Product Details

• Actors: Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Alan Ladd, Carl Reiner, Barbara Stanwyck
• Directors: Carl Reiner
• Writers: Steve Martin, Carl Reiner, George Gipe
• Producers: David V. Picker, Richard McWhorter, William E. McEuen
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios Ho
• VHS Release Date: May 27, 1997
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300182894
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,743 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

This is one of the best parodies of the '40s hardboiled detective genre, with a very clever conceit: weaving the plot and production design around memorable movie clips (The Killers, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, White Heat, This Gun for Hire, Sorry, Wrong Number, Notorious). Steve Martin plays the cool Rigby Reardon, who tries solving an incomprehensible mystery with the assistance of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Burt Lancaster, Fred MacMurray, Ingrid Bergman, and Ray Milland, among others. It's all silly hokum with Rachel Ward as the pretty moll and director-cowriter Carl Reiner as the nefarious villain. Miklos Rozsa takes us back to yesteryear with his lush score, and, fittingly, Edith Head handles the period costumes in her final production. --Bill Desowitz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for brilliant editing & hilarious parody!, October 2, 2004

By 

Dave (Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (DVD)

Before I bought this recently I had never even heard of it. I'm a huge fan of film noir & so I had to see if a parody would be entertaining. It is now my favorite Steve Martin movie! The script is hilarious & clever & will keep you laughing constantly. The plot brilliantly fits in clips of famous film noirs of the 40s, & you get to see Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Burt Lancaster, Barbara Stanwyck, & Lana Turner "interact" with Steve Martin as he tries to solve a mystery after being hired by the very beautiful Rachel Ward. Filmed in black & white & with wonderful music by famous composer Miklos Rozsa, you cannot go wrong with this ingenious comedy. FYI, this was the final film for the legendary costume designer Edith Head. If you're a film noir or Steve Martin fan then this is a must-have!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Genius, January 7, 2004

By 

C. T. Mikesell (near Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (DVD)

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is one of those movies that are so jaw-droppingly brilliant that you can't believe what you're seeing.

While the acting is a bit stiff in places, and Steve Martin's occasional use of "dangerous words" doesn't fit with a 40's noir film, the premise and near perfect execution of intercutting old and new films is incredible. For instance, Steve Martin's character's name is Rigby Reardon. On the surface it has that alliterative "Sam Spade" quality so you chalk it up the pastiche. Later however, actors from the old movies refer to someone off-screen as "Mr. Reardon" or "Rigby," and you realize how things were set up from the beginning. Likewise, Rigby's reaction to the words "cleaning woman" seems like just an odd quirk at first - until later, when it gives him an excuse to strangle Bette Davis. The scene of Rigby and Alan Ladd sharing a plate of cookies is simply amazing.

The DVD skimps on extras, but as it's an inexpensive title you're still getting full value for your movie purchasing dollar. Don't miss the original theatrical trailer, though; I don't recall having seen it before and Steve Martin's narration as funny as anything in the film itself (who else could include "sliding" as a major reason to see a movie?).

If you're a fan of the old 40's detective/suspense films, you'll really appreciate this movie. If you're a newcomer to the world of film noir, the movies spliced in here (conveniently listed in the end credits) are some of the best. If you're just looking for laughs, the gags are spaced out quite a bit in parts, but that gives you an opportunity to appreciate the dramatic side of Steve Martin you don't always see.

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner should be very proud to have made this movie. You should be proud to include it in your DVD library.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Steve Martin movie of them all..., June 26, 2004

By 

R. Lindeboom "theboomer" (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (DVD)

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.