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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) 6.7
Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut. Director:Carl Reiner |
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Title: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Steve Martin | ... | ||
| Rachel Ward | ... | ||
| Alan Ladd | ... |
(in "This Gun For Hire")
(archive footage)
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| Carl Reiner | ... |
Field Marshall VonKluck
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| Barbara Stanwyck | ... |
(in "Sorry - Wrong Number")
(archive footage)
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| Ray Milland | ... |
(in "The Lost Weekend")
(archive footage)
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| Ava Gardner | ... |
(in "The Killers" /
"The Bribe")
(archive footage)
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| Burt Lancaster | ... |
(in "The Killers")
(archive footage)
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| Humphrey Bogart | ... |
(in "The Big Sleep" /
"In a Lonely Place" /
"Dark Passage")
(archive footage)
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| Cary Grant | ... |
(in "Suspicion")
(archive footage)
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| Ingrid Bergman | ... |
(in "Notorious")
(archive footage)
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| Veronica Lake | ... |
(in "The Glass Key")
(archive footage)
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| Bette Davis | ... |
(in "Deception")
(archive footage)
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| Lana Turner | ... |
(in "Johnny Eager" /
"The Postman Always Rings Twice")
(archive footage)
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| Edward Arnold | ... |
(in "Johnny Eager")
(archive footage)
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." Searching for answers, Rigby encounters assorted low-lifes: dangerous men and women who were the hallmarks of the classic detective movies of the 40's and 50's. Filming in black and white allows scenes from old movies to be cut into this film. It is through this process that Rigby's assistant is none other than Philip Marlowe himself. Written by Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>, Ed. by Peter Victor <thevictor99@yahoo.com>
Taglines:
Laugh... or I'll blow your lips off!Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
21 May 1982 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Dead Men Wear No Plaid See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
$4,289,601 (USA) (21 May 1982)Gross:
$4,289,601 (USA) (21 May 1982)Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Rigby Reardon: [voice-over] So there it was: the Carlotta mystery all wrapped up in a neat little bundle. As I stood there kissing Juliet, I thought of nothing but hanging up my gun and spending the rest of my days in that ivy-covered cottage. Little did I realize that, less than a year later, she and I would have an even more exciting adventure - which is coming soon to your neighborhood theater... with a possible nude scene by Juliet.
See more »
Music by Miklós Rózsa (as Miklos Rozsa)
Lyrics by Steve Goodman
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Initially, Steve Martin's character was written to tell off Humphrey Bogart's "mentor" character as an old has-been. The scene in which Martin did this was restored for network-TV showings. See more »Goofs
At one point Reardon references the Kinsey Report; the first volume was published in 1948, but the movie is set in 1946. See more »Quotes
[last lines]Rigby Reardon: [voice-over] So there it was: the Carlotta mystery all wrapped up in a neat little bundle. As I stood there kissing Juliet, I thought of nothing but hanging up my gun and spending the rest of my days in that ivy-covered cottage. Little did I realize that, less than a year later, she and I would have an even more exciting adventure - which is coming soon to your neighborhood theater... with a possible nude scene by Juliet.
See more »
Crazy Credits
After the Cast there comes the dedication: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was Edith Head's final film. To her, and to all the brilliant technical and creative people who worked on the films of the 1940's and 1950's, this motion picture is affectionately dedicated. See more »Soundtracks
"Dead Men's Bolero"Music by Miklós Rózsa (as Miklos Rozsa)
Lyrics by Steve Goodman
See more »
I first saw this in the theater with my dad, at the age of 13, when it was first released - he was a huge fan of classic movies and usually suffered through the stuff he took me to. Not this one - we were both in hysterics, and I'd have to say I owe my huge love of classic Hollywood (and global) cinema to this film. CITIZEN KANE it may not be but no matter - I dug the humor and the atmosphere at the time, and even then was aware of how much work this must have been.
I still watch this one on occasion, and it is the rare comedy that has held up very well with the passage of time - critics at the time seemed to write it off as a stunt, but I've noted that at least a little reevaluation of DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID has occurred over the years. The performances - as both a spoof and a love-letter to film noir - are top notch, with Steve Martin at his best here. The dialog gets deep into Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett hard-boiled private-eye stylishness, serving up gumshoe-with-dame clichés just juiced up enough to give Steve something to run with, while still offering an a solid story. The finale is magnificent, Martin and Carl Reiner jousting their way through an avalanche of every two-bit dime-store whodunnit game-over cliché to ever grace the big screen, cheap alibis falling like drunken angels across the naked city as the big heat descends... Or - ahem -something like that...