The Cheap Detective (1978)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Robert Moore

Writer:

Neil Simon (written by)

Release Date:

23 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Who dunnit? This time it's Neil Simon who's really dunnit.

Plot:

A combined parody of The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942): San Francisco, 1940, detectives, dames, documents, Nazis, a treasure...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Beautiful Woman | Sequel | Second Part

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Lou Peckinpaugh
Ann-Margret	...	Jezebel Dezire
Eileen Brennan	...	Betty DeBoop
Sid Caesar	...	Ezra Dezire
Stockard Channing	...	Bess
James Coco	...	Marcel
Dom DeLuise	...	Pepe Damascus
Louise Fletcher	...	Marlene DuChard
John Houseman	...	Jasper Blubber
Madeline Kahn	...	Mrs. Montenegro
Fernando Lamas	...	Paul DuChard
Marsha Mason	...	Georgia Merkle
Phil Silvers	...	Hoppy
Abe Vigoda	...	Sergeant Rizzuto
Paul Williams	...	Boy

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

'Madeline Kahn' 'qv' 's character uses 16 names: Denise Manderley, Wanda Coleman, Gilda Dabney, Chloe LaMarr, Alma Chalmers, Alma Palmers, Vivian Purcell, Carmen Montenegro, Diane Glucksman, Mrs. Danvers, Natasha Ublenskaya, Sophie DeVega, Mary Jones, Lady Edwina Morgan St. Paul, Norma Shearer, and Barbara Stanwyck. The name used most is Mrs. Montenegro.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The movie takes place in 1939, yet the song sung in the nightclub is 'La Vie En Rose' which was not written until 1946.

Quotes:

Lou Peckinpaugh: This signature's been tampered with. Your name isn't Denise Manderley, is it?
Mrs. Montenegro: No. It's Wanda Coleman.
Lou Peckinpaugh: Then why does your driver's license say Gilda Dabney?
Mrs. Montenegro: I believe my life is in danger; that's why I've taken so many precautions. My real name is... Chloe Lamar.
Lou Peckinpaugh: Well, thank you, Miss Lamar. I appreciate your honesty. Now can you tell me why you let yourself in with this passkey to search my office? What is it that you were looking for?
Mrs. Montenegro: Uh, to be perfectly frank, your bathroom.
Lou Peckinpaugh: I don't have any.
Mrs. Montenegro: Yes! I found that out a little too late...
Lou Peckinpaugh: All right, can we stop playing games now? It isn't Manderley, or Coleman, or Dabney, or even Lamar, is it? The initials on this handkerchief are A.P. - what does A.P. stand for?
Mrs. Montenegro: Alma Chalmers.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Soundtrack:

Ain't Misbehavin'

The Cheap Detective is Fabulous

Neil Simon's movies always shine with his marvelous talent. The spoofs of Humphrey Bogart, his movies and other famous people/characters are priceless. My favorite scene in The Cheap Detective is where Eileen Brennen is singing in a cabaret, holding a cigarette out to the detective with her line "Well aren't you going to light my fire?" And he says (paraphrased)"well I was just checking out your kindling". Wonderful script and sharp and funny dialogue. Eileen is beautiful here. Peter Falk is very sexy in the title role. And could anyone ever compare with Madeline Kahn - they threw away the pattern on her. I think Humphrey Bogart would not only laugh at the spoofs of him but also be flattered that his persona has become so classic and so well-known and easily identifiable. There was a wonderful actor in "Dark Shadows" who early in his career did imitations of Bogie and looked a lot like him. He also played Bogie in a movie I believe. I wish there were more movies as good as Neil Simon's.