O Detetive Desastrado

Following close on the heels of "Murder By Death," screenwriter Neil Simon penned this, another mystery farce focusing this time on a character originally developed in "Murder By Death," Peter Falk's trenchcoat-wearing Humphrey Bogart impersonation. The result is an often funny though somewhat strained and oddly miscast production.

Falk's Lou Peckinpaugh is investigating the murder of his detective partner in Nazi-occupied San Francisco. The cops think Peckinpaugh did it, because he was having an affair with his partner's wife. Some people want him to recover some stolen diamonds disguised as Albanian eggs. Meanwhile, to add some "Casablanca" to this "Maltese" parody, Lou's old flame has arrived in San Francisco with her husband, a Resistance leader who wants to open a two-star French restaurant in Oakland - if the Gestapo doesn't get him first.

It's a kindred spirit to "Airplane," a film made two years later. This is a madcap, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink comedy that plays with movie conventions to absurd lengths. Simon's roots as a writer on TV's "Your Show Of Shows" are very clear here, not only with the presence of that show's star, Sid Caesar, in a key role, but in the way Simon creates an all-out comedy in the vein of two fellow "Show Of Shows" writers, Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. It's even more goofy than "Murder By Death." "Cheap Detective" has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, but it's not as well-thought-out or fun as "Murder By Death." There's a dumb beginning, with underinspired opening credits and a drawn out joke about a killer who works so fast the victims haven't time to fall. The film also peters out at the conclusion, unlike "Murder By Death," where much of the charm comes with the kooky finale.

But the middle is mostly very good. Even great spoofs like "Airplane" and "Young Frankenstein" have dumb jokes. "Cheap Detective" has them, too, along with some hilarious moments. Simon throws up a ton of non sequiturs and silly puns, much in the vein of Brooks and Allen in their early, better days. Since this film doesn't have the same level of cultural recognition as the best of Brooks, Allen, or Simon, there's more chance of being pleasantly surprised by what takes place here. Peter Falk is great in his Bogie reprise, and so is Eileen Brennan playing the same Lauren Bacall character she created in "Murder By Death." Madeline Kahn is super, too, though I can't tell you the name of the character she plays and neither does she.

But there are some weird casting choices. John Houseman as fat Sydney Greenstreet? Dom DeLuise as Peter Lorre? Paul Williams? Abe Vigoda? I guess Marsha Mason had a role guaranteed in her prenup with Mr. Simon, but she's not quite right as a femme fatale. Neither is Louise Fletcher as the Ingrid Bergman character. Everyone in the film talks about her being such a knockout, but all I see is Nurse Ratched. No one is really bad, just square pegs in round holes. The weirdest is Phil Silvers, who isn't even in the film except as a meaningless half-second cameo at the end, yet he has an opening credit.

Two standouts are Nicol Williamson as the Nazi "military attache to Cincinnati" and Ann-Margret as a cleavage-flashing vamp. Whenever they are on screen, the movie is a lot funnier. Falk mostly serves the plot, but has some good lines, too: "Day by day, I erased your face from my memory, until all I had left was your right ear and three front teeth on the bottom." The film will make you laugh, and laugh again if you give it a few months to recharge between viewings. It's not a classic comedy, or even very good, but it's a fun frolic from one of filmdom's finest funnymen.

Once again, we have a juicy comedy spoof of the detective genre, in this case of the Bogart detective movies. Peter Falk once again plays a Bogart inspired detective, but don't expect an impression here. After all, that wouldn't be fair to Peter. He is an actor first and foremost, not an Impressionist. But what he does with the role is to catch every nuance and speech patterns of the great Humphrey Bogart. Falk must have studied Bogie quite closely because he has every little hand gesture and even the walk of the man.

Now, let's get to the plot. "Fuhgetaboudit" as the mobster would say. What we have here are loving parodies of "The Maltese Falcon" in "Casablanca" with pros like John Houseman and Dom De Luise playing familiar character actors Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre respectively.

Neil Simon must really love the old classic detective movies, or just knows them so well then he can play on a quick paycheck writing them in record time. But like I said about the movie "Murder By Death," just have fun and laugh a lot. It is a fun ride.

The Cheap Detective is a 1978 American satirical comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder by Death (Columbia, 1976).

It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a detective in the Humphrey Bogart mold. The film is an affectionate parody of Bogart movies such as Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.

The ensemble cast includes Madeline Kahn, Louise Fletcher, Ann- Margret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, John Houseman, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Fernando Lamas, Nicol Williamson, Scatman Crothers, Vic Tayback and Paul Williams.

Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), a bumbling San Francisco private detective, tries to prove himself innocent of his partner's murder while helping a bizarre array of characters recover a lost treasure. The film spoofs Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown, and To Have and Have Not. The scene in the restaurant with Peckinpaugh and Pepe Damascus mocks the opening scene of The Big Sleep

The all star cast delivers and milks the screenplay for every laugh it has. There is no bad cast member in this film. If you love old Warner Brothers films of the 1949's then you will love this film.

If you do not know old movies then this film is not for you.

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.

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 :.