Gideon24 Neil Simon and director Robert Moore followed up their 1976 triumph Murder by Death with an on-target jab at the film noir genre and of the work of Humphrey Bogart in particular with The Cheap Detective, a lavishly produced comedy that takes place in 1940's San Francisco and involves treasure, Nazis and other varied mysteries encountered by private eye Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), who is basically just a retread of Falk's character in Murder by Death but no one channels Bogart better than Falk and film audiences ate it up, making it one of 1978's biggest hits.Needless to say, Falk has the Bogart thing down to a science and, like Murder by Death, he is backed up by an impressive supporting cast including Eileen Brennan, Ann-Margret, Sid Ceasar, Dom DeLuise, Stockard Channing, Madeline Kahn, James Coco, Phil Silvers, John Houseman, and, of course, Mrs. Neil Simon at the time, Marsha Mason.Simon's screenplay for The Cheap Detective is a little more complex than Murder by Death, but Moore mounts it on a lavish canvas and draws performances from the all-star cast that don't just entertain, they serve the story. But be assured that Simon cements his position as king of the cinematic one-liner and this very talented cast and director deliver the goods.

Daniel Kincaid "The Cheap Detective" is a hardboiled detective comedy film written by Neil Simon. Specifically, it borrows a lot of its plot from "Casablanca" (1942) and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). There are a few references to "Chinatown" (1974) as well and most importantly a lot of humor injected in.Peter Falk effectively plays Lou Peckinpaugh as a humorous send-up of Sam Spade and Rick Blaine. I enjoyed the other performances as well, particularly Nicol Williamson as a character parodying Major Strasser from "Casablanca" and John Houseman playing a character very similar to Kasper Gutman from "The Maltese Falcon". The only character that could have been better was Pepe Damascus, in a Peter Lorre type role, played by Dom DeLuise.This film is funny in several respects. The dialogue is amusing and often emulates and parodies the snappy dialogue of "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon". Since the plot is cobbled together largely from those movies, there are a number of scenes like a humorous modification of the "La Marseillaise" scene from "Casablanca". Simon added a number of amusing complexities, sometimes nonsensical, into the script as a parody of the complexities in "The Maltese Falcon". Overall this film was consistently funny from start to finish. I recommend "The Cheap Detective" as a satire for people that enjoyed "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon".

bkoganbing If Humphrey Bogart could have seen The Cheap Detective he'd have loved every minute of it. I counted satirical moments from The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not as well as other noir classics that Neil Simon cleverly worked into a plot that makes no rational sense, but will keep you glued to the chair with laughter.Bogey would have liked Peter Falk's spot on impersonation of the detective from the wrong side of the tracks. Falk is always a player with one amazing bag of tricks whether he's serious as in Murder, Inc., or funny as in Robin and the Seven Hoods or a bit of both as in The Brink's Job.Not since It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World had so many funny people gathered together for one film. Even normally serious actors like Fernando Lamas and Nicol Williamson seem to be having a ball just hamming it up. My favorite aside from Falk is Eileen Brennan as Betty DeBoop. How can you go wrong with a name like that.You can't describe any kind of plot, the whole thing is so much wonderful nonsense. Just sit back and enjoy.

ozthegreatat42330 Following closely on the heels of the hilarious "Murder By Death" and using a few of the same actors, is Neil Simon's classic spoof and tribute to the film noir detective pictures of Humphrey Bogart. With the comedy talents of Peter Falk, Madeline Kahn, James Coco, Paul Williams and many more the combined spoof of "Casablanca," "The Maltese Falcon" and "San Francisco" are a true screen gem. As always, the film features the witty dialog of Neil Simon, who captures the flavor and pokes gentle fun at those films. There are also several running gags throughout the film such as the miserliness of Falk's character, from which the movie gets its title. Falk perfectly deflates the characters played by Bogie in the afore mentioned films, while Madeline Kahn is over the top as the mysterious women with a different name each time he sees her. Louise Fletcher films in perfectly as the heroine from Casablanca, while Fernando Lamas is her resistance fighter husband. And John Houseman shines as the double of the Sidney Greenstreet Character. Finally there is Niccol Williamson as the Nazi colonel from Casablanca. If you love good comedy, or enjoyed those Bogart movies, this is the perfect film for you