Created by Frank Tashlin, Mac Benoff, Ben Hecht (uncredited), Harpo Marx "I am the same Sam Grunion who solved the international uranium-mining swindle. Scotland Yard was baffled; the FBI was baffled. They sent for me and the case was solved immediately: I confessed." -- Sam Grunion In Love Happy (1949), the last film the Marx Brothers … Continue reading Sam Grunion (Love Happy)
Tag: Humour
Wolf J. Flywheel (The Big Store)
Created by Hal Fineberg, Ray Golden, Sid Kuller & Nat Perrin "We won't need any stores detectives with him around." -- Hah! Not your average gumshoe, but certainly one of the mouthiest, Groucho Marx stars as WOLF J. FLYWHEEL, possibly the most useless private eye in the world in the 1941 Marx Bros. comedy The … Continue reading Wolf J. Flywheel (The Big Store)
Jack Palmer
Created by Réné Pétillon(1945- 2018) JACK PALMER is the clown prince of bede private eyes. He's a scooter-riding squirt; a hapless low-rent private peeper in a beat-up fedora and a dingy, rumpled trench coat several sizes too big for him, with an ass-backwards style of investigation that leaves him stuck in some pretty bizarre predicaments. Not … Continue reading Jack Palmer
Hairbutt the Hippo
Created by Bodine Amerikah Art by Jase Paulos Mystery! Intrigue! Romance! Guns! Flatulence! From the pages of Australian edition of MAD Magazine and the decidedly-twisted good folks at Rat Race Comix comes the thundering saga of a Down Under private dick who does not go gently into that good night. You know him, you love him! … Continue reading Hairbutt the Hippo
Fred Fox
Created by James Thurber (1894-1961) A parody of the tough guy P.I. story, in which all the characters are animals in the forest? Seriously? It's a wandering rabbit job, with hard-boiled, rye-drinking FRED FOX called in by old Mrs. Rabbit to find Daphne, one of her descendants. As you might guess, old Mrs. Rabbit has a … Continue reading Fred Fox
Rex Shepard (You Never Can Tell)
Created by Lou Breslow and David Chandler "Oh Goldie, these are humans we're dealing with. You can't just tell them the truth and expect them to believe it." -- Rex explains the inadequacies of humans. Speaking of unfortunate viewing habits, how could you not include You Never Can Tell in the list of movies on your … Continue reading Rex Shepard (You Never Can Tell)
Speed Walker
Created by Cris Hammond For some reason, the number of comic strips featuring private eyes have been few and far between. Off the top of my head, there's Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby, his and Hammett's Secret Agent X-9, and the short-lived Mike Hammer strip, but that's about it. But in the eighties, just at the time that newspaper strips … Continue reading Speed Walker
Doan & Carstairs
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) "He was short and a little on the plump side, and he had a chubby, pink face and a smile as innocent and appealing as a baby's. He looked like a very nice, pleasant sort of person, and on rare occasions he was." -- we meet Doan in The Mouse … Continue reading Doan & Carstairs
John Hunchman & David Purefoy (Dicktown)
Created by John Hodgman & David Rees Who says cartoons are for kids? In the clever and decidedly adult cartoon Dicktown (2000, FXX), maladjusted, socially awkward middle-aged private eye JOHN HUNCHMAN and his slacker sidekick DAVID PUREFOY (voiced by series creators and co-writers John Hodgman and David Rees) aren't going anywhere. They're still living in small North Carolina town … Continue reading John Hunchman & David Purefoy (Dicktown)
Nancy Clue, Cherry Aimless & The Hardly Boys
Created by Mabel Maney I'm not even sure how to fit this series in. The heroes of it are not private eyes. They're not even parodies of private eyes. What they are are shrewd, dead-on lampoons of some of the most popular mystery series ever to be marketed to kids. Except these parodies are … Continue reading Nancy Clue, Cherry Aimless & The Hardly Boys