A grumpy semi-retired private investigator partners with a quirky female client to catch the people who murdered his partner.
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Title: The Late Show (1977)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Art Carney | ... | Ira Wells | |
| Lily Tomlin | ... | Margo Sterling | |
| Bill Macy | ... | Charlie Hatter | |
| Eugene Roche | ... | Ron Birdwell | |
| Joanna Cassidy | ... | Laura Birdwell | |
| John Considine | ... | Jeff Lamar | |
| Ruth Nelson | ... | Mrs. Schmidt | |
 |
John Davey | ... | Sergeant Dayton |
| Howard Duff | ... | Harry Regan | |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
|
|
Ethel Reschke | ||
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Ira Wells is an aged retired Los Angeles, California based private investigator comes out of retirement when a former partner, Harry Regan, shows up on his doorstep with a bullet wound to the gut, and dies. Ira wants to find out who killed Harry. Ira is contacted by another long-time acquaintance, Charlie Hatter, a self-proclaimed loser and Hollywood hack, about Harry's last case. Harry's client was Margo Sterling, a former client of Charlie's who is a flaky penniless new-age actress, agent, and dress maker. She hired Harry to retrieve her missing cat, Winston, who is still being held ransom by an acquaintance named Brian Hemphill, who stole Winston because Margo "borrowed" money. With all this, Ira has to figure out what would be the reason for someone to kill Harry. Written by Huggo
Taglines:
The nicest movie you'll ever see about murder and blackmail. [Lobby Card] See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Lyrics by Stephen Lehner
Music by Kenneth Wannberg (as Ken Wannberg)
Sung by Bev Kelly
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Robert Benton originally wanted producer Robert Altman to direct the film. Altman read the script and took on producer duties, but felt Benton should direct. See more »Goofs
In the final scene, as ira and Margo leave the cemetery, the sign is misspelled Hollywood Cemetary. See more »Soundtracks
What WasLyrics by Stephen Lehner
Music by Kenneth Wannberg (as Ken Wannberg)
Sung by Bev Kelly
See more »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
4 July 1977 (Denmark) See more »Also Known As:
The Late Show See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
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I really like this sweet semi-comic homage to the great detective films. Art Carney is simply wonderful as a gumshoe now in his 60s, gaining weight and losing foot-speed, but with wits as sharp as ever, and wisdom gained by time. This is what one of Bogie's great detective characters probably would be like 30 years later.
He's drawn into an absurdly complex crime situation, when a slightly wacko aging hippie wanna-be actress (played by Lily Tomlin) hires him to help find her lost cat. '
Some of the humor is a bit broad for the more serious themes underneath, and as much as I always love Tomlin, there were times she seemed to be flirting with caricature.
But the almost-romantic chemistry between this supremely miss-matched pair is terrific and fun to watch. It doesn't add up to anything huge, but it's intelligent, fun well-executed entertainment for grown ups – something that's far too rare in the current cinema.