The Late Show

PG

Released Feb 10, 1977

1 hr. 34 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

95%

40 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Private detective Ira Wells (Art Carney) isn't getting any younger. He's also barely staying in business. So when Ira's former partner, Harry, is killed, Ira vows to not only take on Harry's last job, but also find his friend's murderer. While trying to crack Harry's case, Ira is introduced to Margo (Lily Tomlin), an eccentric pot-selling agent who wants to hire him to find her cat. Desperate for the work, Ira takes on the pet search and winds up with an unexpected new partner in Margo.

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Critics Consensus

Deft direction from Robert Benton and a perfect pair in Art Carney and Lily Tomlin make The Late Show a solidly savory neo-noir treat.

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Alec B

Maybe the oddest of the oddball neo-noirs. The plot isn't all that interesting but the movie knows that. These characters are why we are invested with Tomlin and Carney's hilarious and enduring duo at the heart of the whole thing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Shadowman4710

Art Carney plays a small time, broken-down private detective in 1970's Los Angeles in this Robert Altman deconstruction of the noir genre. When a long time friend (Howard Duff) is killed, he begins to investigate, only to get pulled into a web of theft, infidelity and murder. Carney is absolutely wonderful as veteran detective Ira Welles, who is forced to deal with a variety of quirky, off-beat characters living at the edge of LA. society. He has plenty of help from a solid supporting cast that includes Lilly Tomlin, Bill Macey and Eugene Roach. Highly recommended to any fans of Film Noir and its descendent, neo-noir which flourished during the 1970;s.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/10/23

Full Review

Russ

Art Carney proves there's more to his talent than just Jackie Gleason's foil in The Honeymooners. You'd be inclined to doubt the pairing of Carney and Lilly Tomlin but it works. This film was the sleeper of the year when it came out.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Boring and unexciting

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Maybe the oddest of the oddball neo-noirs. The plot isn't all that interesting but the movie knows that. These characters are why we are invested with Tomlin and Carney's hilarious and enduring duo at the heart of the whole thing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very entertaining, clever script, wonderful work by Lily Tomlin and Art Carney. If you get a chance, definitely see it. (I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could.)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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Robert Benton

Director

Art Carney

Ira Wells

Lily Tomlin

Margo

Bill Macy

Charlie Hatter

Eugene Roche

Ron Birdwell

Joanna Cassidy

Laura Birdwell

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The Late Show is fast and exciting, but it isn't a thriller, exactly. It's a one of a kind movie -- a love hate poem to sleaziness.

Jan 23, 2024

Full Review

Kathleen Carroll

New York Daily News

Writer-director Benton has fashioned two richly human characters, and the talents of Art Carney and Lily Tomlin take them from there, making both roles not only believable but irresistible as well.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 14, 2021

Full Review

Susan Stark

Detroit Free Press

The film's striking originality, as well as its emotional force, stems from the two personalities that stand as an excuse for its mannered plot.

Jun 14, 2021

Full Review

Vickie Ong

Honolulu Advertiser

It's a joy to find a movie that can still lift you above the humdrum world, keep you smiling for a few hours and send you back to earth, feeling good about life.

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The Late Show is a joke, but not in derision. [Full review in Spanish]

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

The crowning achievement of the film was the unlikely pairing of Carney and Tomlin, both regarded as comic masters. This changed after Carney’s Oscar-win turn in “Harry & Tonto” and Tomlin’s, non-comic Academy Award-nominated performance in “Nashville.”

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 16, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Private detective Ira Wells (Art Carney) isn't getting any younger. He's also barely staying in business. So when Ira's former partner, Harry, is killed, Ira vows to not only take on Harry's last job, but also find his friend's murderer. While trying to crack Harry's case, Ira is introduced to Margo (Lily Tomlin), an eccentric pot-selling agent who wants to hire him to find her cat. Desperate for the work, Ira takes on the pet search and winds up with an unexpected new partner in Margo.

Director: Robert Benton
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 10, 1977, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 31, 2008

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