IMDb > Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
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.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) -- text os

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   8,549 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Carl Reiner (written by) &
George Gipe (written by) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA) more

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller more

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

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)

User Comments:

Steve Martin's Affectionate Parody of 1940's Thrillers more (84 total)


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)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

Dead Men Wear No Plaid
more

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

At the end of the film, as Rigby Reardon and Juliette Forest are passionately kissing, Steve Martin's voiceover announces that there will be a sequel (which features a possible nude scene by Juliette) in cinemas soon. In 2008, 26 years after the film's original release, no sequel has been produced. more

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Rigby is talking on Juliet's phone to her sister Leona, the handset and coiled cord to the phone are from the 1960's-80's, and not the straight cloth-covered phone cords in use in the 1940's when the story is taking place. more

Quotes:

Juliet Forrest: I could be your Reinemachefrau.
Field Marshall Von Kluck: Yes, you could, you could be zat.
Rigby Reardon: What's that? What is it?
Juliet Forrest: Tell him what it means, Reinemachefrau.
Field Marshall Von Kluck: Reinemachefrau! It means she could be my cleaning woman.
more

Movie Connections:

References Double Indemnity (1944) more

Soundtrack:

Dead Men's Bolero more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
33 out of 33 people found the following comment useful.
Steve Martin's Affectionate Parody of 1940's Thrillers, 11 December 1998
8/10
Author: Michael Coy (michael.coy@virgin.net) from London, England

Rigby Reardon, private eye, runs the gauntlet of hoods, femmes fatales and crazed Nazis as he investigates the death of beautiful Juliet Forrest's father. Who are the mysterious "Friends of Carlotta"? And why does Rigby keep dressing in women's clothes? And where did Juliet learn to do that trick with her lips? This celebration of the black and white movies of the 1940's and 50's is a very clever and very amusing film. Extracts from celluloid classics are skilfully spliced into the action (check out the architectural detail on the doorframe in the Alan Ladd sequence). The film is a vehicle for Martin's comic talent and he carries it off beautifully. Rachel Ward as Juliet is terrific: she can hold her own with the screen goddesses who so liberally populate the film (Bergman, Davis, Turner and Crawford all make inserted appearances). A project like this could easily have come a cropper, but thanks to the brisk direction of Carl Reiner (who has a great cameo) and Steve Martin's ability to dominate the screen, the movie is a resounding success. It's also very funny.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (84 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Does this movie count in that 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon' game junderbr
100 things I learned from dead man don't wear plaid alexweiss3
why Terre Haute, Indiana? Ajaya
Two Versions? infanttyrone
I finally seen it and it was a big suprise... hannahp1
The first bit and the end bit sianybo
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Secret of Treasure Island The Spider Returns The Invisible Monster The Black Widow Casino Royale
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Comedy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.