Gumshoe
by Stephen Frears
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Carolyn Seymour, Frank Finlay, Janice RuleDirector: Stephen Frears
Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Producer: Albert Finney
Writer: Neville Smith
Cinematographer: Chris Menges
Editor: Charles Rees
Producer: David Barber
Producer: Michael Medwin
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Gumshoe
Movie Review: Great underrated film. Deserves more attention!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am so pleased this long neglected film is finally being released on DVD! I have owned the VHS version for almost 20 years, and have worried the tape would degrade before it would become available on DVD. I re-watched my VHS of Gumshoe recently. Though it's been a few years since I had viewed it, it remains my favorite movie of both Albert Finney and Stephen Frears. To enjoy it you have to realize it is pastiche, a tongue in cheek tribute to those old film noir detective films of the 1940s. It is fun and interesting to watch from that aspect. The musical score is hysterical and the dialogue is fast, sharp, and laced with dry humor. Americans without an attuned ear to English accents may have a little trouble following, but it is worth the effort, even if you have to replay certain scenes.
Though it couldn't have been a challenging performance for an actor of Finney's caliber, he and the entire cast are terrific. If you are a British Cinema film buff, watching this 1972 production today, one almost feels as if you are seeing a piece of motion picture history, with an amazingly talented cast that includes Frank Finlay, Billie Whitelaw and Fulton Mackay. Add to this it was Stephen Frears movie directorial debut and Andrew Lloyd Webber is credited for the music.
Other trivia:
--Gumshoe was a Memorial Enterprises production. This is the production company formed by Finney and Michael Medwin in the 1960s that also produced breakthrough films such as Lindsay Anderson's "If" and "O Lucky Man" and Mike Leigh's first film, "Bleak Moments", and Finney's own masterpiece, "Charlie Bubbles". Medwin is credited as Producer on Gumshoe, as he is on most or all of M.E. productions.
--Finney is a confessed fan of the noir, detective genre and a fan of John Huston who among other classics directed the Maltese Falcon
Gumshoe is a "must see" for any fan of British Film, Stephen Frears or Albert Finney. It would also be enjoyable to fans of film noir detective movies, as well as anyone who appreciates good pastiche.
Summary of Gumshoe
Synopsis:Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG
Street Date: 02/03/09
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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
Stills from Gumshoe (Click for larger image)
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