Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

PG

1982

1h 28m

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When a famous cheese maker dies in a freak car crash, his daughter (Rachel Ward) is convinced that it was no accident. She thinks he was murdered for his top-secret cheese recipes. To prove her theory, she hires detective Roy Reardon (Steve Martin). His quest to find out what happened to the missing man brings him face-to-face with movie legends, actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd and Burt Lancaster, via footage from classic film noir and crime films.

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Critics Consensus

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is more eleaborate 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.

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Bob Thomas

Associated Press

Nov 12, 2018

The novelty value wears thin, and attention wanders as the plot turns grow more obscure. But there are enough outrageous gags to please the faithful.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

May 22, 2026

1/4

...a predominantly tedious (and frequently interminable) misfire...

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

May 11, 2026

2/5

A one-gimmick idea is not enough to sustain a whole movie, as Steve Martin (sorta) interacts with classic movie stars in this gumshoe parody/homage directed by Carl Reiner.

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Peter Stack

San Francisco Examiner

Nov 11, 2021

3/4

Although the gimmick wears thin, the production holds up remarkably well because Martin delivers the funny goods with wry ease.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 24, 2021

2/4

What should have been a godsend for anyone who worships film noir (raising my hand here) proves instead to be a crushing disappointment.

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Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

Aug 27, 2019

The absence of novelty is compensated by its original development. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 18, 2026

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid = 3.5 star Movie...

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Harry H.

@Movies10 May 28, 2026

Its funny how people complain how some films are like watching scenes from other movies but with Dead Men dont where plaid you are watching scenes from other movies.

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Mark H

@RT99794489 Nov 30, 2025

Meh. Maybe cute...and good to see old school major Hollywood actresses in their prime...but not really a comedy, unless 'awkward' is a subcategory.

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Alain E

@AlainE Nov 20, 2025

This is a playful exercise in cinematic history. Steve Martin is a film noir private eye who is investigating the suspicious death of a prominent scientist/cheese maker at the request of his seductive daughter. On this basic story quite successfully the filmmakers grafted pieces from previous movies from the canon, thus giving a second life to Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Joan Crawford and numerous other stars of historic Hollywood. The present film is shot in black and white which makes the transition smoother, although of course some of the old stock has significantly more grain. Overall the result is quite pleasant. According to Wikipedia the title refers to a scene that it was ultimately cut from the movie! Don’t worry. This is not the only inconsistency being served.

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 Jun 20, 2025

Minus the careless plotting with a faltering screenplay that would sometimes rely on laughable deliverance, it’s an admirably crafted experiment in an unconsidered worthwhile form with transportive, keen dedication. Although, in order to have that sort of engaging effect it seems more on insisting that you watched the noir genre frequently than converting towards further discovery, otherwise the experiment will be mediocrely received but will nonetheless intrigue. (B-)

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Stephen C

@bob25009 May 30, 2025

Funny in just 1 hour and 29 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Carl Reiner

Director

Steve Martin

Rigby Reardon

Rachel Ward

Juliet Forrest

Carl Reiner

Field Marshall VonKluck

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Synopsis

When a famous cheese maker dies in a freak car crash, his daughter (Rachel Ward) is convinced that it was no accident. She thinks he was murdered for his top-secret cheese recipes. To prove her theory, she hires detective Roy Reardon (Steve Martin). His quest to find out what happened to the missing man brings him face-to-face with movie legends, actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd and Burt Lancaster, via footage from classic film noir and crime films.

Director: Carl Reiner
Producer: David V. Picker, William McEuen
Screenwriter: Carl Reiner, George Gipe, Steve Martin
Production Co: Aspen Film Society, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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