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:

neo noir | man wears eyeglasses | hitman | breaking the fourth wall | no opening credits | 

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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

One of several 1970s spoofs of film-noir and hard-boiled detective movies of the 1940s from the likes of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, some of which starred Humphrey Bogart, who was the main target of the parodies. The movies included Murder by Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978), both from Neil Simon, The Long Goodbye (1973), Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972), The Man with Bogart's Face (1980), and this movie.

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Goofs

A scene is filmed with two autos playing tag on the L.A. freeway, which was not constructed until the 1950s.

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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

Interesting Neo Noir

I just saw this interesting little oddity. This isn't an especially good film, but it's more than good enough to while away an hour and a half. It's a fun little homage to film noir with it's tongue planted firmly in cheek. Great performances by Michael Cine and Natalie Wood as well as an excellent supporting cast plus a well crafted script but the film itself just doesn't quite gel. A big part of that might be due to Peter Hyams, a technically proficient and often overlooked director. Hyams is generally just a director for hire but he really puts a personal touch to every film he directs, although he rarely is given very good material to work with. Peeper was one of his earliest films, and the film's uneven pacing is probably a result of his limited experience. Still, Peeper is a pretty decent film and worth a look. It's a shame the film disappeared after it's initial limited theatrical release, but it is now available on DVD. The print is an excellent digital transfer and there's even about thirty minutes of special features on the making of the film, a nice bonus for a film which has been basically forgotten.

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