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Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Reni Santoni, Carl Reiner, George Gaynes ... see more see more... , Frank McCarthy , Adrian Ricard , Gene Labell , George Sawava , Britt Nilsson , Ron Spivey , Charlie Picerni , Alan Ladd , Barbara Stanwyck

In this post-modernist exercise, star/writer Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner spoof the film noir yarns of the '40s with Martin playing gumshoe Rigby Reardon, who interacts with a legion of Holly... read more read more...wood greats -- including Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Edward Arnold, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Bette Davis, Lana Turner and Joan Crawford -- in a succession of intercut clips from seventeen vintage Hollywood films. Rigby is a low-rent detective (his fee is $10 per day) sitting in his office, waiting for something to happen. That something happens when the voluptuous Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) arrives in his office and faints dead away at the sight of a newspaper that reports on her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced that her father was murdered and offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Upon searching Mr. Forrest's office, he comes upon a list of names under the headings "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." As the two delve deeper into the mystery and its requisite deceptions, they encounter an "exterminator," Juliet's surly Nazi butler, Field Marshal Von Kluck (Carl Reiner) and an overly helpful Mexican friend, Carlos Rodriguez (Reni Santoni). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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67% liked it

9,441 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

22 critics

PG, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Carl Reiner

Release Date: May 21, 1982

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DVD Release Date: March 16, 1999

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Stats: 633 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (633)

  • clintervin
    March 30, 2012
    clintervin
    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... read more. 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.
  • ajv2688
    January 12, 2011
    ajv2688
    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.
  • SirPant
    September 23, 2009
    SirPant
    Slightly funny but not much. Good editing and clever idea, for the first five minutes that is, then it gets a bit boring!
  • garyX
    August 7, 2009
    garyX
    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,... read more 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.
  • FilmFanatik
    February 26, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    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 noi... read morer 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.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 4, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    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.
  • mjgildea
    November 12, 2006
    mjgildea
    One of two Steve Martin movies that are actually funny.
  • oakman67
    March 19, 2012
    oakman67
    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 lege... read morends. 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.
  • mustardnoize
    April 22, 2008
    mustardnoize
    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 woma... read moren"...
  • jam233
    April 15, 2010
    jam233
    This is such an entertaining movie! Very cleverly done, and it even has flashes of brilliance. The editing incorporating old film clips into the story is superbly done. A lot of work went into fitting the story in with the classic clips, and for the most part it works very well. ... read moreAlways interesting, great fun. Steve martin does a great job. Good costume design and an excellent feel for the period. It certainly is imaginative.

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Critic Reviews

Fernando F. Croce
September 6, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

A parlor trick, but the kind -- an inquiring jester making his way through the ghosts of cinema's past -- that gets Godard at the Moviola to layer Histoire(s) together Full Review

Kevin Carr
November 2, 2004
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Hilarious and seamless!

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
February 4, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a thoroughly entertaining spoof of Hollywood private eye movies. Full Review

Ken Hanke
November 24, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Too clever for its own good when it should be worried about being funny.

Scott Weinberg
July 27, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Mainly for the noir geeks and the Steve Martin fans -- and I'm both.

Pablo Villaca
May 31, 2002
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Um filme de uma piada só. Full Review

Shane Burridge
January 1, 2000
Shane Burridge, rec.arts.movies.reviews

It makes my head spin to think how many viewing hours must have been spent in order to knit this story together

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This is Carl Reiner's cleverly adapted spoof on noir films of the post-World War 11 days. Full Review

August 8, 2008
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

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    • Rigby Reardon: My plan was to kiss her with every lip on my face.
    • Rigby Reardon: I hadn't seen a body put together like that since I'd solved the case of the Murdered Girl with the Big Tits.
    • Rigby Reardon: Carlotta was the kind of town where they spell trouble T-R-U-B-I-L, and if you try to correct them, they kill you.
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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid Trivia

  • "My plan was to kiss her with every lip on my face." Is a quote from which classic comedy film?   Answer »
  • What movie had Steve Martin starring alongside such great actors as Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Veronica Lake?  Answer »
  • What movie is this quote from: "Cleaning woman! Cleaning woman! Cleaning woman!"  Answer »
  • What comedy/mystery starring Steve Martin was filmed in black and white?  Answer »
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