Gumshoe

PG

1972

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

List

88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Eddie Ginley (Albert Finney) works at a bingo hall in Liverpool, England, but dreams of becoming a stylish private investigator like those he has read about and seen in films. After finally placing an advertisement in a local newspaper announcing his detective services, he receives a mysterious offer. Even though Ginley is inexperienced and clueless at certain aspects of investigating, he comes to realize that he is entangled in a serious case involving drugs, murder and even his own family.

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Jack S

So-so send-up of American private-eye films is perhaps a little too whimsically inclined. The dialogue is pretty good and the humor works some of the time (for example, it's a fun idea that Finney is an aspiring stand-up comedian when not on the case), but although the cast/crew try hard to make it all work, it doesn't always succeed. Finney is quite good—I only wish it were a more compelling criminal case that he was investigating!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

nick s

The protagonist mimicking a film noir detective was an interesting quirk, but it was also a bit distracting in the serious moments. The camera work was a little claustrophobic... perhaps they were trying to create a studio feel? All up I started to find the movie a bit of a slog. A few good lines in there though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The Atlantis Bookshop is an esoteric bookshop that's been the center of London's occult scene since it opened in 1921. It's where the "Father of Wicca" Gerald Gardner attended meetings of The Order of the Hidden Masters and the shop even published his first book. It continues to be a nexus point for magic users and is featured prominently in Gumshoe, a movie that has some magic of its own as Eddie Ginley (Albert Finney) dreams of escaping his bingo hall reality and becoming a detective like in the books he reads. When he places an ad for his detective services as a birthday joke, he discovers himself in the middle of an actual case that may involve his family. Featuring the first music score for a film by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gumshoe‘s drug scenes kept it from being released on video until 2009. It was the debut film of director Stephen Frears (The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity) and was written by Neville Smith, who also plays Arthur in this movie. There was a big revival of hard boiled detective films and film noir at the start of the 70s and this film does a great job of showing how one man can become lost in the dream of what it would be like to live in their world.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Stephen Frears feature debut is a real humdinger as Bingo caller comedian Albert Finney lives in a world of private eyes when he suddenly becomes involved in a real case. Lovely pastiche of classic film noir with Finney excelling in the lead . Fears would work in TV until the 80s before going back to the big screen and as usual he delivers the goods showing again how underrated he is as a director.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Albert Finney is in his usual top form in Stephen Frears's devilishly comic directorial debut.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

william s

Wanted to be funny and interesting....should have just picked interesting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Stephen Frears

Director

Albert Finney

Eddie Ginley

Billie Whitelaw

Ellen

Frank Finlay

William

Janice Rule

Mrs. Blankerscoon

Carolyn Seymour

Alison

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Jan Dawson

Sight & Sound

It's an extraordinarily funny film, funny in a way that is neither patronising of its audience's intelligence nor complacent about its own.

Feb 11, 2020

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Gumshoe is an affectionately nostalgic and amusing tribute to the movie-fiction private-eye genre of yesteryear.

Feb 23, 2012

Full Review

Madeleine Harmsworth

Sunday Mirror (UK)

Gumshoe, a poor parody of a Humphrey Bogart-type gangster movie, has none of the dash of "oldies."

May 16, 2023

Full Review

Michael Billington

Birmingham Post

I found Gumshoe, in fact, a totally captivating film. It affectionately parodies the clipped, hammerblow dialogue of the best 'Forties movies while at the same time sustaining one's interest in a typically convoluted piece of Chandleresque plotting.

May 16, 2023

Full Review

John Hofsess

Maclean's Magazine

Gumshoe is a perfect sort of summer film - light as a Panama hat, cool as a frosted daiquiri.

Jan 30, 2020

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

An amusing private eye spoof.

Dec 31, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Eddie Ginley (Albert Finney) works at a bingo hall in Liverpool, England, but dreams of becoming a stylish private investigator like those he has read about and seen in films. After finally placing an advertisement in a local newspaper announcing his detective services, he receives a mysterious offer. Even though Ginley is inexperienced and clueless at certain aspects of investigating, he comes to realize that he is entangled in a serious case involving drugs, murder and even his own family.

Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Neville Smith
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Runtime: 1h 28m

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