Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Picked this up in my local charity shop recently, although my decades- old memory of it was somewhat underwhelming. But I'm nothing if not fair. Maybe it's just that my critical faculties have improved with age, because in damn near every respect - and I'm even prepared to cut Rachel Ward some slack here - it's a cracker.Another reviewer has compared it to 'Zelig', and in its case I'm not even going to go there because the latter's concept alone is tedious. This film always had far greater potential, because of how classic film noir conventions and dialogue now lend themselves so easily to lampooning.Steve Martin was at the top of his game when he made this one - hopefully, my local charity shop receives a copy of 'The Man with Two Brains' anytime soon - and his timing and mugging is rotflmao flawless here. The film noir insertions are well-chosen, too, and integrated beautifully, cinematically. The hysterics of Babs Stanwyck and Joan Crawford; Bette Davis' toasted day-old bread scene; the follow-on from Edward Arnolds' 'Pick It Up!' are hilarious, of course, but as regards which gag is the best of the bunch, for me it's a toss-up between the sidekick Bogie sartorial tickings-off, and the climactic scene where Martin and Reiner look to assert their plot 'reveal rights', but ultimately settle for a seamless, breakneck-pace, collaborative effort .Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams might just have the edge on Martin in drag, though.Watch it and weep...with laughter!

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)I'm a film noir buff. Fanatic. Devotee. So I really loved how this movie was made--not what happens in it, but the main trick of inserting real film noir clips with new footage starring Steve Martin. When it first happens (with Alan Ladd) it's like, what? Is this for real? And then it keeps happening, usually with easy cuts where the original noir shows someone on the phone and it can cut to Martin talking on the phone, or with two people on each side of a room or a door, the camera changing positions and allowing the cuts from one world to the other. In a few special cases they get fancier, like the Cary Grant insert--you'll have to see about that. (I just corrected the wikipedia page on this note.)I also think the director (and co-writer) Rob Reiner makes the new footage (which is 90 percent of the movie) take on an authentic black and white feel--heavy shadows, moving camera, and so on. Martin of course is a somewhat comic version of a film noir hero or anti-hero (this movie is a spoof overall) but he's got more presence than you might expect. It's smart and respectful and well done.What it lacks is a genuine plot. The many various clips require such somersaulting to work them into the script, any hope of an overarching drama is dashed. I found myself watching just to watch, and to wonder who would get included next. Martin's sidekick played by Rachel Ward is a bit drab, too, if pretty (she was a model) and is for some reason very English, a big monkeywrench in the film noir universe. Steve Martin deserves some admiration for pulling this off. There is not only a filming continuity needed but one of acting and delivery, which he masters. Now if only he and Reiner had a plot to carry the thing through as a movie, and not just a big, sophisticated, beautiful gag.

I confess not to be a big fan of Steve Martin, an actor whose comedies I find to be too often on the exaggeration side of the joke, playing all the time almost in the same register. Yet, Carl Reiner's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is in many instances a charm, and it also succeeds to be funny and respectful in its reverence to the film noir movies of the 40s and 50s.Even the much younger Steve Martin, with black hair and sparkling eyes looks here completely fresh as private eye Rigby Reardon, hired to solve a Californian mystery which combines all the 1940s detective novels that you may have read and the films inspired by them all together. The trick used by director Reiner is to take full scenes from original film noir movies, mix, edit and insert them into his own story line. Martin gets the privilege to talk and interact with the greater idols of the genre, from Humphrey Bogart to Cary Grant, while the feminine interest is being triggered by such divine silhouettes as Ingrid Bergman or Ava Gardner. Borrowed scenes come from famous movies like Notorious, Suspicion, or The Big Sleep, but you need not worry, there is no real scary stuff, it is all fun.I do not know if Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid received any award, but the cinematography, editing and make-up are all amazing. The look with the original scenes filmed in black-and-white strongly reminds The Artist, but only a fraction of the scenes are original, the majority are cut from various sources, and combined, so that the heroes of the film talk and interact with the original film characters. It's a smart idea and it is almost flawlessly executed, so that the film runs smoothly. I said the film, not the story, which is a parody, and there is no mandatory minimal dose of logic in a parody. Best for future viewers is to take this film for what it is – a big joke, but an elaborated one, combined with an homage for a literary and cinematographic genre that thrilled many generations.

I was really interested in seeing this movie, because I like film noir and I like Steve Martin. And you know what, this is a very clever and affectionate homage. My complaints are that the story is disappointingly convoluted so it is sometimes very hard to keep up with what is going on and one or two of the jokes don't quite work. But overall it is very funny, and seems to have held up well over the years. The script is clever and sophisticated enough, and Carl Reiner directs with precision and acts his part of Field Marshall VonKluck very well. The cinematography is smooth and crisp, and I thought the performances were excellent. Steve Martin is great here, not only do I think Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is underrated but this is one of his roles where Martin deserves a lot more credit. Rachel Ward looks lovely as Juliet Forrest and is terrific acting wise. The real joy is watching the archive footage of all those wonderful actors and actresses in those timeless masterpieces. Spotting stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Ray Milland, Vincent Price and Ingrid Bergman all but to name a few was a delight in itself. Also the finale while silly is great fun. All in all, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is well worth the look. 8/10 Bethany Cox