Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Clintus M

  
  This may be my favorite Steve Martin movie and one of my favorites ever. I consider it one of the funniest, most inventive films ever and years ahead of its time. As most of you know, this is a send-up or spoof of film noir detective movies interlacing live action with film clips.… More
  This may be my favorite Steve Martin movie and one of my favorites ever. I consider it one of the funniest, most inventive films ever and years ahead of its time. As most of you know, this is a send-up or spoof of film noir detective movies interlacing live action with film clips. This is Forrest Gump meets Chinatown, sort of. The plot involves the mysterious death of a scientist and cheesemaker and subsequent investigation by Rigby Reardon (Martin) and his beautiful daughter (Ward). The story's actually only a setup for the brilliant and hilarious combination of movie clips and new footage. Director and co-writer Carl Reiner worked with Steve Martin in The Jerk, and if you're a fan of that film, you'll love this one too. Gorgeous Rachel Ward is the bombshell here who plays it straight. She has great comedic timing. The films used for footage here include many of the greatest of the 1940s, including: Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, Sorry Wrong Number, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Humphrey Bogart (as Rigby's partner) plays a larger role than the other noir-era actors. Probably my favorite blended scene combines Martin (and a puppy) with Jimmie Sue Alfeld's father (Edward Arnold), "It's all soft and steamy" will leave you rolling in the aisle. I can't get enough of the film noir era and its style, so "Dead Men" has enticed me to see many of the classic films that contributed clips here. Further stunting my development, I cannot hear the term "cleaning woman" without laughing. This was the last film for Oscar-winning designer Edith Head and composer Miklos Rozsa. Sorry, Terre Haute, IN.

• AJ V

  
  This film noir spoof takes footage from the old movies and mixes them with scenes of Steve Martin as a detective. It's very interesting to watch, and very funny too.

• Anthony L

  
  Slightly funny but not much. Good editing and clever idea, for the first five minutes that is, then it gets a bit boring!

• xGary X

  
  Luckily, this affectionate parody of Film Noir from Steve Martin was made deep, deep back in the mists of the dawn of time, when giant reptiles ruled the Earth and he was still funny. Cleverly splicing in sequences from several movie classics, it tells the story of Rigby Reardon,… More
  Luckily, this affectionate parody of Film Noir from Steve Martin was made deep, deep back in the mists of the dawn of time, when giant reptiles ruled the Earth and he was still funny. Cleverly splicing in sequences from several movie classics, it tells the story of Rigby Reardon, private eye on the trail of a Nazi conspiracy to destroy the United States with a particularly potent cheese. Reminiscent of a detective story version of Young Frankenstein, the style of classic Noir is faithfully recreated to the point of employing the talents of legendary designer Edith Head (this in fact was her final film). Rachel Ward is every inch the glamorous femme fatale and Martin plays it admirably straight, and the more surreal uses of the intercut scenes can be really funny. It doesn't quite have the legs to last the full 90 minutes, but it's always amusing and it's fun to spot the films Martin and Reiner "borrowed" from.

• Tim S

  
  If you're a film noir fan or just a spoof fan in general, then this movie is right up your alley. Steve Martin plays a P.I. who falls for a beautiful client, whose case turns out to be more dangerous and complicated than he expected. Weaving together footage from 1940s film… More
  If you're a film noir fan or just a spoof fan in general, then this movie is right up your alley. Steve Martin plays a P.I. who falls for a beautiful client, whose case turns out to be more dangerous and complicated than he expected. Weaving together footage from 1940s film noir classics like Humoresque and Dark Victory incricately story-wise with the story that takes place in the film, it makes for a fun and inventive narrative with side-splitting laughs. Martin gives a fantastic comedic performance in the movie (I think I'll be screaming "Cleaning Woman?!" days from now). Rachel Ward is also great as the dame and Carl Reiner is terrific, as always. Shot in black and white, photographer Michael Chapman and production designer John De Cuir give this movie the classic style it needs, although it does suffer from some modern techniques of shooting, though I place no direct blame on the filmmakers because it is incredibly difficult to replicate 1940's film production and photography. The editing is adequate, but sometimes the excerpts from classics like The Bribe, The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Killers don't always fit into the edit, causing it to feel a little jarred and jerky. The movie moves along briskly, another fault of modern storytelling, but I couldn't tell how much they were actually trying to get in touch with that 1940's style, so I'll leave it alone. The score is fantastic. You could swear Max Steiner had a hand in it because of how bravura and classic it sounds. I found myself laughing out loud several times and really enjoying and reveling in the movie and at other times trying not to watch it with a critical eye. I'm sure it will please mostly film fans, but I urge people looking for laughs to check it out, as well.

• Lafe F

  
  A classic Steve Martin detective noir, which cleverly integrates clips from real classic movies to tell a coherent and funny story. I still laugh at the scene with the coffee bag.

• Michael G

  
  One of two Steve Martin movies that are actually funny.

• Christopher O

  
  Steve Martin plays Detective Rigby Reardon who comes to the aid of a beautigul damsel in distress the very beautiful Rachel Ward. Martin also inserts himself into some of the greatest films of the 30's and 40's and appears with Bogart, Lancaster, Douglas and many more screen… More
  Steve Martin plays Detective Rigby Reardon who comes to the aid of a beautigul damsel in distress the very beautiful Rachel Ward. Martin also inserts himself into some of the greatest films of the 30's and 40's and appears with Bogart, Lancaster, Douglas and many more screen legends. The premise is brillant but not always executed well and can become tedious but Martin plays it straight as an arrow and is funny. A clever film but I think went over the head of the average audience thinking it would be laugh out funny.

• Buddy A

  
  This is my favorite Steve Martin movie. I love old film noir, and in addition to being very, very funny, this film pays tribute to all those great mysteries from the '40s and '50s. The more you know about such films, the more you'll enjoy this movie. Just don't say… More
  This is my favorite Steve Martin movie. I love old film noir, and in addition to being very, very funny, this film pays tribute to all those great mysteries from the '40s and '50s. The more you know about such films, the more you'll enjoy this movie. Just don't say "cleaning woman"...

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