IMDb > Gumshoe (1971)
Gumshoe
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Gumshoe (1971) -- Albert Finney stars as a bingo-caller who, bored with his mundane existence, takes out a newspaper ad offering his services as a private detective. In no time at all, Finney finds himself involved in a series of plots and counterplots.

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   393 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 323% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Stephen Frears
Writer:
Neville Smith (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Gumshoe on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
December 1971 (UK) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery more
Tagline:
Ginley's a gumshoe. Ginley's got guts. Ginley's got a gun. more
Plot:
Ginley (Albert Finney) is a nightclub bingo caller eager for a career change. On his thirty-first birthday... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
Movie Alert! Four Back-to-back Winners On TCM Tonight
 (From CinemaRetro. 7 November 2009, 2:09 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Pleasant whiff of an idea...and a good showcase for Finney more (12 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Albert Finney ... Eddie Ginley
Billie Whitelaw ... Ellen Ginley - William's wife
Frank Finlay ... William Ginley - Eddie's brother
Janice Rule ... Mrs. Blankerscoon
Carolyn Seymour ... Alison Wyatt
Fulton Mackay ... John Straker
George Innes ... Bookshop Proprietor
George Silver ... De Fries
Bill Dean ... Tommy (as Billy Dean)
Wendy Richard ... Anne Scott
Maureen Lipman ... Naomi
Neville Smith ... Arthur
Oscar James ... Azinge
Joe Kenyon ... Joey
Bert King ... Mal
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Additional Details

Runtime:
88 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | UK:AA (original rating)

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Anne Scott: I'd rather fight than switch.
Eddie Ginley: [dialling phone] So you'd rather fight? What weight are you?
Anne Scott: Bantam.
Eddie Ginley: I'm heavy.
Anne Scott: Ooh. You've got the weight, I've got the speed.
Eddie Ginley: I sometimes hit below the belt.
Eddie Ginley: [Phones again]
Anne Scott: Hit below the belt, do you?
Eddie Ginley: And I've got a long reach.
Anne Scott: That's no good in a clinch.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Red Dwarf: Gunmen of the Apocalypse (#6.3)" (1993) more
Soundtrack:
Baby, You're Good For Me more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Pleasant whiff of an idea...and a good showcase for Finney, 7 November 2009
6/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Albert Finney is wonderful playing a nightclub comic in Liverpool, a fan of hard-boiled detective stories, who places an advertisement in the paper looking for work as a private eye; he is immediately handed a case involving a fat man, a college student, drugs, and gun-running. Directorial debut from Stephen Frears is consciously not a spoof or satire of American noirs, but rather an homage: an original detective story all its own (albeit one with an unfulfilled plot and supporting characters). Screenwriter Neville Smith's wisecracks work far better than the mystery Finney finds himself enmeshed in, and the pieces which do fall into place seem to happen off-screen. A nonchalant running joke with Finney talking in fast, curt one-liners--and everyone else responding to him in kind--is the film's most charming achievement. If only the story were not so convoluted (and yet wrapped up so unceremoniously), this might have been a minor gem. **1/2 from ****

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