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)
Category: Film
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 comedy that attempts to do to the Shamus Game what Airplane! did to air travel. Nope. Not even close, although it does have its moments. With … Continue reading Biff Basham (Help! My Gumshoe’s an Idiot!)
Mary Roberts (Whispering City/La forteresse)
Created by Michael Lennox and George Zuckerman Newshawk MARY ROBERTS works the Québec City crime beat in the Duplessis-era Whispering City, an obscure but surprisingly strong noir from 1947. The fatal car crash of a long-retired actress intrigues intrepid reporter Roberts, sporting a rather nifty tam, and she decides to investigate further. She soon discovers … Continue reading Mary Roberts (Whispering City/La forteresse)
JJ Flask
Created by Chris R. Notarile Sing along if you know the words... In 2021, a black & white film short, J.J. Flask, was announced, written and directed by filmmaker Chris R. Notarile. The eponymous hero, JJ FLASK, we're told, is "an old fashioned, hard-boiled P.I. in a modern day setting," trying to scrape out a … Continue reading JJ Flask
My Scrapbook: This or That? (A Lincoln Lawyer Dilemma)
My ScrapbookThis or That? I'm just asking... FURTHER INVESTIGATION Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer)Our take... My ScrapbookA Cornucopia of Tear Sheets, Illustrations, Photos, Scribbles & Other Crap That I Think is Cool. Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
The Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid Cheatsheet
The Supporting Cast and Films Used in the Making of the Film The 1982 comedy, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, starring Steve Martin as 1940s Hollywood eye Rigby Reardon and directed by Carl Reiner, had a cast to die for. Literally, since most of those who appeared in it had shuffled off this mortal coil … Continue reading The Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid Cheatsheet
Rigby Reardon (Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid)
Created by George Gipe, Steve Martin and Carl Reiner Juliet Forrest: What are you doing? Rigby Reardon: Adjusting your breasts. You fainted and they shifted all out of whack. RIGBY REARDON is the doofus P.I. (played by Steve Martin) who gets by with a little help from his friends, in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, … Continue reading Rigby Reardon (Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid)
Jake Masters (Cry Uncle!)
Created by Michael Brett Adapted for the screen by David Odell Michael Brett's series eye PETE McGRATH from the 1960s is usually remembered as an enjoyable but somewhat generic character. But he probably deserved better than this... The 1968 mystery Lie a Little, Die a Little featuring McGrath was used as the basis for a trippy, … Continue reading Jake Masters (Cry Uncle!)
Haida (Umihoozuki)
Written by Jūrō Kara (1940-2024) The 1995 Japanese film Umihoozuki was supposedly inspired by a true incident involving a Japanese girl who went missing in Taiwan (and was later found murdered by a taxi driver) several years ago. The story was adapted for the screen by — and also starred — Jūrō Kara, as HAIDA, … Continue reading Haida (Umihoozuki)
Takayasu Higashino (Bondage House)
Written by Takushi Fukada & Hiroshi Ishii Get out the nipple clamps! In Kindan no Ai (English: Bondage House), a thirty-minute videoblast of hentai anime, Japanese private eye TAKAYASU HIGASHINOA enters "a dangerous game of intrigue, seduction and S&M when he investigates a mysterious mansion with sex-crazed residents," with plenty of "Kinky animated fare in … Continue reading Takayasu Higashino (Bondage House)