O Detetive Desastrado

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 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.

'The Cheap Detective' represents a satirical look at many of Humphrey Bogart's best movies: 'Casablanca,' 'The Maltese Falcon,' and 'The Big Sleep' most prominently. There are small bits of business spoofing several others. This movie, apparently, followed 'Murder by Death' chronologically, implying that Peter Falk's character is developed from his role in that movie. So be it, but that doesn't make this movie a sequel. 'Murder by Death was a spoof of several different mystery story writers, and their most well-known detectives. This movie is a spoof of Bogart movies, some of which are mysteries and some are romances ('Casablanca' is considered by many to be one of the greatest romances ever.) To my taste, this movie is funnier and wittier than the other, and deserves more credit. In addition, Peter Falk's character is changed quite a bit from that in 'Murder by Death,' better, and funnier.

For all those who value Bogart's movies, and for all those who value satire, this is a terrific movie.

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.

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.