''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American mystery

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

and directed by Robert Moore. It stars

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...

as Lou Peckinpaugh, a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

. The film is a parody of Bogart films such as ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' and '' The Maltese Falcon''. The

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

includes

Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her numero ...

, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan,

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, John Houseman, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, James Coco,

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...

, Fernando Lamas,

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a British actor. He was once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" an ...

, Scatman Crothers, Vic Tayback and Paul Williams.

Plot

Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), a bumbling San Francisco private detective, tries to prove himself innocent of his partner's murder while helping a bizarre array of characters recover a lost treasure. A large number of people are murdered in crazy death poses before he finds out from Pepe Damascus that they were all after twelve large egg-shaped diamonds. Vladimir Tserijemiwtz, who had the diamonds, is shot by his partner Marcel, who had been bleeding for 10 years. Peckinpaugh confronts those searching for the diamonds in his home, finding that the eggs concealed real baby chicks. A final confrontation between the protagonists and Col. Schlissel ensues at the waterfront.

Cast

as Lou Peckinpaugh (Humphrey Bogart) * Ann-Margret as Jezebel Dezire * Eileen Brennan as Betty DeBoop * Sid Caesar as Ezra Dezire/Vladimir Tserijemiwtz *

as Bess (Lee Patrick) * James Coco as Marcel * Dom DeLuise as Pepe Damascus (Peter Lorre) *

as Marlene DuChard (Ingrid Bergman) * John Houseman as Jasper Blubber (Sydney Greenstreet) *

as Mrs. Montenegro (Mary Astor) * Fernando Lamas as Paul DuChard (Paul Henreid) * Marsha Mason as Georgia Merkle (Gladys George) *

as Hoppy * Abe Vigoda as Sgt. Rizzuto * Paul Williams as Boy (Elisha Cook Jr.) *

as Col. Schlissel (Conrad Veidt) * Carmine Caridi as Sgt. Crosetti * James Cromwell as Schnell * Scatman Crothers as Tinker (Dooley Wilson) * David Ogden Stiers as Captain * Vic Tayback as Lieutenant DiMaggio *

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

as Qvicker * Jonathan Banks as Cabbie

Reception

The film grossed $5,113,743 in its opening weekend from 648 theaters, finishing third for the weekend behind '' Grease'' and ''

Jaws 2 ''Jaws 2'' is a 1978 American horror thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws'' (1975), and the second installment in the ''Jaws'' franchise. The film stars Roy ...

'' in their second weekends. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

stated that "If you loved '' The Maltese Falcon'' and can recite all the best lines from ''

'' by heart, you'll hate 'The Cheap Detective', which is basically just the year's classiest and most expensive rip-off." Margaret Booth who worked for Ray Stark said the film "wasn't funny." A number of critics gave the film very positive reviews: ''

The Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the larges ...

'' noted that "Neil Simon has done it again. Written a film that is funny, entertaining, and a treat for old movie buffs." Ed Mintz founded

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

in 1979 after disliking ''The Cheap Detective'' despite being a fan of Neil Simon and hearing another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people instead of

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheap Detective, The 1970s American films 1970s comedy mystery films 1970s crime comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s parody films 1978 films 1978 comedy films American comedy mystery films American crime comedy films American detective films American parody films Columbia Pictures films EMI Films films Films directed by Robert Moore Films produced by Ray Stark Films scored by Patrick Williams (composer) Films set in San Francisco Films set in the 1940s Films with screenplays by Neil Simon English-language crime comedy films English-language comedy mystery films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links