Verdict
Summary
A goof of a movie formed entirely around footage from likely a dozen other film noir movies from the late ’30s to the late ’40s, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a spoof of the genre, and it gets a chuckle or two, but director Carl Reiner (who plays the villain) can’t muster much from strung together scenes.
Plot:
A private detective accepts a case that makes no sense.
Review:
Private Eye Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin in a deadpan performance) accepts a case from Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward, a good sport), whose father, a noted scientist, has been killed in a car accident. She suspects foul play. Rigby, enamored with Juliet’s breasts, takes the gig and goes full-bore into a plot that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. His friend Marlow (Humphrey Bogart in spliced scenes from other movies) helps out with some clues, and Rigby gets into trouble with all sorts of miscreants, thugs, and drunkards (played by everyone from Kirk Douglas to Burt Lancaster in spliced scenes from other pictures), but he always comes out on top … and with a bullet in his arm, which Juliet is only too eager and happy to suck out. The end result has something to do with a new formula for cheese (don’t ask me), and Rigby promises a sequel … with nudity.
A goof of a movie formed entirely around footage from likely a dozen other film noir movies from the late ’30s to the late ’40s, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a spoof of the genre, and it gets a chuckle or two, but director Carl Reiner (who plays the villain) can’t muster much from strung together scenes. The gags come often, but only a few of them work (a running joke about Marlow’s ties is funny), and the end result is a patchwork that never quite comes together in a grand way. Frankly, it’s quite stupid. Martin is okay as the lead, but his character is a creep (he fondles Rachel Ward’s boobs twice while she’s unconscious, for example), but the movie never bothers to make him appealing, so the film suffers overall. Miklos Rozsa did the great score (the best aspect of the film), and Edith Head did the costumes.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray release of Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid comes with a new audio commentary, radio spots, TV spots, and the trailer.
