Gumshoe (film)

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Gumshoe
Gumshoe 1971.jpg
UK release poster
Directed by Stephen Frears
Written by Neville Smith
Produced by Michael Medwin
Starring Albert Finney
Billie Whitelaw
Cinematography Chris Menges
Edited byCharles Rees
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Production
company
Memorial Enterprises
Distributed by Columbia-Warner Distributors
Release date
  • December 1971 (1971-12)(UK)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Gumshoe is a 1971 British black comedy film directed (in his debut) by Stephen Frears and starring Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw and Frank Finlay. [1] It was written by Neville Smith. The film follows a bingo-caller who dreams of being a private eye.

Contents

Plot

Eddie Ginley works at a bingo hall in Liverpool, England, but dreams of becoming a stylish private investigator like those he has read about and seen in films. After finally placing an advertisement in a local newspaper announcing his detective services, he receives a mysterious offer. Although Ginley is inexperienced and clueless in certain aspects of investigating, he soon realises that he is entangled in a serious case involving drugs, murder, and even his own family.

Cast

Production

The film contains shots of Liverpool buildings that have long since been demolished, including the employment exchange on Leece Street.[ citation needed ] Several scenes in the London part of the narrative take place in and around the occult Atlantis Bookshop.

Gumshoe was the first of two films with original music scores by Andrew Lloyd Webber (the other was The Odessa File , in 1974). Some of the music used was originally written for Lloyd Webber's then-abandoned musical version of Sunset Boulevard ; the music was restored to its original place when work on the musical was resumed years later. Roy Young recorded the song "Baby, You're Good For Me", written by Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. [2]

A scene was significantly shortened before release because of its detailed depiction of a heroin user preparing and taking his "fix". After years of unavailability, Gumshoe was released on DVD in 2009. [3]

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The easiest and most obvious thing to say about Gumshoe is that it is quietly and delightfully funny every inch of the way, all the more so because it never indulges in obvious pastiche, instead filtering its many echoes of the Forties thrillers through the pop-tinted glasses of the Presley Fifties as well as the sober horn-rims of reality.  ... Gumshoe [is] an extraordinarily difficult film to review, mainly because its various levels are so closely dovetailed that any attempt to take them apart leaves one with limp, meaningless strands in one's hands. ...Everything in the film – Stephen Frears' first feature – is exactly right, from the throbbing Forties score down to the end of the cast list (with Fulton Mackay stealing any honours Finney leaves behind) and the brilliantly self-effacing direction; but its most remarkable achievement is perhaps that behind all the jokes and flurries, another Eddie peeps through, vulnerable, lonely and despairing. At the end, sitting with his hat tipped rakishly over his eyes listening to a rock-and-roll record, he is Sam Spade again; but nothing can quite efface the memory of the hurt, lost child whose brother melted down his toy soldiers to sell the lead and who was betrayed by the girl he loved." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Finney</span> English actor (1936–2019)

Albert Finney was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with The Entertainer (1960), directed by Tony Richardson, who had previously directed him in theatre. He maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulton Mackay</span> Scottish actor (1922–1987)

William Fulton Beith Mackay was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom Porridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. McGinley</span> American actor

John Christopher McGinley is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Captain Hendrix in The Rock, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon, Marv in Stone's Wall Street, FBI agent Ben Harp in Point Break, and the serial killer Edgler Foreman Vess in the TV miniseries of Intensity, based on the novel by Dean Koontz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Frears</span> British film director and producer (born 1941)

Sir Stephen Arthur Frears is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture. In 2009, he received the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He received a knighthood in 2023 for his contributions to the film and television industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Whitelaw</span> English actress (1932–2014)

Billie Honor Whitelaw was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was also known for her portrayal of Mrs. Baylock, the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen.

<i>By Jeeves</i> Musical

By Jeeves, originally Jeeves, is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics and book by Alan Ayckbourn. It is based on the series of novels and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse that centre around the character of Bertie Wooster and his loyal valet, Jeeves.

<i>Johnny Stool Pigeon</i> 1949 film by William Castle

Johnny Stool Pigeon is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by William Castle and starring Howard Duff, Shelley Winters and Dan Duryea.

<i>Untamed</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Untamed is a 1929 American pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic-drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence, Holmes Herbert, Gwen Lee, and Lloyd Ingraham. The script was adapted by Sylvia Thalberg and Frank Butler, with dialogue by Willard Mack, from a story by Charles E. Scoggins.

Neville Smith is a British screenwriter and actor who has contributed to numerous television productions, radio plays and movies.

<i>Charlie Bubbles</i> 1967 British film by Albert Finney

Charlie Bubbles is a 1968 British comedy-drama film directed by Albert Finney and starring Finney, Billie Whitelaw and Liza Minnelli. The screenplay was by Shelagh Delaney.

George Innes is a British actor.

<i>The Damned United</i> 2009 film

The Damned United is a 2009 sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling 2006 novel The Damned Utd – a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's ill-fated tenure as football manager of Leeds United in 1974.

<i>These Dangerous Years</i> 1957 British film by Herbert Wilcox

These Dangerous Years is a 1957 British drama musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring George Baker, Frankie Vaughan, Carole Lesley, Thora Hird, Kenneth Cope, David Lodge and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Jack Trevor Story,

<i>Private Potter</i> 1962 British film by Caspar Wrede

Private Potter is a 1962 British drama film directed by Caspar Wrede and starring Tom Courtenay, Mogens Wieth, Ronald Fraser and James Maxwell. The screenplay was by Wrede and Ronald Harwood.

<i>The Adding Machine</i> (film) 1969 British film by Jerome Epstein

The Adding Machine is a 1969 British fantasy comedy drama film produced, written, and directed by Jerome Epstein and starring Milo O'Shea, Phyllis Diller, Billie Whitelaw, Sydney Chaplin, and Raymond Huntley.

<i>Gotham</i> (film) 1988 television film by Lloyd Fonvielle

Gotham, also known as The Dead Can't Lie, is a 1988 American thriller television film written and directed by Lloyd Fonvielle and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Virginia Madsen. The film aired on Showtime on August 21, 1988.

<i>Payroll</i> (film) 1961 British crime thriller directed by Sidney Hayers

Payroll is a 1961 British neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Michael Craig, Françoise Prévost, and Billie Whitelaw. The screenplay by George Baxt was adapted from Derek Bickerton's 1959 novel of the same name. The film revolves around a group of criminals who plan and execute a wages robbery, which ultimately ends in disaster.

<i>The Comedy Man</i> 1964 British film by Alvin Rakoff

The Comedy Man is a 1964 British kitchen sink realism drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw. It depicts the life of a struggling actor in Swinging London.

Victor Glynn is a film and television producer and writer.

<i>Handsome</i> (film) 2017 film by Jeff Garlin

Handsome is a 2017 American comedy mystery film directed by Jeff Garlin and written by Garlin and Andrea Seigel. The film stars Garlin, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Sedaris, Leah Remini, Christine Woods and Steven Weber. It was released on Netflix on May 5, 2017.

References

  1. "Gumshoe". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  2. Soundtrack Credits IMDb.com, accessed 17 May 2017
  3. "Netflix available films". Netflix.com. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  4. "Gumshoe". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 39 (456): 8. 1 January 1972 via ProQuest.