Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- breezy
- classic movie night
- spoof comedy night
What critics said
Critics were divided, with some enjoying Neil Simon's witty, entertaining tribute to classic detective movies while others found the expensive spoof unfunny and derivative.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot explicitly reconstructs and parodies scenes and conventions associated with Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.
The police and Lou are drawn into a search for the black bird, echoing the detective genre's iconic object-centered mystery.
Lou Peckinpaugh is a cheap detective trying to evade police suspicion while navigating an absurd noir-style conspiracy.
The film deliberately draws on the worlds and iconography of 1940s detective cinema, especially Bogart vehicles.
Films like The Cheap Detective, and why
Murder by Death
Both are affectionate yet irreverent parodies of classic detective conventions, driven by fast dialogue and comic genre reconstruction.
The Big Bus
Shares a self-aware spoof approach, broad ensemble comedy, and playful imitation of familiar crime-film archetypes.
The Man with Bogart's Face
Comparable for its retro-styled detective parody, deadpan comic hero, and collision of noir tropes with farce.
Clue
Like this film, it uses an ensemble of recognizable mystery archetypes and escalating farcical misunderstandings to satirize whodunits.
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Moore
- Release Date
- 1978-06-23
- Runtime
- 92 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (110)
Cast
- Peter Falk
- Ann-Margret
- Eileen Brennan
- Sid Caesar
- Stockard Channing
- James Coco
- Dom DeLuise
- Louise Fletcher
- John Houseman
- Madeline Kahn
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Cheap Detective about?
- A fast-talking private eye dodges the police and hunts a legendary black bird in a lavish comic remix of classic Bogart mysteries.
- What is The Cheap Detective like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Cheap Detective as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Cheap Detective violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Cheap Detective as mild.
- What did critics think of The Cheap Detective?
- Critics were divided, with some enjoying Neil Simon's witty, entertaining tribute to classic detective movies while others found the expensive spoof unfunny and derivative.
- Which films are like The Cheap Detective?
- Films with a similar feel include Murder by Death, The Big Bus, The Man with Bogart's Face, and Clue.
- How long is The Cheap Detective?
- The Cheap Detective runs 92 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Cheap Detective?
- In United States, The Cheap Detective streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
