The Cheap Detective (1978)

Most reviews and the summary here list two films - but THE BIG SLEEP also gets a turn-over in this one. So add that fact to your list. I like this one, far better than the previous MURDER BY DEATH which Peter Sellers hated BTW. The HUGE cast is flawless and they play it all straight. Plus as a cinema buff, watch the photography. THE MALTESE FALCON scenes are cut straight, to the point, quickly and sometimes do not match. The CASABLANCA scenes (like the movie) are smooth flowing, the camera moving around the club. This is a film made by people who love old movies. Falk was at home in this role too. Some jokes by Simon are writ-large and others just subtle - such as when Falk just takes a Martini out of his desk drawer (it was there all the time for a rainy day) and gives it to Alma Chalmers, Denise Manderly, NO-CARMEN MONTENEGRO. Not a great comedy but one to curl up with and smile and remember too that there are not waters in CASABLANCA. ("I was misinformed"). Oh, and take the Martini out of the cupboard - chill it and enjoy.

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.

Neil Simon and director Robert Moore followed up their 1976 triumph Murder by Death with an on-target jab at the film noir genre and of the work of Humphrey Bogart in particular with The Cheap Detective, a lavishly produced comedy that takes place in 1940's San Francisco and involves treasure, Nazis and other varied mysteries encountered by private eye Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), who is basically just a retread of Falk's character in Murder by Death but no one channels Bogart better than Falk and film audiences ate it up, making it one of 1978's biggest hits.Needless to say, Falk has the Bogart thing down to a science and, like Murder by Death, he is backed up by an impressive supporting cast including Eileen Brennan, Ann-Margret, Sid Ceasar, Dom DeLuise, Stockard Channing, Madeline Kahn, James Coco, Phil Silvers, John Houseman, and, of course, Mrs. Neil Simon at the time, Marsha Mason.Simon's screenplay for The Cheap Detective is a little more complex than Murder by Death, but Moore mounts it on a lavish canvas and draws performances from the all-star cast that don't just entertain, they serve the story. But be assured that Simon cements his position as king of the cinematic one-liner and this very talented cast and director deliver the goods.

I stumbled across this film just as it was starting. The discovery was quite a surprise to me. Although I know many films of the crime genre I had never heard of The Cheap Detective. I decided to give the movie a try.The film is a Neil Simon play adapted for the big screen. This means that one gets very little physical action. One gets characters moving from room to room spouting dialog at each other. This works OK to a point but it holds back the film from becoming more than a 2 to 3 star movie. Turner Classic movies has it as 2 star; I think 3 star is probably better but it probably settle between the 2 ratings.The set up section was a bit slow and had me wondering if I would stay through to the end. I know many of the films being parodied and I know how hard it is to pull in all the various elements to make a humorous parody so I can cut the production some slack there. So...while a send up of Casablanca's Ricks is necessary it doesn't mean that it came off that well.The film gets better once we get out of Rick's. The pacing and the dialog come together better once we get to what I think Simon had more in mind which is a Sam Spade\Philip Marlowe send up of the Cheap Detective's relationship with his women. But...the scenes have to be set up somehow.I read from some the reviews that they can't understand Peter Falk's dialog. I had no issues with his speech. In fact the film is carried by Falk's acting ability. He pulls off the Cheap Detective role well because it is not far from Columbo for him to play.It certainly helps to know the source material. The cameos and supporting roles add a charm 35 years later playing the game of "oh...that is so-and-so" as they appear on screen. But if one doesn't know that John Houseman is doing a send up of Sydney Greenstreet's Kasper Gutman then one completely misses out on what is actually going on.The problem is that there is no real purpose to the story. There is no point. It doesn't have that "edge" that Mel Brook's most successful films\stories had. If you didn't see where this was going you must be young.That said...I didn't mind watching The Cheap Detective. Will I buy it and add to the movie collection? Probably not. Do I consider it better, same or worse than Murder By Death? Well...it is different because The Cheap Detective only has one lead character to lampoon versus creating the MBD ensemble. I personally like CD over MBD but only because I am more over a ladies man for a movie and CD has more cheesecake in it. That's hardly saying one is better; I think they are basically the same product just done a little bit different.It certainly is a lot better...though....than the sophomoric material that passes for comedy in today's world.