San Francisco, 1940, detectives, dames, documents, Nazis, and a treasure.San Francisco, 1940, detectives, dames, documents, Nazis, and a treasure.San Francisco, 1940, detectives, dames, documents, Nazis, and a treasure.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie was titled "The Cheap Detective", according to screenwriter Neil Simon, "because the detective in those old films never got paid! Who paid Humphrey Bogart for finding all those crooks in The Maltese Falcon (1941)? He arrested Mary Astor and sent her and everyone else to jail. Who paid him? The character is always involved in danger not for the bucks but because it's his lifestyle."
- GoofsApproximately 45 minutes in, Lou meets with the Madeline Kahn character in his office. A male member of the crew is visible, seated on a couch. He is in a pink shirt, wearing eyeglasses and appears to be reading a script. He is only visible for about a second, as the camera pans across the room. From contemporary photos it looks very much like Neil Simon himself.
- Quotes
Jezebel Dezire: Won't you join me in a little drinkie? What's your pleasure?
Lou Peckinpaugh: Uh, what you got there looks good.
Jezebel Dezire: I know... but I thought you'd like a little drink first.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: In 1939, the ominous grey clouds of war broke loose over Western Europe and rained down havoc and destruction . . . followed by humidity and gradual clearing.
In the Philippines, a small band of native guerrillas prepared secretly for the inevitable conflict that would soon engulf the East . . . This has nothing to do with our story.
Our story is about crime. Not the bad crime we face each day on our streets . . . but the good crime we came to know and love in a time when the world was innocent ... when murder wasn't something you were ashamed of ... when a bullet hole wasn't something disgusting . . . and when a man could betray a woman without feeling guilty. Our story starts in a fictitious city called San Francisco ... seven thousand miles away from Casablanca.
- SoundtracksLa Vie en Rose
Music by Louiguy
Lyrics by Édith Piaf
Performed by Eileen Brennan and others at Nix Place
Featured review
Legendary writer Neil Simons' delightful parody of hard boiled detective fiction (by the likes of Hammett and Chandler) is often quite funny. It does a good job of combining Simons' genuinely funny and witty dialogue with some occasional good visual gags. The movie is packed with big guest stars, some of whom have very little time to create a characterization, but everybody does a very amusing job of poking fun at - and paying tribute to - iconic actors of the genre.
Peter Falk does a priceless Bogart impression as private eye Lou Peckinpaugh. Lous' partner has been found murdered, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his latest complex case. (Lou even comments on its convoluted nature.) It involves a French resistance fighter (Fernando Lamas), a Nazi official (Nicol Williamson), the theft of some supposedly invaluable "eggs", the Golden Gate Bridge, and the partners' oversexed wife (Marsha Mason).
Sort of combining the plots of "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" and referencing other classics as well, "The Cheap Detective" does lose some momentum along the way, but there is always good Simon dialogue to look forward to, and the picture is nicely shot in widescreen by John A. Alonzo. The picture takes place in WWII era San Francisco, and has a great look going for it. What's especially funny is the way that Peckinpaugh must juggle the various lovely ladies who take an interest in him.
The various guest stars are all tremendous fun, but this viewer was particularly entertained by Dom DeLuises' riotous Peter Lorre parody. In supporting roles and bits, you can see the likes of Carmine Caridi, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers (sending up Dooley Wilson in "Casablanca"), David Ogden Stiers, Vic Tayback, and Jonathan Banks.
This begins nicely, with some atmospheric opening credits, and has a bright and funny wrap up involving Lou and his ladies.
Seven out of 10.
Peter Falk does a priceless Bogart impression as private eye Lou Peckinpaugh. Lous' partner has been found murdered, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his latest complex case. (Lou even comments on its convoluted nature.) It involves a French resistance fighter (Fernando Lamas), a Nazi official (Nicol Williamson), the theft of some supposedly invaluable "eggs", the Golden Gate Bridge, and the partners' oversexed wife (Marsha Mason).
Sort of combining the plots of "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" and referencing other classics as well, "The Cheap Detective" does lose some momentum along the way, but there is always good Simon dialogue to look forward to, and the picture is nicely shot in widescreen by John A. Alonzo. The picture takes place in WWII era San Francisco, and has a great look going for it. What's especially funny is the way that Peckinpaugh must juggle the various lovely ladies who take an interest in him.
The various guest stars are all tremendous fun, but this viewer was particularly entertained by Dom DeLuises' riotous Peter Lorre parody. In supporting roles and bits, you can see the likes of Carmine Caridi, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers (sending up Dooley Wilson in "Casablanca"), David Ogden Stiers, Vic Tayback, and Jonathan Banks.
This begins nicely, with some atmospheric opening credits, and has a bright and funny wrap up involving Lou and his ladies.
Seven out of 10.
- Hey_Sweden
- Oct 31, 2015
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- Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective
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- $6,000,000 (estimated)
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