Editing Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

{{short description|1982 film by Carl Reiner}}
{{for|the ''Supernatural'' episode|Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Supernatural)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
| image          = Deadmenplaidposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| alt            = 
| director       = [[Carl Reiner]]
| producer       = William E. McEuen<br/>Richard McWhorter<br/>David V. Picker
| writer         = Carl Reiner<br/>[[George Gipe]]<br/>[[Steve Martin]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* Steve Martin
* [[Rachel Ward]]
* [[Reni Santoni]]
* Carl Reiner
}}
| music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]]<br/>[[Steve Goodman]]
| cinematography = [[Michael Chapman (cinematographer)|Michael Chapman]]
| editing        = [[Bud Molin]]
| studio         = [[Aspen Film Society]]
| distributor    = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1982|05|21}}
| runtime        = 88 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $9 million
| gross          = $18.2 million<ref>{{Mojo title|deadmendontwearplaid}}</ref>
}}
'''''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid''''' is a 1982 American [[neo-noir]] [[List of comedy–mystery films|comedy-mystery film]], directed by [[Carl Reiner]] and starring [[Steve Martin]], [[Rachel Ward]] and Reiner. Co-written by Reiner, Martin & [[George Gipe]], the film is both a [[parody]] of and an [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to [[film noir]] and the [[pulp magazine|pulp]] detective films of the 1940s.<ref>[https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/carl-reiner/carl-reiner-dead/ Carl Reiner Has Died at the Age of 98 - Paste]</ref> The title refers to Martin's character telling a story of a woman obsessed with [[Tartan|plaid]], a scene which was ultimately cut from the film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quin |first1=Eleanor |title=Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/29972 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Discovery]] |access-date=13 July 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410133538/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/29972%7C0/Dead-Men-Don-t-Wear-Plaid.html |archive-date=10 April 2016}}</ref>

Edited by [[Bud Molin]], ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' is partly a [[collage film]], incorporating clips from 19 vintage films. They are combined with new footage of Martin and other actors similarly shot in black-and-white, with the result that the original dialogue and acting of the classic films become part of a completely different story.

Among the actors who appear from classic films are [[Ingrid Bergman]], [[Humphrey Bogart]], [[James Cagney]], [[Joan Crawford]], [[Bette Davis]], [[Brian Donlevy]], [[Kirk Douglas]], [[Ava Gardner]], [[Cary Grant]], [[Alan Ladd]], [[Veronica Lake]], [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Charles Laughton]], [[Fred MacMurray]], [[Ray Milland]], [[Edmond O'Brien]], [[Vincent Price]], [[Barbara Stanwyck]], and [[Lana Turner]].

''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' was the final film for both costume designer [[Edith Head]]<ref>[https://edithhead.biz/html/bios.html Bios - Edith Head]</ref> and composer [[Miklós Rózsa]].<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/miklos-rozsa-film-music-vol-2-dead-men-dont-wear-plaid-mw0001882300  Miklos Rozsa: Film Music, Vol. 2 (Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid) - AllMusic]</ref>

==Plot==
Juliet Forrest, daughter of scientist and cheesemaker John Forrest, asks [[private investigator]] Rigby Reardon to investigate her father's death. Searching Dr. Forrest's lab, Rigby finds two lists, "Friends of Carlotta" (FOC) and "Enemies of Carlotta" (EOC), and an autographed photo of singer Kitty Collins, whose name appears on one of the lists. A man shoots Rigby in the arm and takes the lists.

Rigby finds his way to Juliet's house, where she sucks out the bullet. Juliet also reveals a note to her father from her brother-in-law, Sam Hastings, which reveals that Dr. Forrest gave Sam a dollar bill "for safekeeping". When Juliet mentions her cleaning woman, Rigby goes berserk due to his father running off with his cleaning woman and Rigby's mother dying of a broken heart.

