The Late Show (1977)

A grumpy semi-retired private investigator partners with a quirky female client to catch the people who murdered his partner.

Director:

Robert Benton

Writer:

Robert Benton

Stars:

Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | gun | cat | noir | gumshoe | 

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Taglines:

The nicest, warmest, funniest, and most touching movie you'll ever see about blackmail, mystery, and murder.

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 1977 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

La última investigación

Filming Locations:

6601 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Lion's Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of several 1970s spoofs of film noir and hard-boiled detective films 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 films included Murder by Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978), Peeper (1975), The Long Goodbye (1973), Play It Again, Sam (1972), and The Man with Bogart's Face (1980).

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Goofs

The first close-up of Charlie's white shoes with blood on them also shows Ira's black shoes right next to him, but Ira doesn't walk up to help Charlie until the following shot.

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Quotes

Margo Sperling: Boy, it's really lucky for you that I just happen to be a very self-destructive person.

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

What Was
Lyrics by Stephen Lehner
Music by Kenneth Wannberg (as Ken Wannberg)
Sung by Bev Kelly

User Reviews

genuine sleeper

For those drained and insulted by most of today's no plot, predictable no brainers, this will come as welcome relief. Most reviewers really don't get this little charmer. The direction is deft, the plot well-constructed and the ensemble acting is always on the mark. Though it was directed by Robert Benton of Kramer vs Kramer fame, it was produced by Robert Altman and his influence is evident. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin have great chemistry together and the cast of veteran character actors is top notch. There are moments of goofy good humor, tragedy, sweet wistfulness and chair-gripping tension. This has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Sandman says check it out!