The Private Eyes (1980)

This spoof of the Sherlock Holmes stories finds Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart investigating a strange death in a possibly haunted mansion, while dealing with the beautiful heiress and the ... See full summary »

Director:

Lang Elliott

Writers:

Tim Conway, John Myhers

Stars:

Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Trisha Noble

Cast

Cast overview:
Tim Conway	...	Dr. Tart
Don Knotts	...	Inspector Winship
Trisha Noble	...	Mistress Phyllis Morley
Bernard Fox	...	Justin
Grace Zabriskie	...	Nanny
John Fujioka	...	Mr. Uwatsum
Stan Ross	...	Tibet
Irwin Keyes	...	Jock
Suzy Mandel	...	Hilda
Fred Stuthman	...	Lord Morley
Mary Nell Santacroce	...	Lady Morley
Robert V. Barron	...	Gas Station Attendant
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Roy
Russi Taylor	...	Doll Voice (voice)

Storyline

This spoof of the Sherlock Holmes stories finds Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart investigating a strange death in a possibly haunted mansion, while dealing with the beautiful heiress and the crazed staff which live therein.

---

Plot Keywords:

mansion | inspector | heiress | spoof | sherlock holmes | 

---

Taglines:

Who better to solve England's most puzzling mystery than these two international crime busters?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Detectives casi privados

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Estate - 1 Approach Road, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$18,014,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Private Eyes Partners Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 97 min (Laserdisc) 100 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Morley mansion is actually the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, a house which has appeared in many other films.

---

Goofs

When Tart and Winship spy on Phyllis through the eyes of the painting, they slide pieces of wood away from the openings. When they finish, the sliding piece is gone from Tart's position.

---

Quotes

Doll voice: Listen up dummies. The help is all gone, the house is bare. Now you know, a shadow is there. There's one left to die, then my job'll be done. I like killing people, it's a lotta kicks!

---

Crazy Credits

During 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.

---

Connections

References The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)

User Reviews

Classic Comedy from two old pros

From all the Don Knotts and Tim Conway films I've seen, this is by far my favorite. The brilliant chemistry between the actors is enough to keep the movie going, but it doesn't stop there. The plot itself, while admittedly spoofed, is intriguing, and I didn't expect the ending at all the first time I saw it. The fouled-up poems are always good for a laugh, not to mention the exceptionally well played "stoff," (not staff). The time-gun gag is priceless, and was undoubtedly an idea of Conway himself. From what I recall from an interview I saw with Don Knotts, he said this, and all others with Conway are personal favorites, because they were so "hard to produce." As he put it, it took probably three or four times as long to film as it should have because he and Conway couldn't stop improvising the script, and laughing, and so on. This is one film that I would love to see outtakes from. In all, a very good film with loads of laughs...some subtle, some in your face, but all-around a really good film.