Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut.

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Carl Reiner, George Gipe

Stars:

Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Alan Ladd

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)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

revolver | prison | jail | conspiracy | island | 

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Taglines:

Laugh... or I'll blow your lips off!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Men Wear No Plaid

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,289,601, 23 May 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,197,170

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Film Society, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was part of, if not arrived shortly after, the end of a cycle of a number of 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), both from Neil Simon, Peeper (1975), The Long Goodbye (1973), Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972), and The Man with Bogart's Face (1980).

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Goofs

At one point Reardon references the Kinsey Report; the first volume was published in 1948, but the movie is set in 1946.

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Quotes

Rigby Reardon: My plan was to kiss her with every lip on my face.

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Crazy Credits

After the Cast there comes the dedication: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was Edith Head's final film. To her, and to all the brilliant technical and creative people who worked on the films of the 1940's and 1950's, this motion picture is affectionately dedicated.

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Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (2010)

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Soundtracks

Dead Men's Bolero
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Lyrics by Steve Goodman

User Reviews

A quirky but funny movie

Its the sort of idea that inevitably gets tried out as soon as it becomes technically possible. Inter-cutting classic film noir with contemporary work to produce a comedy film. Usually such ideas come a serious cropper - as was proved (as others have stated) by Zelig. However, this film hits it right on the mark. The design and editing allow for seamless cutting between the old and the new footage. The script is good and has the right level of absurd humour to make the film work. I'm not a fan of Steve Martin but its impossible to imagine anyone else matching this performance. Rachel Ward is beautiful and sassy. Its a film of its time - just made in time to catch the costume and musical talent of the past before they departed from the scene but made before the sort of hi-tech morphing and cgi which would have ruined its feel.

If you haven't seen it then watch it - if you have seen it then watch it again. This definitely rewards repeated viewings. Its no Citizen Kane but it is darned good entertainment if you share my sense of humour...