Director: Stephen Frears
Genres: Comedy, Mystery
Rating:

Part spoof and part "straight," Gumshoe comes off as an affectionate tribute to the hard-boiled detective films of yore. Albert_Finney stars as Eddie Ginley, a Liverpool bingo-caller and erstwhile comedian who has been weaned on the novels of Raymond_Chandler and Dashiel_Hammett. Fancying himself an ace detective, Ginley quits his job to form his own agency. Before long, he is involved in a complex mystery with decided echoes of The_Maltese_Falcon and The_Big_Sleep, replete with femme fatale (Janice_Rule) and sinister fat man (George_Silver). Armed with little more than a slick line of patter, Ginley plunges into this baffling case, while his level-headed brother (Frank_Finlay) and sister-in-law (Billie_Whitelaw) try to talk him out of it. Despite its satirical content, Gumshoe turns out to be a fascinating mystery yarn on its own terms. Albert_Finney also produced the film, while none other than Andrew_Lloyd_Webber supplied the musical score. Hal Erickson, Rovi


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