“The Cheap Detective” is a mystery-comedy film where Peter Falk plays a bumbling detective trying to prove himself innocent of his partner’s murder while helping clients recover a lost treasure. Falk’s speaking style imitating Humphrey Bogart gives the film a feel of Columbo doing a cheap version of Bogie; the popular show starring Falk was running concurrently on television at the time.
Director Robert Moore (“Murder by Death” 1976) and screenwriter Neil Simon missed the mark of putting together a top-rate film. The massive ensemble cast of stars does not help. This includes Ann-Margret, Stockard Channing, Louise Fletcher, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Marsha Mason, John Houseman, Vic Tayback, Abe Vegoda, Fernando Lamas, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Paul Williams, David Ogden Stiers, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers, Nicol Williamson, Carmine Caridi, John Calvin, and Jonathan Banks.
The barely watchable “The Cheap Detective” was profitable at the box office for EMI Films, Rastar, and Columbia Pictures.
The Cheap Detective (1978)
cinema
My Review
“The Cheap Detective” is a mystery-comedy film where Peter Falk plays a bumbling detective trying to prove himself innocent of his partner’s murder while helping clients recover a lost treasure. Falk’s speaking style imitating Humphrey Bogart gives the film a feel of Columbo doing a cheap version of Bogie; the popular show starring Falk was running concurrently on television at the time.
Director Robert Moore (“Murder by Death” 1976) and screenwriter Neil Simon missed the mark of putting together a top-rate film. The massive ensemble cast of stars does not help. This includes Ann-Margret, Stockard Channing, Louise Fletcher, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Marsha Mason, John Houseman, Vic Tayback, Abe Vegoda, Fernando Lamas, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Paul Williams, David Ogden Stiers, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers, Nicol Williamson, Carmine Caridi, John Calvin, and Jonathan Banks.
The barely watchable “The Cheap Detective” was profitable at the box office for EMI Films, Rastar, and Columbia Pictures.