Gumshoe

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Bob P Oct 28 Love this film Albert Finney plays Eddie Ginley an idol layabout who lives in a fantasy world of private eye Humphrey Bogart. He decides to put an add in the local paper for his own eye private services. It’s not long before he gets a call to find a missing girl. Eddie takes on the case but soon finds out he’s is in it up to his neck involved in drugs and murder. Has Eddie bitten off more than he can chew? The dialogue is sharp with Eddies quick wit and humour much to the annoyance of his brother William played by Frank Finlay. Sadly Gumshoe never hit the heights at the box office, perhaps cinema goers back in the day just simply didn’t get it after reading the write up. Shame great film See more Jack S 02/17/2024 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! See more nick s 02/11/2024 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. See more 02/05/2022 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. See more 02/08/2019 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. See more 12/10/2016 Albert Finney is in his usual top form in Stephen Frears's devilishly comic directorial debut. See more Read all reviews

Gumshoe

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