SimonJack
"Gumshoe" is a nice film for Albert Finney to show his talent for wit and humor. The movie came fairly early in his film career – at age 35 he had 14 total film and TV movie roles behind him. This is a very snappy film, with lots of quick lines and retorts. In the theater, I would have missed some of this. But on DVD, I can use subtitles and/or stop and playback for parts that I missed. Finney shows his talents for imitation and impersonation as well. His "Boggie-esque" quips are quite funny. Some reviewers dubbed this film an "oddity" or a "curiosity." I'm not sure what that means. If it's because comedy is mixed with crime – well we have plenty of that dating back to the 1930s. The series of "Thin Man" movies with William Power and Myrna Loy helped make the comedy-crime mix very popular. Others have commented on the plot and cast. I will add only that this film is spot on for intrigue, and it has some very good twists. A casual viewer could miss a lot of what's going on. The roles are all quite good. Finney's Eddie Ginley is a very likable chap. Finney is one of those very talented people in the entertainment field who have played some great roles, but who have not struck gold spelled with an "O."
Kieran Green
Albert Finney is a nightclub bingo caller eager for a career change. On his thirty-first birthday, he advertises himself as a private eye in the newspaper. He dons a trench coat, and begins engaging others in rapid-fire dialog as if he were Humphrey Bogart, or Phillip Marlowe , Ginley is contacted by a fat man, who gives him a package containing a gun, a photograph, and a large sum of money. Eventually Ginley is investigating a case involving smuggling of weapons as well as drugs. 'Gumshoe' is a revelation of British Cinema, i'm thrilled that it's available on DVD after many years of being unavailable. 'Gumshoe' Directed by Stephen Frears (The Grifters) (The Queen) is An Absolute Masterpiece of British Cinema.
moonspinner55
Albert Finney is wonderful playing a nightclub comic in Liverpool, a fan of hard-boiled detective stories, who places an advertisement in the paper looking for work as a private eye; he is immediately handed a case involving a fat man, a college student, drugs, and gun-running. Directorial debut from Stephen Frears is consciously not a spoof or satire of American noirs, but rather an homage: an original detective story all its own (albeit one with an unfulfilled plot and supporting characters). Screenwriter Neville Smith's wisecracks work far better than the mystery Finney finds himself enmeshed in, and the pieces which do fall into place seem to happen off-screen. A nonchalant running joke with Finney talking in fast, curt one-liners--and everyone else responding to him in kind--is the film's most charming achievement. If only the story were not so convoluted (and yet wrapped up so unceremoniously), this might have been a minor gem. **1/2 from ****
Peter Hayes
A Liverpool bingo caller of the 70's enlivens his dull life by taking on an old style private detective alter-ego. Complete with raincoat and accent! This is one of my favourite cult movies and this might be a good chance to try and look inside my own mind and find out why. Leading with the negatives, this film has a few ideas, but not enough to make a full film out of them. If you feel that some of the scenes are padding (quite a lot actually) then you are right! Finney fancies himself as a kind of Sam Spade let loose on a Liverpool of the 1970's (interesting to see it like it was in the 60's) and we enter the slightly seedy world of the working man's club. Something that those outside of the UK will find hard to grasp -- a kind of cheap private drinking hole meets low rent cabaret.The real problem is that the thing is weakened by non of the parties (especially the lead) seeming to be taking the case seriously, which means that while he is in limited danger we are more yawning than sitting on the edge of our seats.What makes it for me is the fast word play of Finney and the general irony of the script in going in to places that fashion says we shouldn't be going. It leads up to a giant feeling of so-what -- but I like to see movies that are a bit different and it always holds me in its strange faded and seedy grip. Maybe it has something to do with having been to these sorts of places myself.
AD
