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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Comedy · Mystery · Crime · 1982

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

Movie details

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

“Laugh, or I’ll blow your lips off...”

1982 Comedy · Mystery · Crime 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Carl Reiner

Written by

George Gipe · Steve Martin · Carl Reiner

Steve Martin

Steve Martin

Rigby Reardon

Rachel Ward

Rachel Ward

Juliet Forrest

Alan Ladd

Alan Ladd

(in "This Gun For Hire") (archive footage)

Carl Reiner

Carl Reiner

Juliet's Butler / Field Marshal Wilfried von Kluck

Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck

(in "Sorry - Wrong Number") (archive footage)

Ray Milland

Ray Milland

(in "The Lost Weekend") (archive footage)

Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner

(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)

Court is in session

Put Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.