Peeper (1975)

In 1947, a smart-mouthed Brit working in L.A. as a private eye (or peeper) is on a case to find the long lost daughter of a shady client pursued by two dangerous goons. The case leads him to a rich oddball Beverly Hills family.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Keith Laumer (novel), W.D. Richter

Stars:

Michael Caine, Natalie Wood, Kitty Winn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Leslie C. Tucker
Natalie Wood	...	Ellen Prendergast
Kitty Winn	...	Mianne Prendergast
Michael Constantine	...	Anglich
Thayer David	...	Frank Prendergast
Timothy Carey	...	Sid (as Timothy Agoglia Carey)
Liam Dunn	...	Billy Pate
Don Calfa	...	Rosie
Margo Winkler	...	Woman with Luggage
Harvey J. Goldenberg	...	Mailman
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Prendergast
Buffy Dee	...	Bazooka Himself
Gary Combs	...	Torpedo
Robert Ito	...	Butler
Snag Werris	...	Comic

Storyline

In 1947, a smart-mouthed Brit working in L.A. as a private eye (or peeper) is on a case to find the long lost daughter of a shady client pursued by two dangerous goons. The case leads him to a rich oddball Beverly Hills family.

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Plot Keywords:

shady client | client killed | neo noir | smart mouthed protagonist | comedic banter | 

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Taglines:

Back in '47, a gun was a roscoe, a private-eye was a Peeper, and murder was okay as long as nobody got hurt. In fact, anything was okay with this Peeper on the case because he wouldn't know who-done-it even if he done it himself.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was Natalie Wood's first theatrical movie in seven years, her last having been Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). In the interim though, Wood did appear in the television movie The Affair (1973).

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Goofs

While on the cruise ship mariachi music is being played, but when the group is shown going by, they are not playing their instruments.

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Quotes

Anglich: Listen to me, I put my kid in an orphanage 29 years ago. It was a nice place; trees, flowers, other kids to play with. And I had to go away, on business. You get the picture?
Anglich: When you came back, she was gone - and you are holding my shirt. Thank you.
Anglich: Only two years later, they give her away to some stranger.
Leslie C. Tucker: She was adopted you mean?
Anglich: Adopted! The place is a pawn shop. I got a hold of this mug that worked there, charged me 75 dollars - in 1919, that's a million - anyhow, told me she was took by a ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are spoken by a Humphrey Bogart impersonator.

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Connections

Featured in Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020)

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Soundtracks

Give Me the Simple Life
(uncredited)
Music by Rube Bloom
Played on the piano at the Penguin Lounge

User Reviews

Not very good, but a curio.

I don't think Peeper is a very good film, but I agree that it shouldn't have completely fallen off the map the way it did. It was given a belated if limited DVD release last year.

Timing was not on this film's side. Chinatown paid tribute to film noir in classic fashion only a year before it was released; Play It Again, Sam had spoofed it successfully only a year before that. Those two films, not to mention the films of the film noir era, leave Peeper looking very slight indeed.

Still, Caine has fun as an almost bumbling detective, and Natalie brings smarts and unparalleled sex appeal to her role as a shady lady. The supporting cast is pretty nigh flawless as well, and production values couldn't be better. The script, unfortunately, doesn't add add up to much.

Director Hyams, in a special feature interview, recalls telling Natalie to turn around at the end of a long tracking shot at the end of a long day. She asked what would motivate her to do that and he answered that the camera couldn't follow her if she didn't. She paused and said, "okay, I can feel that". It's too bad that at no point in her last decade did Natalie get to make a movie where character motivation was prioritized, but it's unsurprising to hear that she was a good sport about it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fat Chance

Filming Locations:

Harold Lloyd's Greenacres Estate - 1740 Green Acres Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1