Rating: 
Summary: Very funny creative movie.
Review: I saw this film in Mexico City years ago. It was in spanish sub-titles. The Mexican audience seemed well aware of the film noir of the 40's gangster films...as they read the sub-titles, they were already laughing before I finished hearing the dialouge.Yes, it is a very funny movie and Steve Martin is so over the top smooth, it is hilarious. There are some great lines in the movie you won't forget. And just to see the beautiful & sexy Rachel Ward at the very peak of her incredible beauty, is worth the price of admission. This is a gem, a sleeper.
Rating:
Summary: Steve Martin's greatest accomplishment
Review: In a way, "Dead Men" foreshadows both Woody Allen's "Zelig" and the overrated clichefest of "Forrest Gump" in its splicing of old material into the new. Martin's jokes are funnier than ever here, and it is easy to see that he knows his detective movies. Rachel Ward is great as the bombshell, and Carl Reiner's direction is top notch, with a real "noir" feel. I could spend hours recalling my favorite moments: Reardon's famous cup of java, Reardon giving dog poop to a secretary, and him dressing up in drag to makeout with Walter Neff from "Double Indemnity." What a riot!
Rating:
Summary: The best and least famous Steve Martin movie
Review: In addition to the way-before-Gump gimickry of blending of new actors with old film footage, DMDWP features some truly inspired faux film noir narration ("Everything about this side of town was cut-rate... even the hookers were having a sale"), a couple of fun live performances and a lot of good laughs. Martin was at the top of his game with this one, and Carl Reiner was a brilliant collaborator. If you don't get a few laughs from this film, you need a cup of Rigby's "java."
Rating:
Summary: It's just great.
Review: It may not be Shakespeare, but if you've ever seen a play by that guy you know he can get pretty silly when he wants to. So watch this movie and feel like an intellectual, guilt free!
The movie is just one brilliant idea from beginning to end, never disappointing you. How many times I've watched something, thinking all along "If only they had managed not to spoil it..."
Well, these guys don't. If I ever need to smile, I have only to remember Steve Martin's exaggerated, cartoonish expression when he's punched in the face, Rachel Ward's sexy, ludicrous way of extracting bullets, or Steven's monologue with a pigeon about what dames do to men's hearts. Who needs Hamlet and a skull? That scene, by the way, was plagiarized one day by Robert Lowe on an episode of that White House show on t.v. .
I always thought Rachel was really an underestimated actress and it's consoling to see (and hear her Jessica Rabbit-like voice) in one of my all time favorite movies.
Carl Reiner was also in "Ocean's Eleven". He's practically unchanged from one movie to another, but in this one he's more convincing, I think.
Indispensable.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulously funny pastiche of noir - Martin's best work
Review: It was late, and I was looking for a flick to watch. Not the kind that beats you up and throws your body in a ditch - something with a lighter touch. A flick with snappy dialogue and a dame that's easy on the eyes. This one did the trick. Anyone who's ever read Raymond Chandler or watched a 40's detective movie will recognize this as an absolute gem. The "look" is perfect - the transitions to the clips from the originals is seamless, and Miklos Roza's soundtrack is (no pun intended) dead-on: only he could re-create his distinctive soundworld, and the main theme is *still* running through my head. The dialogue is hilarious - check out the "quotes and trivia" page for a sampler, but I'll bet that you'll find your own favorites - and it never lags! (But the "cleaning woman" gag does get stale after the third of fourth appearance...) Don't bother trying to figure out the plot; it's intentionally tossed out the window. Imagine a kinder, gentler MST3K: this is really a fond tribute to a uniquely American art form. Just sit back and watch a master at work.
Rating:
Summary: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Review: Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin). Searching for answers, Rigby encounters dangerous men and women, and assorted low-lives who were the hallmarks of the classic detective movies of the 40's and 50's. The main clues which he finds over and over comes from slips of paper containing lists of people who are either friends of Carlotta or enemies of Carlotta. Filming in black and white allows the use of scenes from the old movies and cuts them in with the actors in this film. It is through this process that Rigby's assistant is none other than Marlowe himself (Humphrey Bogart).
Rating:
Summary: Top Of The World Ma!
Review: Long before Hollywood dazzled us with CGI effects,there was "Detecto-Vision"™! Steve Martin was at the top of his game when he made this clever collage! ( with the help of Carl Reiner.). Using a montage of 1940's gangster film noirs,and cleverly grafting them into his own detective story,a clever comedy is born. Steve Martin is Rigby Reardon a down on his luck detective,who gets his big break when a famous scientist and cheese maker,meets a mysterious death! Rachel Ward,Carl Reiner,and Renni Santori ( Seinfelds'"Poppi" ),are all a part of the mystery and intrigue that follow. ( As well as nearly every hollywood star from the 40's.). See!Kirk Douglas have Rigby Reardon beaten! See! Fred MacMurray put the moves on Rigby Reardon! See! A disguise so clever it fools James Cagney! See! Rigby Reardon get turned down by Bette Davis,Veronica Lake,Ingrid Bergman,and a bevvy of Hollywood beauties! If you love the old gangster films,you'll love this tribute to a by-gone era. So exacting is this film,they hired Edith Head to do the costumes, ( she costumed most of the original source films.),and even went so far as to duplicate,perfectly,all of the old sets. You won't be disappointed with this one!
Rating:
Summary: Top Of The World Ma!
Review: Long before Hollywood dazzled us with CGI effects,there was "Detecto-Vision"™! Steve Martin was at the top of his game when he made this clever collage! ( with the help of Carl Reiner.). Using a montage of 1940's gangster film noirs,and cleverly grafting them into his own detective story,a clever comedy is born. Steve Martin is Rigby Reardon a down on his luck detective,who gets his big break when a famous scientist and cheese maker,meets a mysterious death! Rachel Ward,Carl Reiner,and Renni Santori ( Seinfelds'"Poppi" ),are all a part of the mystery and intrigue that follow. ( As well as nearly every hollywood star from the 40's.). See!Kirk Douglas have Rigby Reardon beaten! See! Fred MacMurray put the moves on Rigby Reardon! See! A disguise so clever it fools James Cagney! See! Rigby Reardon get turned down by Bette Davis,Veronica Lake,Ingrid Bergman,and a bevvy of Hollywood beauties! If you love the old gangster films,you'll love this tribute to a by-gone era. So exacting is this film,they hired Edith Head to do the costumes, ( she costumed most of the original source films.),and even went so far as to duplicate,perfectly,all of the old sets. You won't be disappointed with this one!
Rating: 
Summary: "A treasure..."
Review: Martin is priceless as an inept detective on the case of luminous Ward's supposedly murdered father. Beautiful photography by the great Michael Chapman, who creates a remarkably sustained noirish feal, as Martin seamlessly interacts with several old detective film clips. Better for the film buff, but others will get a kick out of the slapstick, as Reiner and Martin really deliver the goods in this truly marvelous film spoof. A treasure, this film is still quite underappreciated, and one of the lesser known, but better Steve Martin vehicles. What can I say? I love it!
Rating:
Summary: Admirable
Review: Martin shines in this loving parody of tough guy private eye films of the forties. Shot in glorious black and white, it really takes you back to those days with the stylistic acting, design, and props - even some of the camera shots mimic earlier styles. Then, of course, they intercut moments from actual old films, which is a technical feat. The plot is utterly incomprehensible, in parody of classics like "The Big Sleep." A wonderful mood piece with many good yuks in it, if not constant laughter.
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