Directed by Robert Moore (the director of the stage version of The Boys In the Band) and written by Neil Simon, The Cheap Detective stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a private investigator trying to clear himself of the murder of his partner.  It’s similar to another Moore and Simon film, Murder By Death, which also has Falk in the cast.

There are diamonds, plenty of ladies for Falk to chase and a huge cast that includes Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Louise Fletcher, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Sid Caesar, Marsha Mason, John Houseman, Vic Tayback, Abe Vigoda, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Fernando Lamas, Nicol Williamson, James Cromwell, Scatman Crothers, Paul Williams and David Ogden Stiers.

That cast is much needed, as the jokes are so broad and the film is basically a little bit of The Maltese Falcon with a pinch of Casablanca. I mean, Madeline Kahn can make any movie worth watching and she’s surrounded by so much talent.

This film led to the birth of CinemaScore. Ed Mintz liked Neil Simon but didn’t like this movie. He was talking to someone else as they left the theater and that person said that they’d rather hear the opinions of real people instead of critics.

Luv is part of the Peter Falk 4-Film Comedy Collection from Mill Creek Entertainment, along with Luv, Big Trouble and Happy New Year. You can get it from Deep Discount.