Inspired by his love for Dashiell Hammett novels, nightclub comedian Eddie Ginley puts an ad in the paper as a private eye. The case he gets turns out to be a strange setup and as he digs to... Read allInspired by his love for Dashiell Hammett novels, nightclub comedian Eddie Ginley puts an ad in the paper as a private eye. The case he gets turns out to be a strange setup and as he digs to the bottom of it his life starts falling apart.Inspired by his love for Dashiell Hammett novels, nightclub comedian Eddie Ginley puts an ad in the paper as a private eye. The case he gets turns out to be a strange setup and as he digs to the bottom of it his life starts falling apart.
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
- Joey
- (as Joey Kenyon)
- Clifford
- (as Chris Cunningham)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDebut directorial film of Stephen Frears.
- Quotes
Anne Scott: [Eddie has gone to Botha Export Co Ltd for further investigations] We're closed!
Eddie Ginley: Got your coat?
Anne Scott: Yeah!
Eddie Ginley: Put it on.
Anne Scott: Who are you?
Eddie Ginley: Board of Trade.
Anne Scott: Well, what do you want?
Eddie Ginley: We have Powers Of Search.
Anne Scott: You don't look like the Board Of Trade to me.
Eddie Ginley: We're changing the image. Would you sit down please. Oh, wait. You've got something on your eye. No, don't touch it, don't touch it. Leave it to me. Relax.
[removes her glasses]
Eddie Ginley: Close your eyes.
[Kisses her]
Anne Scott: I'm Anne Scott.
Eddie Ginley: I'm all shook up.
Anne Scott: What's your name?
Eddie Ginley: Modelling. Clay Modelling.
Anne Scott: I don't think I fancy you, Modelling.
Eddie Ginley: Work on it.
Anne Scott: I like tall men.
Eddie Ginley: The Seven Dwarves got Snow White.
Anne Scott: Only cos they crowded her.
Eddie Ginley: You'll have to go on your knees then.
Anne Scott: On this floor?
Eddie Ginley: I'll put a cushion down.
Anne Scott: I couldn't.
Eddie Ginley: Why not?
Anne Scott: I stoop to conquer, I don't kneel.
- Crazy creditsThe opening Columbia logo does not have the Columbia name on it, just the lady with the torch.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Red Dwarf: Gunmen of the Apocalypse (1993)
An interesting concept is not really that well delivered in this erratic and inconsistent film. The story lifts the genre traditions of the Sam Spade style detective novel and places it down in early 1970's Liverpool. This culture clash offered an interesting film but sadly it is the lack of certainty about what it is trying to achieve that ultimately lets it down. At times it is quite engaging in regards the mystery but then at other times it seems to be not taking it seriously and happy to have it as a canvas for making genre gags. It gets stronger in the final third but up till then it doesn't engage in the way as true detective story of the genre should do. The chance to see Liverpool as it was back in the late sixties/early seventies is welcome but I didn't think that the two cultures were worked into one another that well it seemed the film was content to leave the juxtaposition as a gag and nothing more.
The cast work surprisingly well with this and they try and play it for what it is the best they can. Finney leads the cast well but is weak when the material is weak; his changing accent bugged me to some degree but playing the case hard saw him becoming more what the genre requires. His support is mostly good because they fit in with the sectioned tone well really it is Finney that suffers more than anyone else because he has to try and fit in with each scene.
Overall this is more a curio than a good film in its own right. Not till the final third does it decide how it wants to play it for sure and as a result it is mostly uneven and hard to get into. I did enjoy the pace and grit of the final third but I did wonder why it was left so late in the game to pull it all together and get moving.
- bob the moo
- Oct 28, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Auf leisen Sohlen
- Filming locations
- Lucky Horseshoe cafe, Shaftsbury Ave, London, England, UK(Ginley has a coffee with his mate while in London)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $143,658
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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