Peeper (1975)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Keith Laumer (novel)
W.D. Richter (writer)

Release Date:

1975 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

Back in '47, a gun was a roscoe, a private-eye was a Peeper, and murder was okay as long as nobody got hurt. In fact, anything was okay with this Peeper on the case because he wouldn't know who-done-it even if he done it himself.

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title | Search | Investigation | Detective | Investigator

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Leslie C. Tucker
Natalie Wood	...	Ellen Prendergast
Kitty Winn	...	Mianne Prendergast
Michael Constantine	...	Anglich
Thayer David	...	Frank Prendergast
Timothy Carey	...	Sid (as Timothy Agoglia Carey)
Liam Dunn	...	Billy Pate
Don Calfa	...	Rosie
Margo Winkler	...	Woman with luggage
Harvey J. Goldenberg	...	Mailman
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Prendergast
Buffy Dee	...	Bazooka Himself
Gary Combs	...	Torpedo
Robert Ito	...	Butler
Snag Werris	...	Comic

Also Known As:

Fat Chance

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Australia:PG | USA:PG | Iceland:12

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~9 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~8.6 seconds.

Not very good, but a curio.

I don't think Peeper is a very good film, but I agree that it shouldn't have completely fallen off the map the way it did. It was given a belated if limited DVD release last year.

Timing was not on this film's side. Chinatown paid tribute to film noir in classic fashion only a year before it was released; Play It Again, Sam had spoofed it successfully only a year before that. Those two films, not to mention the films of the film noir era, leave Peeper looking very slight indeed.

Still, Caine has fun as an almost bumbling detective, and Natalie brings smarts and unparalleled sex appeal to her role as a shady lady. The supporting cast is pretty nigh flawless as well, and production values couldn't be better. The script, unfortunately, doesn't add add up to much.

Director Hyams, in a special feature interview, recalls telling Natalie to turn around at the end of a long tracking shot at the end of a long day. She asked what would motivate her to do that and he answered that the camera couldn't follow her if she didn't. She paused and said, "okay, I can feel that". It's too bad that at no point in her last decade did Natalie get to make a movie where character motivation was prioritized, but it's unsurprising to hear that she was a good sport about it.