Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut.
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Title: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Steve Martin | ... | Rigby Reardon | |
| Rachel Ward | ... | Juliet Forrest | |
| Alan Ladd | ... | The Exterminator (archive footage) | |
| Carl Reiner | ... | Field Marshall VonKluck | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | ... | Leona Hastings-Forrest (archive footage) | |
| Ray Milland | ... | Sam Hastings (in 'Lost Weekend') (archive footage) | |
| Ava Gardner | ... | Kitty Collins (archive footage) | |
| Burt Lancaster | ... | Swede Anderson (archive footage) | |
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | Phillip Marlowe (archive footage) | |
| Cary Grant | ... | 'Handsome' (in 'Suspicion') (archive footage) | |
| Ingrid Bergman | ... | F.X. Huberman (archive footage) | |
| Veronica Lake | ... | Monica Stillpond (archive footage) | |
| Bette Davis | ... | Doris Davermont (archive footage) | |
| Lana Turner | ... | Jimmi-Sue Altfeld (archive footage) | |
| Edward Arnold | ... | Altfeld (archive footage) | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." Searching for answers, Rigby encounters assorted low-lifes: dangerous men and women who were the hallmarks of the classic detective movies of the 40's and 50's. Filming in black and white allows scenes from old movies to be cut into this film. It is through this process that Rigby's assistant is none other than Philip Marlowe himself. Written by Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>, Ed. by Peter Victor <thevictor99@yahoo.com>
Taglines:
Laugh... or I'll blow your lips off!Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
21 May 1982 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Dead Men Wear No Plaid See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$9,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$4,289,601, 23 May 1982, Wide ReleaseGross USA:
$18,197,170Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Rigby Reardon: Can I use her underwear to make soup?
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Did You Know?
Trivia
First of two back-to-back genre spoofs for both actor Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner. This picture parodied film noir and detective films mostly from the 1940s whilst their immediate next movie, The Man with Two Brains (1983), spoofed science fiction and horror films. Both pictures had longish titles which were both five words long. See more »Goofs
The movie is set in 1946 but the small revolver that Rigby grabs out of Vincent Price's waistband in the bed fight scene towards the end of the movie is a nickel plated Smith and Wesson model 36 which did not go into production until 1950. See more »Quotes
Jimmie Sue's Father: Don't go near my daughter again. Don't try to see her. Don't write her and don't phone her.Rigby Reardon: Can I use her underwear to make soup?
See more »
Rigby Reardon, private eye, runs the gauntlet of hoods, femmes fatales and crazed Nazis as he investigates the death of beautiful Juliet Forrest's father. Who are the mysterious "Friends of Carlotta"? And why does Rigby keep dressing in women's clothes? And where did Juliet learn to do that trick with her lips? This celebration of the black and white movies of the 1940's and 50's is a very clever and very amusing film. Extracts from celluloid classics are skilfully spliced into the action (check out the architectural detail on the doorframe in the Alan Ladd sequence). The film is a vehicle for Martin's comic talent and he carries it off beautifully. Rachel Ward as Juliet is terrific: she can hold her own with the screen goddesses who so liberally populate the film (Bergman, Davis, Turner and Crawford all make inserted appearances). A project like this could easily have come a cropper, but thanks to the brisk direction of Carl Reiner (who has a great cameo) and Steve Martin's ability to dominate the screen, the movie is a resounding success. It's also very funny.