X
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
Summary Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut.
Directed By: Carl Reiner
Written By: George Gipe, Steve Martin, Carl Reiner
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
67
4.8
Where to Watch
Summary Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from real noirs appear as scenes from various films are intercut.
Directed By: Carl Reiner
Written By: George Gipe, Steve Martin, Carl Reiner
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
67
62% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
38% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
67
62% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
38% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A consistently hilarious parody of the noir and detective genres, expertly blending classic archival footage with the action.
Martin's inner giddiness makes Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid a classic. This loose film is more than a spoof of the hard-boiled noir of the Forties and Fifties; it is a tribute to the wonderful memories these films created in a generation.
A genial, gently mocking, brilliantly executed spoof that may offend the purists but which should delight the buffs.
Some amusement is derived from watching a film that so obviously had to be worked out backwards. The bits in between feature likeable Martin as a keen but clumsy detective - with all the good lines, which is no bad thing because he's the best part of this fairly amusing, clever exercise in editing.
Unfortunately, the technical hullabaloo gets stale about three-quarters of the way through and we want something to cling to. It's a case of the missing plot, unless you count what writers Reiner (who also directed), Martin and George Gipe weave round the clips to string them together. [21 May 1982, p.13]
Martin has a few good silly gags, but you may find yourself fighting to stay awake and losing.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid thus has considerable appeal to movie buffs for whom the black-and-white semi-classics of an earlier era are familiar treasures. For the rest of us, it is a senior thesis -- variations on a single theme, executed carefully but always to the same effect. [21 May 1982, p.D2]
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
4.8
42% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
50% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
4.8
42% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
50% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
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