HOME
*





The Cheap Detective
''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore. It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody of Bogart films such as ''Casablanca'' and '' The Maltese Falcon''. The ensemble cast includes Madeline Kahn, Louise Fletcher, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, John Houseman, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Fernando Lamas, Nicol Williamson, Scatman Crothers, Vic Tayback and Paul Williams (songwriter), Paul Williams. Plot Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), a bumbling San Francisco private detective, tries to prove himself innocent of his partner's murder while helping a bizarre array of characters recover a lost treasure. Cast * Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh * Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian and singer, known for comedic role ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Robert Moore (director)
Robert Moore (February 1, 1927 – May 10, 1984) was an American stage, film and television director and actor. Biography Born in Detroit, Michigan, Moore studied at the Catholic University of America Drama Department under Gilbert V. Hartke. He is best known for his direction of the ground-breaking play '' The Boys in the Band'', his Broadway productions (which garnered him five Tony Award nominations), and his collaborations - three plays and three films - with Neil Simon, including the detective spoofs ''Murder By Death'' and ''The Cheap Detective''. As an actor, he played a disabled gay man opposite Liza Minnelli in the 1970 drama ''Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon'', appeared in two episodes of Valerie Harper's sitcom '' Rhoda'' (for which he also directed 26 episodes), in one episode of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (as Phyllis' gay brother) and was a regular on Diana Rigg's short-lived 1973 sitcom ''Diana''. His other television directing credits include ''The Bo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Numbers (website)
The Numbers is a film industry data website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The company also conducts research services and forecasts incomes of film projects. History The site was launched in 1997 by Bruce Nash. On March 21, 2020, the Numbers released a statement that because of movie theater closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "We don’t expect much box office reporting in the short term" and did not report the usual daily box office estimates due to lack of box office data from film studios. See also * Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is ... * Lumiere References External links * ''The Numbers'' Bankability Index 1997 establishments in California Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Film ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popularity when he starred in ''The Phil Silvers Show'', a 1950s sitcom set on a United States Army, U.S. Army post in which he played Master Sergeant Ernest (Ernie) Bilko. He also starred in the films ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1966). He was a winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and two Tony Awards for his performances in ''Top Banana (musical), Top Banana'' and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. He also wrote the original lyrics to the jazz standard Nancy (with the Laughing Face). Early life Born Philip Silver in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, in the w ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


James Coco
James Emil Coco (March 21, 1930 – February 25, 1987) was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Awards, Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Coco is remembered for his supporting roles in the films ''Man of La Mancha (film), Man of La Mancha'' (1972) and ''Only When I Laugh (film), Only When I Laugh'' (1981). Early life and career Born in the Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy section of Manhattan, Coco was the son of Felice Lescoco, a shoemaker, and Ida Detestes Lescoco (Coco being a shortened version of his birth name). The family moved to the Pelham Bay (neighborhood), Bronx, Pelham Bay section of the Bronx when he was an infant, where he lived until his late teens. James began acting straight out of high school. He received his acting training at HB Studio in New York City. As an overweight and prematurely balding adult, he ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Abe Vigoda
Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978). Early life Vigoda was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 24, 1921, the son of Samuel Vigoda and Lena Moses, Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father was a tailor who had two other sons: Hy and Bill. The latter was a comic book artist who drew for the '' Archie Comics'' franchise and others in the 1940s. Upon leaving school, Vigoda worked as a printer before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943, serving in World War II. After his military service, he studied acting on the GI Bill at the American Theatre Wing. In the late 1940s, he began working in radio and made his television debut in an installment of the live drama series '' Studio One''.
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

John Houseman
John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of '' Citizen Kane'' and his collaboration, as producer of ''The Blue Dahlia'', with writer Raymond Chandler on the screenplay. He is perhaps best known for his role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film '' The Paper Chase'' (1973), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the 1978 television series adaptation. Houseman was also known for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive English accent, a product of his schooling. Early life Houseman was born Jacques Haussmann on September 22, 1902, in Bucharest, Romania, the son of May (née Davies) a gover ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Marsha Mason
Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: for her performances in ''Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), ''The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two'' (1979), and '' Only When I Laugh'' (1981). The first two films also won her Golden Globe Awards. She was married for ten years (1973–1983) to the playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, who was the writer of three of her four Oscar-nominated roles. Mason's film debut was in the 1966 film ''Hot Rod Hullabaloo''. Her other films include ''Blume in Love'' (1973), ''The Cheap Detective'' (1978), ''Max Dugan Returns'' (1983), ''Heartbreak Ridge'' (1986), '' Stella'' (1990) and ''Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). On television, she appeared in the soap opera ''Love of Life'' (1971–72) and received an Emmy Award nomination for her recurring role on the sitcom ''Frasier'' (1997–98). She has also had an extensive career on stage, making her Broadway ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Ensemble Cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the popular model, which gives precedence to a sole protagonist, an ensemble cast leans more towards a sense of "collectivity and community". Cinema Ensemble casts in film were introduced as early as September 1916, with D. W. Griffith's silent epic film ''Intolerance'', featuring four separate though parallel plots. The film follows the lives of several characters over hundreds of years, across different cultures and time periods. The unification of different plot lines and character arcs is a key characteristic of ensemble casting in film; whether it's a location, event, or an overarching theme that ties the film and characters together. Films that feature ensembles tend to emphasize the interconnectivity of the characters, even when ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Maltese Falcon (1941 Film)
''The Maltese Falcon'' is a 1941 American film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and indebted to the 1931 movie of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his ''femme fatale'' client. Gladys George, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet co-star, with the last appearing in his film debut. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette. The film premiered in New York City on October 3, 1941, and was nominated for three Academy Awards. Considered one of the greatest films of all time, it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is a part of Roger Ebert's series ''The Great ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Casablanca (film)
''Casablanca'' is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. Filmed and set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate (Bogart) who must choose between his love for a woman (Bergman) or helping her husband (Henreid), a Czech resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Germans. The screenplay is based on '' Everybody Comes to Rick's'', an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. The supporting cast features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson. Warner Bros. story editor Irene Diamond convinced producer Hal B. Wallis to purchase the film rights to the play in January 1942. Brothers Julius and Philip G. Epstein were initially assigned to write the script. However, despite studio resistance, they left to work on Frank Capra's ''Why We Fight'' series early ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. Bogart began acting in Broadway shows, beginning his career in motion pictures with ''Up the River'' (1930) for Fox and appeared in supporting roles for the next decade, regularly portraying gangsters. He was praised for his work as Duke Mantee in ''The Petrified Forest'' (1936), but remained cast secondary to other actors at Warner Bros. who received leading roles. Bogart also received positive reviews for his performance as gangster Hugh "Baby Face" Martin, in ''Dead End'' (1937), directed by William Wyler. His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom was set in motion with '' High Sierra'' (1941) and catapulted in '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941), conside ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can also be about a real-life person (e.g. a politician), event, or movement (e.g. the French Revolution or 1960s counterculture). Literary scholar Professor Simon Dentith defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice". The literary theorist Linda Hutcheon said "parody ... is imitation, not always at the expense of the parodied text." Parody may be found in art or culture, including literature, music, theater, television and film, animation, and gaming. Some parody is practiced in theater. The writer and critic John Gross observes in his ''Oxford Boo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]