Rigby tracks down Sam and gets Dr. Forrest's dollar, which has FOC names scrawled on it — including Kitty and her boyfriend Swede Anderson. Rigby tracks down Kitty, asking her whether she is one of Carlotta's friends, which causes her to leave. He trails her to a restaurant, where she ditches her brooch into her soup. Rigby retrieves the brooch, which contains an EOC list on which all names are crossed out except Swede Anderson's. Rigby visits Swede, but Swede is killed. Rigby is shot in the same arm as before, requiring Juliet to suck out another bullet. Rigby calls his mentor [[Philip Marlowe]] for assistance. Juliet hands over a key from Dr. Forrest's desk and a key to train station locker 1936. Marlowe picks up the EOC list to check for unsolved murders.

Rigby goes to the train station locker, which contains more lists. He finds F.X. Huberman, whose name was on one of the lists, throwing a party. She flirts with Rigby, then drugs his drink and steals the locker key. Juliet finds Rigby and informs him that Sam fell from a window reaching for a bottle of whiskey. She has an article from ''[[The New York Times]]'' about a cruise ship called ''Immer Essen''; Sam Hastings was a passenger. When Marlowe calls, Rigby questions him about Walter Neff, the ship's owner, and learns that Neff cruises supermarkets for blondes.

Rigby disguises himself as a blonde and meets Neff. Rigby drugs him and finds a passenger manifest for the ''Immer Essen'' identical to an EOC list and articles about the ship's imprisoned captain, Cody Jarrett, who refuses to talk to anyone but his mother. Rigby dresses up as Jarrett's mother to visit Jarrett. He tries winning Jarrett's confidence, explaining that the FOC are after him. When that fails, Rigby impersonates a prisoner. Jarrett turns out to be a FOC and shoots Rigby.

After sucking out a third bullet, Juliet leaves for the drugstore. Marlowe informs Rigby that Carlotta is an island off [[Peru]]. At a cafe, Rigby finds Kitty. Carlos, a policeman, warns Rigby of the locals, including Kitty's new boyfriend, Rice. The next day, one of the locals approaches Rigby and tries to bribe him into leaving the island.

Kitty drops by Rigby's room. Carlos is telling him Rice is in town with a group of Germans when the telephone line is cut. Kitty drugs Rigby's drink, and he wakes up to find Rice choking him. After a chase, Rigby shoots Rice and frisks the corpse, leading him to a hideout where he finds Juliet, her father still alive, and her butler, Field Marshal Wilfried von Kluck.

Dr. Forrest divulged a secret cheese mold to [[Nazi]]s posing as a humanitarian organization. Once he discovered their intention to use the mold's corrosive properties to destroy America with strategically placed cheese bombs, he assembled a list of Nazi agents, the FOC. Before he could divulge the names to the [[FBI]], he was abducted and his death faked to prevent a police investigation. The ''Immer Essen'', a cruise ship passing by, witnessed the mold tests, making all passengers EOC. Rigby is captured but Juliet gets Wilfried to say "cleaning woman", causing Rigby to go berserk, break his chains and overpower the Nazis. While Juliet gets Rodriguez, Wilfried pulls one of the switches, destroying [[Terre Haute, Indiana]], before being killed by Rigby. Rodriguez rounds up the other Nazis while Rigby shares a kiss with Juliet.

==Cast==

* [[Steve Martin]] as Rigby Reardon
* [[Rachel Ward]] as Juliet Forrest
* [[George Gaynes]] as Dr. John Hay Forrest
* [[Reni Santoni]] as Carlos Rodriguez
* Adrian Ricard as Mildred
* [[Carl Reiner]] as Field Marshal Wilfried Von Kluck 
* [[Francis Xavier McCarthy|Francis X. McCarthy]] as Waiter
* [[Gene LeBell]] as Hood
* [[Cheryl Smith (actress)|Cheryl Smith]] as Veronica Lake (uncredited)

