Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid [Blu-ray]

Overview

In this post-modernist exercise, star/writer Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner spoof the film noir yarns of the '40s with Martin playing gumshoe Rigby Reardon, who interacts with a legion of Hollywood greats -- including Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Edward Arnold, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Bette Davis, Lana Turner and Joan Crawford -- in a succession of intercut clips from seventeen vintage Hollywood films. Rigby is a low-rent detective (his fee is $10 per day) sitting in his office, waiting for something to happen. That something happens when the voluptuous Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) arrives in his office and faints dead away at the sight of a newspaper that reports on her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced that her father was murdered and offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Upon searching Mr. Forrest's office, he comes upon a list of names under the headings "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." As the two delve deeper into the mystery and its requisite deceptions, they encounter an "exterminator," Juliet's surly Nazi butler, Field Marshal Von Kluck (Carl Reiner) and an overly helpful Mexican friend, Carlos Rodriguez (Reni Santoni).

Product Details

Release Date:	09/21/2021
UPC:	0738329254995
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00
Sales rank:	18,959

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Steve Martin	Rigby Reardon
Rachel Ward	Juliet Forrest
Reni Santoni	Carlos Rodriguez
Carl Reiner	Field Marshall VonKluck
George Gaynes	Dr. Forrest
Frank McCarthy	Waiter
Adrian Ricard	Mildred
Charles Picerni	Hood
Gene LaBell	Hood
George Sawaya	Hood
Britt Nilsson	Poppy Secretary
Jean Beaudine	Duty Secretary
John Easton Stuart	German Henchman
Ron Spivey	German Henchman
Bob Hevelone	German Henchman
Dieter Curt	German Henchman
Phil Kearns	German Henchman
Kent Deigaard	German Henchman
Eugene Brezany	German Henchman
Brad Baird	German Henchman
Alan Ladd	Actor
Barbara Stanwyck	Actor
Ray Milland	Actor
Ava Gardner	Actor
Miklós Rózsa	Composer

Technical Credits

Carl Reiner

Steve Martin

George Gipe

Carl Reiner	Director,Screenwriter
William E. McEuen	Producer
David V. Picker	Producer
Glen Robinson	Special Effects
Steve Martin	Screenwriter
George Gipe	Screenwriter
Penny Perry	Casting
Steve Maslow	Sound/Sound Designer
Bud Alper	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Carl Reiner's concept movie allows Steve Martin, one of the great comic talents of the latter half of the 20th century, to interact with the great actors of days past. It is not simply a parody of old movies but a tribute to them, a spoof with reverence. And who better to play the not-quite-hard-boiled detective who brings it all together than Martin? While the hijacked actors deliver their lines in all seriousness, Martin's goofiness and strong comic timing give the scenes a delightfully humorous spin. The premise is funny, but, like many one-joke concepts, not funny enough that it doesn't wear thin. The film has many ardent fans, though, and those with extensive knowledge of classic cinema are more likely to join them than are casual movie aficionados. Impressive as a technical feat, highly imaginative, and often funny, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a very good film, even if both Reiner and Martin have been involved in better ones.

All Movie Guide