The Late Show (USA, 1977) 93 min color DIR-SCR: Robert Benton. PROD: Robert Altman. MUSIC: Ken Wannberg. DOP: Chuck Rosher. CAST: Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, Joanna Cassidy, John Considine. (Warner Bros.)
Of the many “nostalgic” films made in its decade, this is probably the definitive marriage of old movies with 1970s sensibilities. It is also a beautiful film that both satirizes and pays tribute to the private eye genre. Its title is apt, as it is only on the late show where retired gumshoe Ira Wells (Art Carney) can find anything of the world he once knew. The film opens with his TV set playing some flickering black and white relic, while another artifact from yesteryear turns up- a fellow aged P.I. appears at his door at the brink of death. At the man’s funeral, he meets spacey Margo Sterling (Lily Tomlin), who had hired Wells’s old friend to find her missing cat! Wells grudgingly takes up the case, and soon finds himself knee deep in a complex case of blackmail and betrayal.
This comedy-mystery has a note-perfect feel for the genre it simultaneously sends up and eulogizes (accentuated by, you guessed it, a muted trombone on the soundtrack). Writer-director Robert Benton has a natural feel for the genre- his low-key approach perfectly captures the bluesy allure of the magic hours. If he so chose, he could have made a career alone in film noir, although he did return to the genre with the underrated efforts, Still of the Night (1982) and Twilight (1998).
Although its atmosphere is first-rate, the characters in this film are beautifully played. Carney and Tomlin have a great, unexpected chemistry: their odd pairing is the ultimate example of fusing old and new sensibilities. Tomlin is the perfect 70s kook (producer Robert Altman’s own films as director typified that role in the decade): she is a dope-smoking New Age freak whose dizziness clashes wonderfully with Carney’s crabby demeanour. Ira Wells makes an unlikely hero as an over-the-hill private eye with a hearing aid and an ulcer, yet still talks tough to mocking villains. However, Eugene Roche steals the film as the semi-comic bad guy. In one great scene, he tries to fluff Wells off by bribing him with some of his “hot” items- a stereo system which, dig this, can play both records and 8 tracks!
Originally presented in Vol. #1, Issue #14, (“Back to the 70s”), as part of the article, “Neo-Noir”.
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.