Peeper (1975)

Set in the 1940s, the story follows a private eye on a case to find a long lost daughter of an oddball client. Two goons are on a mission to stop him.

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

Set in the 1940s, the story follows a private eye on a case to find a long lost daughter of an oddball client. Two goons are on a mission to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

1940s | family relationships | one word title | search | private detective | 

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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 | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Guy Marks: Uncredited, as a man in an alley doing a Humphrey Bogart imitation at the start of the movie, speaking the film's opening credits.

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Goofs

The cruise liner at the end of the film looks far too modern for 1947. It is the MS Starward, built in 1968, and still in service today as the MV Orient Queen.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are spoken by a Humphrey Bogart impersonator.

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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

A forgotten gem

This is one of those movies that is just immensely good fun. First of all, it has an excellent cast. Caine is wonderful as the world-weary London private eye adrift in Los Angeles. Michael Constantine, as the ex-con desperate to find his daughter, has never been better. Natalie is very good as the satin-clad femme fatale. And then there's the outstanding supporting cast. In a sense, this film is a tribute to character actors. Even the unappreciated Robert Ito shows up as the sinister Japanese butler.

But even given the cast, what really shines is the W. D. Richter's script. Especially our hero's brilliant analysis of the location of a house based on the angle of the sun and the shadows it casts, followed by his discovery that: "I wasn't even close. It was in Beverly Hills."

On the other hand, your favorite bit may be the Humphrey Bogart impersonator reciting the credits at the beginning of the film to the accompaniment of a lone trumpet (at least, that's how I remember it; actually, since the other reviewer and I seem to be the only people in the world who have actually seen this film, who's to argue?) It's a sad fact that Peeper has been dumped. It doesn't even appear on most filmographies of Michael Caine. It's not available on video in any form, and I have never seen it appear on television (maybe we can persuade The Mystery Channel to show it, if the tape hasn't disintegrated by now). So if there's a patron saint of forgotten films wandering around this site, why don't you see if you can nudge 20th Century Fox into releasing it. It deserves better.