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Amazon.co.uk Review
This little British gem is a must-have for all fans of hard-boiled detective films--and their spoofs. Gumshoe actually succeeds at being both--a sendup of classic '40s Raymond Chandler masterpieces, but particularly cheeky in that singular English manner. Albert Finney plays a struggling comedian who, on a lark, decides to place an ad as a private eye ("no divorce work"). Finney affects just about every classic tic of the genre: the side-of-the-mouth delivery, the world-weary outlook ("It was the kind of a place where you needed a black tie just to take a bath"), the quip-for-quip dialogue. But then he’s sucked right into the world he’s been dancing around, complete with murder plots, drug smuggling, blowzy dames, and too-close calls. Finney’s believable as a real private dick, and is also subtly hilarious sending up the genre. The film was directed by a young Stephen Frears, and his deft touch keeps the sometimes out-there plot moving forward confidently. And Andrew Lloyd Webber provides the memorable score, which film music fans will recognize as an homage to the theme of the all-time great film noir masterpiece Sunset Boulevard. Sam Spade would be proud. --A.T. Hurley
Synopsis
Albert Finney stars as a bingo-caller who, bored with his mundane existence, takes out a newspaper ad offering his services as a private detective. In no time at all, Finney finds himself involved in a series of plots and counterplots.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
You won't have to be British and at least 40 to appreciate this, you don't even have to be a slightly nerdy detective novel reader and fan of those old Bogey movies to enjoy it, but if you happen to be all these things, I guarantee this is a must see film, though you've probably seen it already. To those that haven't, give it a try.
An early Frears film, it is well crafted with plenty of his slightly angled way of looking at things. The direction is lively as you'd expect, the scenes are sharp and always vying for your attention. The idea was to parody a few things at once. First, it is a very respectful parody of a typical Ray Chandler adaption. So the plot is deliberately complicated and almost impossible to follow. I still can't quite work it out, but realised years ago that I wasn't really meant to.
Second, it is a slightly less respectful parody of people from Liverpool, yes scousers, though this is mainly a background element because the film happens to be set there. It is a sort of filmic joke, saying 'Liverpool isn't quite L.A. is it' ( L.A. being the Capital City of Noir). A very smart Neville Smith (a scouser) script packs in alot of wit and social comment around the central plot, and he plays a cameo, as the gun seller to Eddie 'Gumshoe'.
An early Frears film, it is well crafted with plenty of his slightly angled way of looking at things. The direction is lively as you'd expect, the scenes are sharp and always vying for your attention. The idea was to parody a few things at once. First, it is a very respectful parody of a typical Ray Chandler adaption. So the plot is deliberately complicated and almost impossible to follow. I still can't quite work it out, but realised years ago that I wasn't really meant to.
Second, it is a slightly less respectful parody of people from Liverpool, yes scousers, though this is mainly a background element because the film happens to be set there. It is a sort of filmic joke, saying 'Liverpool isn't quite L.A. is it' ( L.A. being the Capital City of Noir). A very smart Neville Smith (a scouser) script packs in alot of wit and social comment around the central plot, and he plays a cameo, as the gun seller to Eddie 'Gumshoe'.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A very amusing homage to film noir, Neville Smith's screenplay for GUMSHOE is well worth a look. Set in Liverpool, Albert Finney does a great turn as Eddie Ginley, a bingo caller who dreams of being a private eye. His brothers murky activities gradually draw him into the world of the Private Eye.
Apart from Finney, here is a strong supporting cast, none of whom put a foot long, with not one dud performance amongst them. Some pastiche music from Andrew Lloyd Webber completes the picture.
A very entertaining film. What does puzzle me is how Sony's recent DVD release seems to be in such small numbers, and as such the film seems to be in short supply. Why, Sony?
Apart from Finney, here is a strong supporting cast, none of whom put a foot long, with not one dud performance amongst them. Some pastiche music from Andrew Lloyd Webber completes the picture.
A very entertaining film. What does puzzle me is how Sony's recent DVD release seems to be in such small numbers, and as such the film seems to be in short supply. Why, Sony?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was director Stephen Frears first film and stars Albert Finney as a Liverpool bingo caller/club comic with a Raymond Chandler obsession. He tries his hand at a being a private detective (the 'gumshoe' of the title) and gets involved in a case that involves murder, drugs and gun-running to Africa that is as convoluted as any of Chandler's own plots. Finney is backed up by an excellent supporting cast including Frank Findley and Billie Whitelaw, as well as Fulton Mackay who nearly steals the film from him as a Glasgow hard-man. Finney is excellent as the laid-back, sarcastic, wise-cracking provincial nobody, in what must have been one of his best big-screen roles since Arthur Seaton in 'Saturday night, Sunday morning'.
The film works surprisingly well as a homage to film noir that is set squarely in its own time (early 70s) in down-at-heel Liverpool. The script by scouser Neville Smith perfectly captures the spirit of Liverpool and even Finney's Salford accent (from all of 30 miles away) doesn't seem too out of place. It was also a very assured debut for Frears as director, he gets great performances from the cast and creates a nice sleezy, downbeat atmosphere throughout the film.
The film works surprisingly well as a homage to film noir that is set squarely in its own time (early 70s) in down-at-heel Liverpool. The script by scouser Neville Smith perfectly captures the spirit of Liverpool and even Finney's Salford accent (from all of 30 miles away) doesn't seem too out of place. It was also a very assured debut for Frears as director, he gets great performances from the cast and creates a nice sleezy, downbeat atmosphere throughout the film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Still good entertainment
This is a period piece for sure - just amuse yourself spotting the cars-of-the-day on the streets - but its style and approach are pretty timeless. Read more
Published 3 months ago by AD Matheson
Albert Finney - versatility in action
Watching Albert Finney in just three films, Gumshoe, The Dresser, and Amazing Grace, is convincing evidence that RADA produced the best actors of all time ; Finney, Alan Bates,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Peg
amusing detail
A Liverpool bingo caller dreams of being a private eye and thinks himself as Humphrey Bogart,he finds himself in a murder case. Read more
Published 6 months ago by alana
4 stars for old-time's sake.
I loved this film when it first came out (1971?) and when I discovered that a couple of friends had been extras in it (blink and you'd miss them) I had to have a copy. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Joanna S. Lloyd
Gumshoe
Excellent film set around about 1969-71 in Liverpool, during the height of the Vietnam War and antiapartheid. Read more
Published 20 months ago by splodge
"Spade went to the Hotel Belvedere, asking at the desk for Mr. Cairo."
Mark Twain once said something along these lines about women swearing: "They've got the words, but the tune isn't quite right. Read more
Published 21 months ago by L. E. Cantrell
Gumshoe
An excellent film from start to finish. Made in city centre & other parts of 1970s pre-Thatcher/Hatton Liverpool. Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by W. Major
Wait for the official UK DVD, March the 2nd!
Sony in London are releasing this film on UK DVD on March the 2nd, as comments on the IMDB show. It will be in the correct widescreen, unlike this DVD by Sony in Spain. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2009 by Robert
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