IMDb RATING
6.5/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
Scotland Yard sends a goofy pair to check on foul play at a mansion outside 1920s London.Scotland Yard sends a goofy pair to check on foul play at a mansion outside 1920s London.Scotland Yard sends a goofy pair to check on foul play at a mansion outside 1920s London.
Russi Taylor
- Doll Voice
- (voice)
Barney Rosner
- Wookalar
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Featured reviews
This is a wonderfully silly movie with just the right amount of "eek!" to delight even the youngest viewer. Don Knotts and Tim Conway are perfect as the bumbling detectives sent to crack the case, and the "Wookilar" is beyond funny. Truly a masterpiece....maybe. If you like them silly this is the movie for you.
Any movie that features Don Knotts as a brilliant detective and Tim Conway as his faithful assistant certainly has courage going for it.
But "Private Eyes" is better than you might expect; the setting (Biltmore Castle) is beautiful, the supporting cast (Fox in particular) is hilarious and a lot, if not all, of the gags are priceless.
Then again, what would you expect from Knotts' above-it-all air of pseudo-intelligence and Conway's endless pratfalls and an overcoat full of pigeons (don't ask)? They're two of the old-school comedians who know what's funny and never try to go further than the jokes will go.
"Private Eyes" works because Knotts and Conway are, more or less, just being themselves. Definitely a film worth seeking out.
You'll laugh. Trust me.
Seven stars. And don't drink the ink.
But "Private Eyes" is better than you might expect; the setting (Biltmore Castle) is beautiful, the supporting cast (Fox in particular) is hilarious and a lot, if not all, of the gags are priceless.
Then again, what would you expect from Knotts' above-it-all air of pseudo-intelligence and Conway's endless pratfalls and an overcoat full of pigeons (don't ask)? They're two of the old-school comedians who know what's funny and never try to go further than the jokes will go.
"Private Eyes" works because Knotts and Conway are, more or less, just being themselves. Definitely a film worth seeking out.
You'll laugh. Trust me.
Seven stars. And don't drink the ink.
OK, so maybe "The Private Eyes" is sort of a rehash of "Murder by Death", but it's still a laugh riot. It's essentially what would happen if Laurel & Hardy or Gilligan & the Skipper were detectives investigating a murder in an English mansion. In this case, Don Knotts is the irascible straight man and Tim Conway is his dimwitted assistant, looking into the killing of some aristocrats in a possibly haunted estate. The entire movie is basically an excuse for a series of gags, some clever and some cheap. It certainly made me laugh. As for the obvious plot holes...well, it's just a movie.
Yes, there's nothing special about the movie, but I still liked it. Also starring Trisha Noble, Bernard Fox (Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched"), Grace Zabriskie, Irwin Keyes and Suzy Mandel.
Yes, there's nothing special about the movie, but I still liked it. Also starring Trisha Noble, Bernard Fox (Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched"), Grace Zabriskie, Irwin Keyes and Suzy Mandel.
To get Don Knotts and Tim Conway together in a haunted horror movie spoof was just a great treat to sit back, laugh, and enjoy the memorable interaction between these two kings of slap stick comedy. Both have great timing for slap stick comedy, and you just know that they are going to play off each others stupidity.
No disappointment here, just plenty of laughs and good memories. I can't wait to have grand children and sit them down to be entertained without the use of any computer graphics, violence, or blood and gore.
Don Knotts and Tim Conway remind me a lot of Abbot and Costello in their prime. The Private Eyes is a fun loving movie, with an endless reel of gag after gag, slap stick accident after accident, and you will probably shed a few tears of laughter before the movie ends. A must see for any age if you like two great comedians who make any scene special.
No disappointment here, just plenty of laughs and good memories. I can't wait to have grand children and sit them down to be entertained without the use of any computer graphics, violence, or blood and gore.
Don Knotts and Tim Conway remind me a lot of Abbot and Costello in their prime. The Private Eyes is a fun loving movie, with an endless reel of gag after gag, slap stick accident after accident, and you will probably shed a few tears of laughter before the movie ends. A must see for any age if you like two great comedians who make any scene special.
Growing up it was Andy and Three's company and so on that had campy humor. It was the same case that was "funny" for the slap stick type of humor of what was considered funny "in the 70's and 80's" and so on for other TV shows for their time. In my opinion watching this movie reflecting back to the time it was and remembering it as kid to now was just great. The humor that made me smile was nice and made me think back to the days when i watched those shows, as i often do on nick at night, to laugh as I did then and still do even on reruns. Tim Conway and Don Knotts do a great job of muddling thru trying to solve a mystery with a great supporting cast.
Did you know
- TriviaThere was a sequel planned, which would have centered around Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart trying to find the Wookalar that appears at the end of the film.
- GoofsWhen Dr. Tart reads the line "By the way, you're standing in bull ca-ca," the dialogue is clearly dubbed in, and one can tell by watching his lips that Dr. Tart was saying "you're standing in bullsh..." (it's not clear whether he finished the swear or broke off).
- Crazy creditsDuring the main title sequence, the cartoon version of Inspector Winship (the Don Knotts character) is blowing on a tuba when the music credit comes up. The director of photography's name appears when two flashlight beams cross.
- Alternate versionsThe television version which first aired in the early '80s included an extra scene, set in the dining room of Morley Manor. Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart switch identities trying to fool Mistress Phyllis and her staff.
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- Also known as
- Detectives casi privados
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Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,014,000
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