Gumshoe (film)
Encyclopedia
Gumshoe is a 1971
film
, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears
.
Written by local author Neville Smith
, the film is set in Liverpool
with Albert Finney
playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingo-caller and occasional club comedian
who dreams of being a private eye
of the kind he knows from films and pulp novels. Having put an advertisement in a local newspaper (the Liverpool Echo
) as a birthday present to himself, Ginley is suddenly contacted for what appears to be an actual piece of detective work...
The film has many comic moments as it switches between detective novel
and affectionate spoof
. It has some shots of Liverpool buildings that have long since been demolished, including the employment exchange on Leece Street.
Gumshoe was the first of two films with original music scores by Andrew Lloyd Webber
(the other was The Odessa File
, in 1974). Some of the music was re-used in Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard
(1993).
Despite its relatively lightweight tone, Frears' film is not without its contentious moments. TV broadcasts are nowadays rare because of Ginley's use of racist insults and language to refer to an African character. Another scene was significantly shortened before release because of its detailed depiction of a heroin-user preparing and taking his 'fix'.
After years of unavailability, Gumshoe was released on DVD in 2009.
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
.
Written by local author Neville Smith
Neville Smith
Neville Smith is a British screenwriter and actor who has contributed to numerous television productions and movies between 1964 and 1990....
, the film is set in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
with Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingo-caller and occasional club comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who dreams of being a private eye
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
of the kind he knows from films and pulp novels. Having put an advertisement in a local newspaper (the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
) as a birthday present to himself, Ginley is suddenly contacted for what appears to be an actual piece of detective work...
The film has many comic moments as it switches between detective novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
and affectionate spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. It has some shots of Liverpool buildings that have long since been demolished, including the employment exchange on Leece Street.
Gumshoe was the first of two films with original music scores by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
(the other was The Odessa File
The ODESSA File (film)
The Odessa File is a 1974 film adaptation of the thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, about a struggle between a young German reporter and the ODESSA, an organization for ex-Nazis. The film stars Jon Voight and was directed by Ronald Neame, with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.- Plot :The plot opens...
, in 1974). Some of the music was re-used in Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
(1993).
Despite its relatively lightweight tone, Frears' film is not without its contentious moments. TV broadcasts are nowadays rare because of Ginley's use of racist insults and language to refer to an African character. Another scene was significantly shortened before release because of its detailed depiction of a heroin-user preparing and taking his 'fix'.
After years of unavailability, Gumshoe was released on DVD in 2009.
Featured actors
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