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The Cheap Detective
 
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The Cheap Detective (1978)

Starring: Peter Falk, Ann-Margret Director: Robert Moore Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: DVD
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

Price: $9.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

The Cheap Detective + Murder by Death + Clue
Total List Price: $34.87
Price For All Three: $27.93

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  • This item: The Cheap Detective DVD ~ Peter Falk

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  • Murder by Death DVD ~ Peter Falk

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  • Clue DVD ~ Eileen Brennan

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Cheap Detective
72% buy the item featured on this page:
The Cheap Detective 4.2 out of 5 stars (27)
$9.95
Murder by Death
15% buy
Murder by Death 4.7 out of 5 stars (143)
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5% buy
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Product Details

  • Actors: Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Stockard Channing
  • Directors: Robert Moore
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Language: Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Subtitles: Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
    PLEASE NOTE:
    Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Sony Pictures
  • DVD Release Date: November 13, 2001
  • Run Time: 92 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005Q4D6
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,077 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #72 in  Movies & TV > Comedy > Comic Criminals
    #74 in  Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Detectives
  • For more information about "The Cheap Detective" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Most fans of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink comedies like The Naked Gun and Hot Shots probably think the genre started with Airplane!, but Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective came two years earlier. It's a camp parody of Humphrey Bogart's 1940s detective flicks (particularly The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep), with a big dose of Casablanca thrown in for good measure. There's no point in describing the plot--it's little more than a series of cameos by just about every actor working in the 1970s, including Ann-Margaret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman, Marsha Mason, and Nicol Williamson. Peter Falk plays the detective and does a fine Bogey impression. Unfortunately, it's not Neil Simon's best work--he's better at character comedy such as The Odd Couple and The Goodbye Girl than this kind of slapstick--but there are a few good lines and the cast gives it their best. Louise Fletcher, not usually known for comedy, does a sharp satire of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, and Madeline Kahn never fails to entertain in a variety of disguises. --Bret Fetzer


Product Description

Movie DVD

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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars So Put It Out In WIDESCREEN, Already!!!, February 14, 2006
Cheap Detective? Cheapo version is more like it - this flick has been sadly butchered into a small standard frame format, which marks the real "murder" here. So the studio (and/or the DVD maker) is the REAL "killer" this time.

It features a HUGE cast, which is all the more reason that this comedic gem must be released in its full Panavision glory. Until that time, this 5 star film only gets 3 lousy stars, and the DVD makers get ZERO of my money.

(Unlike the GREAT version of the similar modern comedy classic Murder By Death, which is on DVD in beautiful widescreen and which I strongly urge eveyone to buy.)

I therefore advise all fans of Falk, Sellers and company to BOYCOTT this pan-and-scan travesty, until the proper widescreen version is finally put out!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb satire, January 1, 2003
By T. James "terrica37" (Fremont, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
An hilarious spoof of classic Bogart films. Falk fills the Bogie role, Fernando Lamas, Madeline Kahn and Eileen Brennan are excellent.If you appreciate Casablanca,The Maltese Falcon,and The Big Sleep,you will certainly enjoy not only the acting,but the stage settings as well. Outstanding
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Spoof of "Casablanca" and Bogey!, November 3, 2000
This review is from: Cheap Detective [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Like Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," "The Cheap Detective" is a lovingly hilarious homage to the great classics of the 30's and 40's. Falk, Fletcher, Kahn, Williams, Channing, and Brennan are outstanding.

Houseman's and DeLuise's dead-on impersonations of legends Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are brilliant!

And one can only marvel at Ann-Margret's "baubles!"

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars SOOOOO FUNNY!!!! Super satire! Lost of stars!!
Fabulous treat.

First, you must have seen Casablanca and Maltese Falcon at least to get it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Operafilly

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cheap Review!!
Great Cast, great script, great laughs - I waited years for this to come out on DVD, one of my fave films ever!! Read more
Published 11 months ago by Colin Boland

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap . . .
My family and I love this movie - no, wait. Sorry. What we actually love most about this movie is Peter Falk.
Published 14 months ago by S. McCloud

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
LOVE this movie. I watched it 3 times and it had me rolling every time. The dialogue sometimes elicits groans, but it is so funny. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jenni Frederick

3.0 out of 5 stars Widescreen available on Amazon.ca
For those like me looking for a widescreen version of this title (it was filmed in anamorphic 2.35:1), it's available on Amazon's Canadian website - for a decent price I might add.
Published 24 months ago by Matadore

5.0 out of 5 stars "Why do they tell me these things?"
I loved Peter Falk in this movie. I picked up the DVD some time back and only just now had an opportunity to watch it. FUNNY! Read more
Published on May 4, 2007 by James D. Crabtree

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny , Funny, Funny
One of the most hilarious movies ever made -- Peter Falk is magnificent.
Published on January 10, 2007 by Harry M. Dodd

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 if in widescreen
This is a wonderful tribute to the films of Bogart. True, it's a spoof, but humor is a wonderful tribute. Read more
Published on December 22, 2006 by M. Fisher

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny
This was a thoroughly enjoyable, thoroughly ridiculous story with wonderful comic acting. Have fun!
Published on November 9, 2006 by Godot

4.0 out of 5 stars "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made of" Meets "Here's Looking at You, Kid"
Neil Simon's screenplay is, in a word, "unfunny." Most of the gags are so silly that they are downright embarrassing. Read more
Published on April 29, 2006 by J. Friedman

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