Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

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Videos & Photos

  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Carl Reiner

Producer:

William E. McEuen, Richard McWhorter, David V. Picker

Writer:

Carl Reiner, George Gipe, Steve Martin

Release Date:

May 21, 1982

Runtime:

1hr 28m

Synopsis

Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from classic noir films appear as scenes from various movies interjected into the story.

Cast

  • Steve Martin
  • Rachel Ward
  • Carl Reiner
  • Reni Santoni
  • George Gaynes
  • Francis X. McCarthy
  • Adrian Ricard
  • Charlie Picerni
  • Gene LeBell
  • George Sawaya

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.4
36.1K
11.2K
7.3K
RATINGS 54 FANS
3.4
  • Feb 24, 2025

    My plan was to kiss her with every lip on my face  Extremely funny movie but it also breaks my brain trying to reverse engineer the script and how it’s spliced together with old movie footage. Did they write a script and then find scenes that fit into it or did they pick a…

    687 Likes
    Patrick Willems
    Patrick Willems
    Dec 21, 2014

    There are these moments in comedies where you just can't explain why you have to laugh hysterically every time you watch them. Steve Martin making coffee in this film is one of those moments for me. It kills me every single time. Apart from that, this film is…

    378 Likes
    DirkH
    DirkH
    Mar 22, 2023

    I gotta try that recipe for coffee. It looks delicious.

    263 Likes
    Matt Singer
    Matt Singer
  •
    Aug 24, 2024

    incredibly sweet when you think about it

    138 Likes
    David Sims
    David Sims
    Apr 20, 2022

    Cinematic Time Capsule 1982 Marathon - Film #34 ”My plan was to kiss her with every lip on my face” It was a quiet day in my home theater. I had a hangover, and the last couple of films had been so slow I was thinking of turning the televsion off and taking a short…

    111 Likes
    📀 Cammmalot 📀
    📀 Cammmalot 📀
    Mar 31, 2015

    Watch out Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart and Steve Martin have great onscreen chemistry.

    90 Likes
    Michael Strenski
    Michael Strenski
  •
    Apr 11, 2025

    They say Dead Men Don't ever Wear Plaid, And classic films were just a fad. Although well-meaning, A woman that's cleaning, Could really make Steve Martin mad.

    81 Likes
    JBird
    JBird
    Aug 22, 2023

    I saw this in theaters as a seven year old, and my memory of it is that I was bored out of my mind, as I had no reference point for the movie clips nor most of the adult humor. I wondered how it would play for me 40+ years later now that I can identify most of the films. I…

    74 Likes
    Jack Often
    Jack Often
    Mar 25, 2023

    "I don't blame you for strangling me." Omfg. To be fair the cleaning woman caused it. This is a movie is lightly chuckle at mostly. It's more subtly funny. In some ways this makes certain scenes feel more thought out while others are a bit more basic. But some from both…

    70 Likes
    🏳️‍⚧️🦊 Kira Korsac ΘΔ
    🏳️‍⚧️🦊 Kira Korsac ΘΔ
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

Queue Community Reviews

83%
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33%
👍 LIKE
50%
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👎 DISLIKE
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Top Reviews
  • ShitoMarunga
    ShitoMarunga loved
    Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

    i love this stupid movie

    1Y
    Hank Leet
    Hank Leet liked
    Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

    “CLEANING WOMAN?!”

    3Y
    Mark Bateman
    Mark Bateman is "meh" on
    Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

    5/10

    1Y
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Atom Users Reviews

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Metacritic

67
metacritic
Based on 13 Critics
4.8

USER SCORE (12)

Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Reviews
50

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid thus has considerable appeal to movie buffs for whom the black-and-white semi-classics of an earlier era are familiar treasures. For the rest of us, it is a senior thesis -- variations on a single theme, executed carefully but always to the same effect. [21 May 1982, p.D2]

View full review
Metacritic review by Bill Cosford
Bill Cosford
Miami Herald
80

The technique used here to plonk Martin in classic movies seems out of place given the kind of sophisticated effects we have on tap today, but there is a real sense of fun at work nonetheless.

View full review
Metacritic review by William Thomas
William Thomas
Empire
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as PG (Parental Guidance Suggested). It's generally considered a family-friendly movie.
How long is Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)?
The movie is 1hr 28min long.
What's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) about?
Film noir parody with a detective uncovering a sinister plot. Characters from classic noir films appear as scenes from various movies interjected into the story.
Who's the cast of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)?
  • Steve Martin as Rigby Reardon
  • Rachel Ward as Juliet Forrest
  • Carl Reiner as Field Marshall VonKluck
  • Reni Santoni as Carlos Rodriguez
  • George Gaynes as Dr. Forrest
  • Francis X. McCarthy as Waiter
  • Adrian Ricard as Mildred
  • Charlie Picerni as Hood
  • Gene LeBell as Hood
  • George Sawaya as Hood
Who's the director behind Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)?
Carl Reiner directed Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982).
Who produced Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)?
William E. McEuen, Richard McWhorter and David V. Picker produced Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982).