Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid *** (1982, Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Carl Reiner, Reni Santoni, George Gaynes) – Classic Movie Review 6896

Director Carl Reiner’s enjoyable 1983 black and white parody movie stars Steve Martin in a fun, likeable modern-day film noir spoof comedy in which detective Rigby Reardon (Martin) is sent on a chase by sexy femme fatale client Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward).

He finds himself chatting to Humphrey Bogart (as Phillip Marlowe), Barbara Stanwyck, Lauren Bacall, James Cagney, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Ray Milland and virtually any Forties star you can think of via the miracle of Eighties editing techniques.

Like Woody Allen’s 1983 Zelig, this is essentially a one-joke movie that eventually runs out of steam, but it is made with great attention to detail and it provides a wealth of Trivial Pursuit-type questions in a treasure trove for film buffs, though others perhaps may be less amused.

Reiner and Martin must share the credit for the fun (along with their co-writer George Gipe), but you can’t help feeling that your favourite bits from this movie are really from a different film altogether – an actual classic Forties film noir.

Also in the cast are Carl Reiner, Reni Santoni, George Gaynes, Frank McCarthy, Adrian Ricard and Britt Nilsson.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6896

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