Gumshoe (1971)

Second viewing.

There may be light SPOILERS below.

A nightclub host and comic decides to work as a private detective, and gets involved in a very complicated case. Foreign countries may be involved. His own brother seems to have a connection to it.

A moderately successful pastiche of films noirs (specifically of the private detective subgenre). The style and some plot elements introduce the subtheme of americanophilia, which may be read as a sign of the times, and the complete reversal of then-defunct anglophilia. The dialogue is agile, the plot is agile too (and well structured). The plot contains politically charged elements which were not common in the cinema of that period. The connection of these elements with the love of all things American is not something I can analyze in this terse review, supposing there is anything to be analyzed at all.

Rating: 51 (up from 37)