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Summary: Carl Reiner and Steve Matin's Masterpiece
Review: Of all the films Reiner and Martin made together,this is there Masterpiece.How they made a film around movie stars from the 30's and 40's,come up with a story line,and make it into one of the funniest films every is unreal.I enjoy alot of Steve's films,but this one's my favorite.
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Summary: Martin and Reiner team up again!
Review: One of the greatest comic minds of the 20th century and one of the other greatest comic minds of the 20th century team up to create a new movie out of old movies. This great black and white throw back movie stars Martin as an out of luck detective who takes the case of this hot girl. The movie is witty, as only Martin and Reiner would have it. But the best parts of this movie are how they interact with old bits of old movies with old actors. This movie is unique, and a definite must have for any Martin fan
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Summary: My favorite Steve Martin movie of them all...
Review: Steve Martin and Rachel Ward are almost too funny for words in this one. With this film, Carl Reiner did to 40's film noir what Mel Brooks did to Star Wars with his Spaceballs -- though I'd say that Reiner's Dead Men Don't far excels Spaceballs. This, as while Mel Brooks uses some great one-liners and sight gags in his send-up of space flicks, Reiner's brilliant pastiche of old clips from classic films (complete with Bogart, Cagney, Milland, etc.) cut together with Steve Martin acting against these scenes is simply astounding in its technical acheievement while being some of the funniest moments ever put to film. This is Steve Martin at his best and Rachel Ward is stunningly beautiful -- with her beauty punctuating her delivery of key scenes in a way that only compounds the comedy, as you'd never expect to see something like this in real life. When she removes the bullets from a wounded Steve Martin, you just have to break out damned near belly laughing. The whole effect works brilliantly and the writing, filming, costumes and acting all work together in a seamless work that is one of the most under-rated films of all time. Thanks for putting it on DVD, I'd about worn my VHS copy out over the years of playing.
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Summary: You'll Be Seeing Stars
Review: Steve Martin is a classic noir private eye hired by lucious Rachel Ward to investigate her father's mysterious death--and no sooner is he on the job than he encouters... Alan Ladd? Yes, and Humphrey Bogart, Veronica Lake, Burt Lancaster, Joan Crawford, and a galaxy of other classic noir stars out help or hinder his investigation.Now, obviously Ava Gardner, Ray Milland, Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Barbara Stanwyck and the like weren't available to make this host of guest shots. To achieve the effect, PLAID creators selected scenes from such classic films as SUSPICION, NOTORIOUS, and SORRY WRONG NUMBER and then meticulous reconstructed the sets and costumes and inserted Steve Martin into them via careful editing, rear-view projection, and split screen effects. The result is often charming--but it does has a rather limiting effect: in order to accomodate the scenes, the script becomes a very scattered affair, and the plot is so full of holes you could float a battleship through without significant difficulty. Perhaps more to the point, the modern cast seems insignificant when it goes up against the likes of Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, stars from an era when the word "star" still had powerful meaning. Seeing this film will remind you in no uncertain terms of exactly why these performers were legendary and why their films maintain a hold on our psyches even today. As a result, DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID is extremely uneven--but even so it doesn't really matter, for the film works quite well as a series of comic sketches. Martin and Ward have tremendous fun with their lines, which are sure to get a giggle, and some of the "star" scenes are truly inspired--the one with Bette Davis, who Martin accuses of being cheap, is particularly hilarious, and Veronica Lake's brief appearance, short though it may be, is particularly memorable. The movie is good for a giggle... and it will certainly make you want to run straight to your film noir collection to renew some old acquaintances!
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Summary: Leave it to Steve Martin
Review: Steve Martin is a comedy genious. This movie is a very clever combination of cuts from many classic movies. It's a pleasure to see Martin interacting with some of the greats of the 'good old days' of movies. If you enjoy this you should see, J-Men Forever. It's also a combination of many TV shows and movies. The only other of this type that I've ever seen.
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Summary: Pretty good film
Review: Steve Martin is funny in this movie that spoofs every detective movie classic! This film is filmed in black and white, making it look old. One of the funny parts was when he strangles anyone who says "Clinging Woman." But the film drags a little bit, then picks up again.
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Summary: It was a night like any other night...
Review: Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is a movie I love to watch over and over again. I'm so glad that it's now out on DVD, as my VHS tape is nearly worn out. Martin plays Rigby Reardon, a cheap gumshoe that is one client away from bankruptcy. His client, played by Rachel Ward (worth getting the movie just to see her bullet-sucking scenes), seeks Reardon's help in investigating the disappearance of her father, a world famous scientist that experiments with cheeses, which sends Reardon on a whirlwind investigation of characters. Through the splicing of scenes from dozens of major detective / mystery movies of the 30's and 40's, Martin seamlessly interacts with Kirk Douglas, Vincent Price, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Humphrey Bogart, Fred McMurray, Burt Lancaster, Ray Milland, and a dozen others. DMDWP was Edith Head's last movie. Her costumes were the standard for Hollywood movies in the 30's and 40's. If you're a detective movie buff, a 40's movie buff, or just want a couple of hours of great fun, this is the DVD to get.
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Summary: It was a night like any other night...
Review: Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is a movie I love to watch over and over again. I'm so glad that it's now out on DVD, as my VHS tape is nearly worn out. Martin plays Rigby Reardon, a cheap gumshoe that is one client away from bankruptcy. His client, played by Rachel Ward (worth getting the movie just to see her bullet-sucking scenes), seeks Reardon's help in investigating the disappearance of her father, a world famous scientist that experiments with cheeses, which sends Reardon on a whirlwind investigation of characters. Through the splicing of scenes from dozens of major detective / mystery movies of the 30's and 40's, Martin seamlessly interacts with Kirk Douglas, Vincent Price, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Humphrey Bogart, Fred McMurray, Burt Lancaster, Ray Milland, and a dozen others. DMDWP was Edith Head's last movie. Her costumes were the standard for Hollywood movies in the 30's and 40's. If you're a detective movie buff, a 40's movie buff, or just want a couple of hours of great fun, this is the DVD to get.
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Summary: You Don't Deserve a Puppy
Review: That is one of the rejoinders Steve Martin makes to the villain of this piece (whom he has offered a dog as a peace gesture), and although I first saw it 20 years ago it's a phrase that has worked its way into my family's lexicon as an all-purpose rebuke. Generally I don't like movies about movies but Steve Martin makes this one special, and after 20 years still memorable.
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Summary: Great film, no-so-great features on DVD
Review: The DVD itself is great (considering the mishmash of source material), and so is the movie...HOWEVER...there are a ton of deleted scenes (which occasionally see the light of day whenever the USA Network runs this film) which are inexplicably left out of this DVD. Hopefully, one day somebody (Criterion...are you listening?) will snap to thir senses and include them. After all, aren't these sorts of things the rasons why we have DVD in the 1st place?
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