The nicest movie you'll ever see about murder and blackmail.
An over-the-hill gumshoe in Los Angeles seeks to avenge the killing of an old pal, another detective who was involved in a case concerning a murdered broad, stolen stamps, a nickel-plated handgun, a cheating dolly, and a kidnapped pussycat.
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Nostalgic, resolved, ironic and cool.
- contemporarynostalgic
- resolvedopen-ended
- earnestironic
- cooloverwhelming
- classical in formformally daring
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Does the irony keep it from meaning anything?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is Art Carney the best thing in The Late Show?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20257/10
When “Charlie” (Bill Macy) turns up to talk to his old PI pal “Ira” (Art Carney) about helping “Margo” (Lily Tomlin) to track down her kidnapped cat, then he gets short shrift. He is far more concerned with finding the people who recently murdered his partner and thinks she ought to just pay the “ransom”. She’s not got two cents to rub together, however, and so uses her wits to intrigue the man into following up her complaint against “Birdwell” (Eugene Roche) and his cashmere-clad henchman “Lamar” (John Considine). The first meeting doesn’t go so well - even if he does get a free Van Heusen shirt - but it does start a ball rolling for this curmudgeonly old grump who realises that his search for the killer and for her kitty are in some way connected. Tomlin’s on good form here but it’s Carney who steals this as his out-of-shape and cynical “Ira” sweats, huffs and puffs his way through a cheery detective yarn with an agreeable pace, some pithy dialogue and daft scenarios that reminded me of a sort of “Rockford Files” meets “McQ” enterprise. It does reset itself a little too often, but it’s still an enjoyable parody of many things from this genre that have gone before and I did enjoy
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Art CarneyIra Wells
- Lily TomlinMargo
- Bill MacyCharlie Hatter
- Eugene RocheRon Birdwell
- Joanna CassidyLaura Birdwell
- John ConsidineLamar
- Ruth NelsonMrs. Schmidt
- John DaveySergeant Dayton
- Howard DuffHarry Regan
- Ray PourchotTheatre Patron (uncredited)
Crew
- Robert BentonDirector
- Robert BentonWriter
- Charles Rosher Jr.Director of Photography
- Kenneth WannbergOriginal Music Composer
- Peter AppletonEditor
- Lou LombardoEditor
- Robert AltmanProducer
Where to watch
Checking availability…
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
See How They Run 202278% alikeBoth resolved, nostalgic, cool.
The Fearless Vampire Killers 196777% alikeBoth ironic, cool, classical in form.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion 200176% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless, cool.
Murder Most Foul 196476% alikeBoth resolved, classical in form, cool.
The Horror of Frankenstein 197076% alikeBoth cool, effortless.
Cat Ballou 196576% alikeBoth effortless, cool.
Totally Killer 202374% alikeBoth resolved, nostalgic, effortless.
Revolting Rhymes 201773% alikeBoth effortless, cool.
Game · Both resolved, cool.
The Darkside Detective 201772% alikeGame · Both resolved, cool, nostalgic.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Tastebuds
