“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.” (Newsweek)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a neo-noir comic mystery starring Steve Martin as trench coat–sporting private investigator Rigby Reardon, who’s hired by Juliet Forrest (a funny femme fatale played by Rachel Ward) to locate her scientist father . But this is no ordinary detective film: Reiner brilliantly includes iconic clips from about two dozen movies, which allows the film’s modern actors to interact with scenes and characters from actual period thrillers. And so, as Reardon begins to unravel the Forrest family’s secrets, he’s helped by the hysterical Barbara Stanwyck (Sorry, Wrong Number), must decline a late night snack with Bette Davis (Deception), and tries romancing Lana Turner (Johnny Eager). Reardon’s sometimes legman is Humphrey Bogart from The Big Sleep, and other film noir legends assist in this noirish investigation until the bitter end.
Celebrating Carl Reiner
The beloved comedian, actor, director, and writer Carl Reiner (born on March 20, 1922) has enjoyed a career spanning seven decades and many mediums. Reiner wrote for and acted on Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour in the 1950s. In the next decade, he was best known as The Dick Van Dyke Show’s creator, director, producer, writer, and comic straight man (Alan Brady). His extraordinary film successes began in the 1970s, especially in vehicles cowritten with and starring Steve Martin.
And who can forget his performances—with Mel Brooks in “2000 Year Old Man” and in films including The Russians Are Coming, the Russian are Coming (1966) and the Ocean’s series? Carl Reiner has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy.
These days, Reiner is busy with many things, including Twitter, where he maintains a lively presence, recently announcing that he “wants to live until 2020 to vote Trump out of office.” We’re thrilled that he’s taking time to join us via Skype during this celebration!
Tickets: $11 (members), $16 (nonmembers)
