much more enjoyable experience.

That having been said, this star-studded cast puts forth at least a valid attempt to pull off this sometimes haphazardly written screen play, and hits at least 2 out of 5 punch lines with some effect.

If you are a fan of the Bogie movies which it satirizes, this is definitely a must-see. It is you, for which this movie was written in the first place.

It rates a 6.5/10 from...

the Fiend :.

"The Cheap Detective," as others have observed, is a sendup of two of Bogart's most famous films. The film's opening sequence sets the stage of the humor styleings which acts as both a setup and warning for the casual viewer.

The humor is smart, but almost too clever for its own good. It's funny, but you almost have to be a Neil Simon fan (or at least in tune with his writing style) to really get the gags. Not entirely true, because if you keep an open mind, and understand all or most of the references, you should have a good time :-)

Otherwise the film might go over your head, or rather you'll understand that there's supposed to be a joke at a certain moment, but won't get the entire gist because you might be unfamiliar with the material being referenced. Hence the reason why I called the film almost too clever for its own good.

It helps to be familiar with both "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" to really get all of the "in-stuff" within Simon's film. Even so there's a good amount of regular humor that should help boost the appeal to those already in the know, and at the same time salvage a film for those not.

And yeah, Anne Margaret never looked better :-)

A fairly good watch, but not for everyone.

Neil Simon's movies always shine with his marvelous talent. The spoofs of Humphrey Bogart, his movies and other famous people/characters are priceless. My favorite scene in The Cheap Detective is where Eileen Brennen is singing in a cabaret, holding a cigarette out to the detective with her line "Well aren't you going to light my fire?" And he says (paraphrased)"well I was just checking out your kindling". Wonderful script and sharp and funny dialogue. Eileen is beautiful here. Peter Falk is very sexy in the title role. And could anyone ever compare with Madeline Kahn - they threw away the pattern on her. I think Humphrey Bogart would not only laugh at the spoofs of him but also be flattered that his persona has become so classic and so well-known and easily identifiable. There was a wonderful actor in "Dark Shadows" who early in his career did imitations of Bogie and looked a lot like him. He also played Bogie in a movie I believe. I wish there were more movies as good as Neil Simon's.

Taking off on classics like CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON, this is a clever and fast-paced satire that prefigures the kind of take-offs that would soon follow with films such as AIRPLANE.

You can enjoy the sheer silliness of the film even if you don't know the films it is imitating, but if you are familiar with the originals, this comedy will be even more delicious.

Legendary writer Neil Simons' delightful parody of hard boiled detective fiction (by the likes of Hammett and Chandler) is often quite funny. It does a good job of combining Simons' genuinely funny and witty dialogue with some occasional good visual gags. The movie is packed with big guest stars, some of whom have very little time to create a characterization, but everybody does a very amusing job of poking fun at - and paying tribute to - iconic actors of the genre.

Peter Falk does a priceless Bogart impression as private eye Lou Peckinpaugh. Lous' partner has been found murdered, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his latest complex case. (Lou even comments on its convoluted nature.) It involves a French resistance fighter (Fernando Lamas), a Nazi official (Nicol Williamson), the theft of some supposedly invaluable "eggs", the Golden Gate Bridge, and the partners' oversexed wife (Marsha Mason).

Sort of combining the plots of "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" and referencing other classics as well, "The Cheap Detective" does lose some momentum along the way, but there is always good Simon dialogue to look forward to, and the picture is nicely shot in widescreen by John A. Alonzo. The picture takes place in WWII era San Francisco, and has a great look going for it. What's especially funny is the way that Peckinpaugh must juggle the various lovely ladies who take an interest in him.

The various guest stars are all tremendous fun, but this viewer was particularly entertained by Dom DeLuises' riotous Peter Lorre parody. In supporting roles and bits, you can see the likes of Carmine Caridi, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers (sending up Dooley Wilson in "Casablanca"), David Ogden Stiers, Vic Tayback, and Jonathan Banks.

This begins nicely, with some atmospheric opening credits, and has a bright and funny wrap up involving Lou and his ladies.

Seven out of 10.