Other Titles • The Cheap Detective (1978) • Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective • Der Schmalspurschnüffler (1978)
Synopses for The Cheap Detective (1978)
1.
Most fans of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink comedies like The Naked Gun and Hot Shots probably think the genre started with Airplane!, but Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective came two years earlier. It's a camp parody of Humphrey Bogart's 1940s detective flicks (particularly The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep), with a big dose of Casablanca thrown in for good measure. There's no point in describing the plot--it's little more than a series of cameos by just about every actor working in the 1970s, including Ann-Margaret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman, Marsha Mason, and Nicol Williamson. Peter Falk plays the detective and does a fine Bogey impression. Unfortunately, it's not Neil Simon's best work--he's better at character comedy such as The Odd Couple and The Goodbye Girl than this kind of slapstick--but there are a few good lines and the cast gives it their best. Louise Fletcher, not usually known for comedy, does a sharp satire of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, and Madeline Kahn never fails to entertain in a variety of disguises. --Bret Fetzer
2.
Neil Simon's spoof of CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON, among others, tells the story of private detective Lou Peckinpaugh (Falk), a man accused of killing his own partner. As Peckinpaugh follows a trail of looney characters around San Francisco, he uncovers a plot involving a dozen diamonds hidden in an egg carton. Meanwhile, he also attempts to help members of the French Resistance find safe passage to Oakland. In addition to all this lunacy, he must assist the group in the search for their missing Liquor License. It was stolen by a Member of the Nazi Party -- which just so happens to be based in Cincinnati! Falk is hysterical in this entertaining send-up of classic cinema.
3.
The Cheap Detective is a hilarious Humphrey Bogart send-up, blending the plots of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon with the comedic vision of Neil Simon. Peter Falk is Lou Peckingpaugh, the worldly, cynical gumshoe who takes on thugs, crooks, Nazis, femme fatales and the Golden Gate Bridge in this terrific tribute to Bogie and the Hammett/Chandler school of hard-boiled detectives. An incredible ensemble cast does take-offs of characters made famous by Mary Astor (Madeline Kahn), Sidney Greenstreet (John Houseman), Lauren Bacall (Ann-Margret), Peter Lorre (Dom DeLuise), Ingrid Bergman (Louis Fletcher), and Paul Henreid (Fernando Lamas). Want more? How about Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Nicol Williamson, James Coco, and Scatman Crothers - just a few of the many cast members who add to the merriment. The Cheap Detective is the perfect entertainment for anyone who loves Bogart, films of the forties, or a good healthy laugh.
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