=== Archive footage (in order of appearance) ===
{{castlist|
* [[Alan Ladd]] as The Exterminator 
* [[Barbara Stanwyck]] as Leona Hastings-Forrest
* [[Ray Milland]] as Sam Hastings 
* [[Ava Gardner]] as Kitty Collins 
* [[Burt Lancaster]] as "Swede" Anderson 
* [[Humphrey Bogart]] as [[Philip Marlowe]] 
* [[Cary Grant]] as The Handsome Guy 
* [[Ingrid Bergman]] as F.X. Huberman
* [[Veronica Lake]] as Monica Stillpond 
* [[Bette Davis]] as Doris Devermont 
* [[Lana Turner]] as Jimmi Sue Altfeld 
* [[Edward Arnold (actor)|Edward Arnold]] as Jimmi Sue's Father 
* [[Kirk Douglas]] as Lead Thug 
* [[Fred MacMurray]] as Walter Neff 
* [[James Cagney]] as Captain Cody Jarrett 
* [[Joan Crawford]] as Margaret 
* [[Charles Laughton]] as The Fat One Who Sweats A Lot 
* [[Vincent Price]] as Rice
}}

== Production ==
In mid-1980, comedian Steve Martin was having lunch with director Carl Reiner and screenwriter George Gipe.<ref name="ProdNotes">{{cite news | title = ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' Production Notes | publisher = [[Universal Pictures]] | year = 1982 }}</ref> They were also discussing a screenplay Martin had written when he suggested that they use a clip from an old film. From this suggestion came the idea of using all sorts of clips from films throughout the entire feature. The three men left the lunch thinking about how they could incorporate all of these old clips into a story. Reiner planned to work Martin into the old footage via [[over-the-shoulder shot]]s so that it looked like the comedian was talking to these vintage actors, a strategy used effectively several times in the film. In one scene, trick photography makes it appear that Martin is in the same shot (not over-the-shoulder) as Cary Grant in a clip from ''Suspicion''. Reiner and Gipe spent countless hours looking through classic films for specific shots and "listening for a line that was ambiguous enough but had enough meat in it to contribute a line".<ref name="ProdNotes"/> They took lines of dialogue from clips they wanted to use and juxtaposed them while also trying to write a story based on them. Reiner and Gipe finally worked out a story and then met with Martin, who contributed some funny material of his own.<ref name="ProdNotes"/>

Martin purposely chose not to watch any classic films noir because he "didn't want to act like Humphrey Bogart … I didn't want to be influenced".<ref name="ProdNotes"/> The filmmakers enlisted some of the people that helped define many of the classic films from the 1940s. Costume designer Edith Head created over 20 suits for Martin in similar fashion to those worn by Cary Grant and James Stewart. Production designer [[John DeCuir]], a veteran with 40 years of experience, designed 85 sets for the ten-week shooting schedule. Director of photography Michael Chapman studied the angles and lighting popular among '40s film noir, conducting six months of research with [[Technicolor]] to try to match the old film clips with his new footage.<ref name="ProdNotes"/>

[[Principal photography]] began on July 7, 1981, with the bulk of the shooting done on soundstages of [[Culver Studios|Laird International Studios]] in Culver City and three exterior locations shot in and around [[Los Angeles]]. Martin usually acted opposite actors dressed exactly like the classic movie stars he was interacting with so that he had someone he could talk to and who would respond to his lines.<ref name="ProdNotes"/>

Edith Head died two weeks after finishing her work on this film.<ref name="Head">{{cite web | url=https://edithhead.biz/html/bios.html | title=Bios }}</ref> A dedication honoring her appears before the film's end credits.

==Films used==
{{original research section|date=May 2023}}
The following films were used in ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid''. Five films were already owned by Universal, and the rest were licensed from other studios. Of the five films owned by Universal, four were originally owned by [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]. Note that some of the film license owners have changed since the original release of the films.

=== Universal ===
* ''[[This Gun for Hire]]'' (1942)
* ''[[The Glass Key (1942 film)|The Glass Key]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Double Indemnity]]'' (1944)
* ''[[The Lost Weekend (film)|The Lost Weekend]]'' (1945)
* ''[[The Killers (1946 film)|The Killers]]'' (1946)

=== Warner Bros.* ===
* ''[[Deception (1946 film)|Deception]]'' (1946)
* ''[[Humoresque (1946 film)|Humoresque]]'' (1946)
* ''[[The Big Sleep (1946 film)|The Big Sleep]]'' (1946)
* ''[[Dark Passage (film)|Dark Passage]]'' (1947)
* ''[[White Heat]]'' (1949)
<small> <nowiki>*</nowiki>''At the time of release, [[United Artists]] owned these films.'' </small>

=== Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer** ===
* ''[[Johnny Eager]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Keeper of the Flame (film)|Keeper of the Flame]] (the car wreck scene)'' (1943) (uncredited)
* ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'' (1946)
* ''[[The Bribe]]'' (1949)
<small> <nowiki>**</nowiki>''These films are now owned by Warner Bros. as a result of their 1996 acquisition of [[Turner Entertainment Co.]], who owned the rights since 1986.'' </small>

=== RKO Pictures*** ===
* ''[[Suspicion (1941 film)|Suspicion]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]'' (1946)
<small> <nowiki>***</nowiki>'' ''Suspicion'' is now owned by Warner Bros. as a result of their 1996 acquisition of [[Turner Entertainment|Turner Entertainment Co.]], who owned the rights since 1986. ''Notorious'' is now owned by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] as a result of their 1996 acquisition of [[American Broadcasting Company]], who owned the rights to most of the films produced by [[David O. Selznick]].'' </small>

=== Paramount Pictures ===
* ''[[I Walk Alone]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Sorry, Wrong Number]]'' (1948)

=== Columbia Pictures ===
* ''[[In a Lonely Place]]'' (1950)

==Critical reception==
[[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 77% based on reviews from 26 critics with the consensus: "''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' is more elaborate pastiche than uproarious comedy, but the farce works thanks to the sly lampooning of Hollywood noir and Steve Martin's performance as a goofy gumshoe."<ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_men_dont_wear_plaid/ ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid''] at [[Rotten Tomatoes]]</ref> The film received a rating of 64 on [[Metacritic]].

In his review for ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine, [[David Ansen]] wrote, "A one joke movie? Perhaps, but it's such an engaging joke that anyone who loves old movies will find it irresistible. And anyone who loves Steve Martin will be fascinated by his sly performance, which is pitched exactly between the low comedy of ''[[The Jerk]]'' and the highbrow Brechtianisms of ''[[Pennies From Heaven (1981 film)|Pennies from Heaven]]''."<ref name="Ansen, David">{{cite news
 | last = Ansen
 | first = David
 | title = This Film for Hire
 | work = [[Newsweek]]
 | date = May 24, 1982
 }}</ref> [[Vincent Canby]]'s review for ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised Martin's performance: "the film has an actor who's one of America's best sketch artists, a man blessed with a great sense of timing, who is also self-effacing enough to meet the most cockeyed demands of the material."<ref name="Canby, Vincent">{{cite news
 | last = Canby
 | first = Vincent
 | title = Steve Martin Stars in Reiner Comedy
 | work = [[The New York Times]]
 | date = May 21, 1982
 | url = https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=3&res=990CEEDB143BF932A15756C0A964948260&scp=9&sq=dead+men+don%27t+wear+plaid&st=nyt&oref=login
 | access-date = 2009-11-06}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's [[Richard Corliss]] wrote, "The gag works for a while, as Martin weaves his own plot-web into the 18 old movies, but pretty soon he's traveling on old good will and flop sweat."<ref name="Corliss">{{cite magazine
 | last = Corliss
 | first = Richard
 | title = White Meat
 | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 | date = May 17, 1982
 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921236,00.html
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101015073030/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921236,00.html
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-date = October 15, 2010
 | access-date = 2009-11-06}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Kung Pow! Enter the Fist]]'', which has a similar concept
* ''[[La Classe américaine]]''
*   [[Postmodernist film]]
* ''[[The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos]]''
* ''[[What's Up, Tiger Lily?]]'', the first film in this style

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0083798}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|dead_men_dont_wear_plaid}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=19211|title=Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid}}
* {{AFI film|56751}}

{{Carl Reiner}}
{{Steve Martin}}

[[Category:1982 films]]
[[Category:1982 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s comedy mystery films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s parody films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American comedy mystery films]]
[[Category:American detective films]]
[[Category:American neo-noir films]]
[[Category:American parody films]]
[[Category:American collage films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Humphrey Bogart]]
[[Category:Films directed by Carl Reiner]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
[[Category:Films set on fictional islands]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Carl Reiner]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Steve Martin]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy mystery films]]