Warner Archive
“This town hasn’t changed, they just push the names around…”
– Ira Wells (Art Carney)
They might not be as “neo” as they used to be, (being half a century in the past!), but the 1970s were a classic period for neo-noir movies, hot-rodding and examining classic crime stories from a modern perspective.
1977’s The Late Show definitely falls into this category, a comedy-slash-mystery film scripted and directed by Robert Benton, writer of Bonnie and Clyde and Bad Company, and produced by the great Robert Altman; the screenplay was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 1977’s Academy Awards.
Does it stand the test of time? Stick with me, dear reader, and find out…
Ageing Los Angeles private eye Ira Wells, (Art Carney, future Oscar winner for another cat-themed adventure Harry and Tonto), sits writing his memoir in a seedy boarding house; it’s titled “Naked Girls and Machine Guns”, neither of which sadly appear here. One night, his ex-partner Harry Regan, (Howard Duff, my mum’s favourite actor!), turns up on his doorstep, not blind drunk as Ira first suspects, but dying from a gunshot wound. He might be over the hill with a gammy leg, a plethora of medical conditions and a wardrobe like a septuagenarian Reservoir Dog, but Ira is an old school gumshoe and he has a mission: “Whoever it was who killed Harry is going to be goddamned sorry.”
At Harry’s funeral, Ira is introduced to Margo Sperling, (Lily Tomlin), by acquaintance and all-round low-life Charlie, (Bill Macy) – Ira is asked to find her stolen cat Winston, but turns her down until he finds that Harry was on the case to find the missing moggy when he was murdered. Margo is a woman of many talents, an aspiring agent, actress and costumier, a motormouthed neurotic whose over-enthusiasm and new age quirkery rub up Ira like sandpaper on antique furniture. She knows who kidnapped the cat and why- surely it will be plain sailing to solve this case? Won’t it? Without spoiling the deliciously twisty and complex plot Benton has crafted here, Ira and Margo must set off down a treacherous road of robbery, more murder, infidelity, betrayal and blackmail to get to the truth…
Carney’s Ira is a fine homage to the old classics- a man out of time battling against his own limitations and mortality, whilst struggling to keep face.
In the wrong hands, Tomlin’s Margo could have simply been Annie Hall if she were less glamorous and dealt weed to make ends meet. Their relationship develops gradually and, dare I say, believably. The surprisingly small supporting cast is very impressive, from sleazy fence Ron Birdwell, (Eugene Roche, long-term staple of 80s TV), his dim, vain henchman Lamar, (John Considine, basically spoofing his own roles in other crime dramas), and Birdwell’s wife Laura, (Blade Runner’s Joanna Cassidy), who makes a fine femme fatale, even if she has relatively little to do. Pacing and tension are tight, so do put down your phone when you are watching!
This movie is surprisingly violent, given expectations, with shoot-outs, the bloody aftermath of murders, (not exactly Silence of the Lambs, but Moonlighting this ain’t!) and an hilarious car chase in which our heroes “remodel” some poor schmuck’s picket fence. The action does somewhat make up for exposition dumps, mainly Ira spitting terse noir-isms at Birdwell, who in turn offers him shoddy stolen goods to get rid of him; speaking of those noir-isms, I think there are more uses of the word “doll” here than in all four Toy Story movies…
These days, if you want to see a guy in his seventies beat up thugs and blow up a baddie’s car with a single shot from his 38 police issue, you have to watch a Liam Neeson flick, so this film was quite groundbreaking in its day.
Extras include trailer and an excerpt from Dinah! 1977 talk show with Lily Tomlin and Dinah Shore,
All in all, The Late Show isn’t quite as funny as I would have expected and I’d probably describe it as a relationship drama stretched over the framework of a noir and certainly well written and charming enough for me.
It might not be art, but it is Art Carney and anything that makes you forget the poor guy in the Star Wars Holiday Special must be a good thing. Recommended!
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