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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
21 May 1982 (USA)
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Tagline:
Laugh... or I'll blow your lips off!
Plot:
Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Parody
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Murder
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Stock Footage
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Henchman
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Voice Over
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NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
An Open Letter to Steve Martin
(From Get The Big Picture. 6 February 2009, 10:36 AM, PST)
Another Awful 'Pink Panther 2' Trailer
(From Get The Big Picture. 25 December 2008, 9:52 PM, PST)
(From Get The Big Picture. 6 February 2009, 10:36 AM, PST)
Another Awful 'Pink Panther 2' Trailer
(From Get The Big Picture. 25 December 2008, 9:52 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Fun For Film Noir Buffs; Otherwise Convoluting
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Steve Martin | ... | Rigby Reardon | |
| Rachel Ward | ... | Juliet Forrest | |
| Alan Ladd | ... | (in "This Gun For Hire") (archive footage) | |
| Carl Reiner | ... | Field Marshall VonKluck | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | ... | (in "Sorry - Wrong Number") (archive footage) | |
| Ray Milland | ... | (in "The Lost Weekend") (archive footage) | |
| Ava Gardner | ... | (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage) | |
| Burt Lancaster | ... | (in "The Killers") (archive footage) | |
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | (in "The Big Sleep" / "In a Lonely Place" / "Dark Passage") (archive footage) | |
| Cary Grant | ... | (in "Suspicion") (archive footage) | |
| Ingrid Bergman | ... | (in "Notorious") (archive footage) | |
| Veronica Lake | ... | (in "The Glass Key") (archive footage) | |
| Bette Davis | ... | (in "Deception") (archive footage) | |
| Lana Turner | ... | (in "Johnny Eager" / "The Postman Always Rings Twice") (archive footage) | |
| Edward Arnold | ... | (in "Johnny Eager") (archive footage) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Dead Men Wear No Plaid
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:12 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Brazil:Livre |
USA:PG (#26624) |
Australia:M |
Finland:K-16 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Spain:7 |
Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Rigby Reardon tells Lana Turner he left her sitting at a counter at Schwabs. Turner is rumored to have been discovered sitting at the counter in a Schwabs drugstore.
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Goofs:
Anachronisms: 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:
I guess to be a good exterminator, you have to enjoy killing things.
Ladd, Alan: Yeah.
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Ladd, Alan: Yeah.
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Movie Connections:
References The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
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Soundtrack:
Dead Men's Bolero
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (84 total)
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This was a modern-day version of a 1940s narrative gangster film, also known as film noir, but with a different twist. Steve Martin, Rachel Ward and a few others actors are seen talking to many classic stars of the past as director Carl Reiner used clips of those films to fake conversations with the up-to-date real actors of this film . They made it appear that Alan Ladd, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart et al were actually talking to Martin.
Obviously, the more acquainted you are with those film noirs, the more fun this movie will be as you try to recognize what movie those clips came from. (The answers are shown in the ending credits.) That's the fun part of this movie.
The not-so-fun part is simply trying to figure how what is happening in the first place. The plot is not always easy to discern, and it's doubly difficult because of the constant "interruptions" with the classic film scene inserted in the story. You get so captivated watching those old stars that you lose track of the storyline.
That's a big reason I don't think this film ever caught on that much - the story is too convoluted, just too hard to follow.
Ward was great to watch and Martin was annoying after awhile. If Ward doesn't look like the embodiment of a 1940s film goddess, I don't know who does. That, and the razor sharp black-and-white picture with the real actors, is nice to see. But, Martin, who dominates the film, overdoes the stupid comments. I would like to have seen this film played a little straighter, like a real noir. It's a clever film but sometimes too clever for its own good.