Created by Mel Arrighi (1933-86) HANK MERCER is a mild-mannered novelist who's grown tired... very tired... of chronicling the bestselling adventures of hard-boiled NYC private eye BIFF DEEGAN. Certainly there's precedent. Christie supposedly grew to hate Poirot's ego, and Chandler felt trapped by the constant demand for the crowd-pleasing Marlowe. And so Hank decides to … Continue reading Hank Mercer/Biff Deegan
Tag: Comedy
Phido Vance (Who Killed Rover?)
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?)
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.)
Vic Nardozza (The Michael Richards Show)
Created by Spike Feresten & Gregg Kavet & Michael Richards & Andy Robin How bad could it be? Evidently comedian Michael "Kramer" Richards wasn't quite rich enough, despite the endless royalties streaming in from endless Seinfeld reruns for the next millennium or so. So the humble, self-proclaimed master of physical comedy came back with a … Continue reading Vic Nardozza (The Michael Richards Show)
Kaiser Lupowitz
Created by Woody Allen Pseudonym of Allen Stewart Konigsberg (1935--) I was sitting in my office, cleaning the debris out of my thirty-eight and wondering where my next case was coming from... KAISER LUPOWITZ is the gumshoe in a couple of Woody Allen's apparently affectionate parodies/tributes of/to the hardboiled private eye tale. Yes, that Woody … Continue reading Kaiser Lupowitz
Antoine Doinel (Baisers volés/Stolen Kisses)
Created by François Truffaut & Marcel Moussy Shy, hapless and hopelessly romantic bookworm ANTOINE DOINEL is hardly your typical private eye. He tumbles in and out of love in a series of five romcoms by noted French director François Truffaut that follow him as he stumbles his way from rebellious teenager to manhood. He wanders through a … Continue reading Antoine Doinel (Baisers volés/Stolen Kisses)
Malcolm (The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery)
Created by Dean Hargrove (1938--) Why does The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery even exist? The 1975 film "comedy," co-written and directed by Dean Hargrove, has no real stars, few real laughs and little plot. And then the penny dropped. Two of the "stars" of this 1975 gobbler, Gabriel Dell and Huntz Hall, were previously … Continue reading Malcolm (The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery)
Droopy (Droopy, Master Detective)
Created by Tex Avery and Rich Hogan "Hello, all you happy people. Created by Tex Avery and Rich Hogan for MGM for cartoon shorts back in the forties, DROOPY was the slow-walking, slow-talking, seemingly indestructible and certainly unflappable bloodhound who somehow always seems to get his man (or woman) (or wolf). Since he first appeared, … Continue reading Droopy (Droopy, Master Detective)
Nameless (Io so che tu sai che io so)
Created by Alberto Sordi, Augusto Caminito, and Rodolfo Sonego Okay, this one's a real stretch... Less a private eye film than a film that uses the private eye as a catalyst, offering a cock-eyed look at the aftermath of a private eye's investigation., the 1982 Italian comedy Io so che tu sai che io so … Continue reading Nameless (Io so che tu sai che io so)
Jimmy Corrigan (Jimmy the Gent)
Created by Laird Doyle "Blondes...Brunettes...And Their Bankrolls! He makes 'em!... Takes 'Em and Tosses 'Em Away! Wild Jimmy in a Knockout riot of Laughs!" -- slug line on original poster.Jimmy Cagney plays JIMMY CORRIGAN, the scrappy, strutting operator of a missing heirs bureau, out to win the heart of the beautiful Joan (Bette Davis) in … Continue reading Jimmy Corrigan (Jimmy the Gent)