Gumshoe (1971)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Neville Smith (written by)

Release Date:

December 1971 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Ginley's a gumshoe. Ginley's got guts. Ginley's got a gun.

Plot:

Ginley (Albert Finney) is a nightclub bingo caller eager for a career change. On his thirty-first birthday...

Plot Keywords:

Bingo | Smuggler | Liverpool | Bookstore | Library

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Eddie Ginley
Billie Whitelaw	...	Ellen
Frank Finlay	...	William
Janice Rule	...	Mrs. Blankerscoon
Carolyn Seymour	...	Alison
Fulton Mackay	...	Straker
George Innes	...	Bookshop Proprietor
George Silver	...	De Fries
Bill Dean	...	Tommy (as Billy Dean)
Wendy Richard	...	Anne Scott
Maureen Lipman	...	Naomi
Neville Smith	...	Arthur
Oscar James	...	Azinge
Joe Kenyon	...	Joey
Bert King	...	Mal

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Anne Scott: I'd rather fight than switch.
Eddie Ginley: [dialling phone] So you'd rather fight? What weight are you?
Anne Scott: Bantam.
Eddie Ginley: I'm heavy.
Anne Scott: Ooh. You've got the weight, I've got the speed.
Eddie Ginley: I sometimes hit below the belt.
Eddie Ginley: [Phones again]
Anne Scott: Hit below the belt, do you?
Eddie Ginley: And I've got a long reach.
Anne Scott: That's no good in a clinch.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Red Dwarf: Gunmen of the Apocalypse (#6.3)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Baby, You're Good For Me

Surprisingly fresh and very well written

This film buzzes with excitement and whips along at a great pace. It's cliché precisely because Eddie Ginley sees everything that way. That's the charm.

The script works well, and is a delight if you concentrate (!) All the actors give deeply - the sparring between Finlay and Finney is marvellous. How they kept straight faces is a mystery - they seem to be enjoying it so much.

All the locations are raw and stark but never over-done or contrived. What you see is what there was in 1970's Liverpool and London.

A thoroughly enjoyable film with a top-class cast.