Amazon.com: 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
Great! LOVE this movie. I watched it 3 times and it had me rolling every time. The dialogue sometimes elicits groans, but it is so funny. If you enjoy classic detective movies, you have to watch this spoof. Hilarious!!!
Widescreen available on Amazon.ca For those like me looking for a widescreen version of this title (it was filmed in anamorphic 2.35:1), it's available on Amazon's Canadian website - for a decent price I might add.
"Why do they tell me these things?" I loved Peter Falk in this movie. I picked up the DVD some time back and only just now had an opportunity to watch it. FUNNY! Of course, you really have to know Casablanca to appreciate just how funny it really is.
Funny , Funny, Funny One of the most hilarious movies ever made -- Peter Falk is magnificent.
5 if in widescreen This is a wonderful tribute to the films of Bogart. True, it's a spoof, but humor is a wonderful tribute. Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpah is outstanding, and the rest of the cast matches him. Neil Simon, who cut his teeth writing for Sid Caesar, does some of his best work here. The humor starts off with the prologue, and never quits. If you enjoy a good spoof, this is one of the best. Watch it with MURDER BY DEATH.
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