In 1929, Metro Golden Mayer unleashed the Dogville comedy series, nine odd little film shorts that parodied popular films of the day, and they all starred... dogs. You've heard of the talkies? These were the "barkies." Dogs dressed up in human clothes, dogs walking on their hind legs, dogs talking, dogs dancing, dogs singing, dogs … Continue reading Phido Vance (Who Killed Rover?)
Category: Film
Frank McClusky (Frank McClusky, C.I.)
Created by Dave Sheridan & Mark Perez "Until you've witnessed your husband explode in front of 5,000 people you don't know shit!" — Ma McClusky gets sentimental .There's dumb. And dumber. And dumberer. Frank McKlusky, C.I., a painful-to-watch, straight-to-video flick from 2002, has to be the dumberest. It's a painful straight-to-video flick from 2002, that … Continue reading Frank McClusky (Frank McClusky, C.I.)
Connie & Steve Barton
Created by Kelley Roos Pseudonym of William Roos (1911–1987) and Audrey Roos (1912–1982) "She was the most luscious, blue-eyed, baby-faced blonde I had ever seen, and she was dancing with my husband. I was tempted to scratch her eyes out..." Kelley Roos, the pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team of William and Audrey Roos, were … Continue reading Connie & Steve Barton
So it’s come to this…
The Film Geeks' Top Ten P.I. Films (2012) OKAY, it may be hard to believe, but the entire world does not revolve around private eyes... Shocking, innit? Some people, even people who profess to love mysteries and detective stories and all kinds of crime fiction, aren't quite clear on exactly what defines a private … Continue reading So it’s come to this…
Jo & Steve (Chan is Missing)
Created by Wayne Wang & Terrel Seltzer "I'm no Charlie Chan." — Jo confesses NOT EXACTLY a P.I. film, but the spirit is certainly willing in the 1982 indie cult fave Chan is Missing. It's was about as low-budget as you could get, reportedly costing less than $20,000 to produce, and filmed in gritty, grainy … Continue reading Jo & Steve (Chan is Missing)
Andre Shame (A Low Down Dirty Shame)
Created by Keenen Ivory Wayans "Oh boy!" I thought, when I first heard about A Low Down Dirty Shame. A hilarious, sharp-eyed spoof on Shaft and all those enjoyably cheesy but vital Blaxploitation B-flicks back in the seventies that followed? A tongue-in-cheek action flick look back written, directed and starring Keenan Ivory Wayans, a man who … Continue reading Andre Shame (A Low Down Dirty Shame)
Jack Packard, Doc Long & Reggie York (I Love a Mystery)
Created by Carlton E. Morse (1901-93) "No job too tough, no mystery too baffling." — The Triple A-1 Detective Agency Motto AN EXTREMELY popular radio show in there 1940s, I Love Mystery followed the adventures of three men who met while fighting with the Chinese against the Japanese in World War II. Upon their return … Continue reading Jack Packard, Doc Long & Reggie York (I Love a Mystery)
Tom Welles (8MM)
Created by Andrew Kevin Walker Everyone take a shower. Happily-married, and boasting a new-born daughter, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania surveillance expert and private eye TOM WELLES is hired by a wealthy widow to track down the origins of a reel of 8mm film that seems to depict the murder of a young girl. Tom's soon in way … Continue reading Tom Welles (8MM)
BJ (Yokohama BJ Blues)
Created by Shōichi Maruyama & Yûsaku Matsuda In Yokohama BJ Blues, a 1981 Neo-noir set in, well, Yokohama, Japan, shaggy-haired struggling blues singer and part-time private eye BJ is working a missing persons case, hunting for a lost boy, to make ends meet when his best friend, a cop, is murdered. And if that isn't … Continue reading BJ (Yokohama BJ Blues)
Biff Basham (Help! My Gumshoe’s an Idiot!)
Created by Michael Webb Clueless young New Orleans private eye BIFF BASHAM stumbles into a dumpster fire of a case in Help! My Gumshoe’s an Idiot!, a low-budget 2018 turkey that attempts to do to the Shamus Game what Airplane! did to air travel. Nope. Not even close. With so many absurd sight gags, wisecracks, … Continue reading Biff Basham (Help! My Gumshoe’s an Idiot!)