HOME FILMOGRAPHY BIOGRAPHY GALLERY PROJECTS TV MOVIES
E-MAIL
.png)
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
.La nueva comedia americana de intriga o policiaca, tiene marcada preferencia por California como escenario de su acción. Todas las que hemos visto en estos últimos tiempos, o casi todas, se desarrollan en aquellos soleados lugares, preferentemente en el entorno de Los Angeles. Así también en esta -centrada en Beberly Hills-, en la que Peter Hyams articula con buen pulso una compleja historia en torno a un detective privado. Thucker, zambullido con todas las consecuencias, en una compleja historia, en la que se ventila una cuantiosa herencia, con un chantaje de por medio y dos jóvenes hermanas en litigio por el dinero. La historia tiene la suficiente carga de intriga y acción para que resulte un relato entretenido, con buena caligrafía y adecuado ritmo. El acierto de Hyams ha estado, sin introducir grandes innovaciones, en dosificar esos ingredientes, especialmente la violencia, en una gradación eficaz; hay notas de humor, personajes pintorescos, como el detective al servicio de la vieja millonaria, y escenas muy bien resueltas, tales las de las escaleras -que recuerdan a Hitchcok-, las de una persecución en automóvil, con buenos efectos, y especialmente las finales, que se desarroyan a bordo de un trasatlántico de lujo. la presentación del film es original de Hyams, que sabe dar a todo el relato el aire desenvuelto que le conviene. Buena apoyadura, por otra parte, la ha encontrado en la interpretación, con un Michael Caine seguro, ál que la van muy bien estos papeles de detective; una bellísima Natalie Wood, que vuelve a los estudios para darle intención y picardía a su papel a una de las jóvenes herederas, y un plantel de secundarios -tal Kitty Winn, Michael Constantin- que están sencillamente magníficos. A.C
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A forgotten gem
This is one of those movies that is just immensely good fun. First of all, it has an excellent cast. Caine is wonderful as the world-weary London private eye adrift in Los Angeles. Michael Constantine, as the ex-con desperate to find his daughter, has never been better. Natalie is very good as the satin-clad femme fatale. And then there's the outstanding supporting cast. In a sense, this film is a tribute to character actors. Even the unappreciated Robert Ito shows up as the sinister Japanese butler.
But even given the cast, what really shines is the W. D. Richter's script. Especially our hero's brilliant analysis of the location of a house based on the angle of the sun and the shadows it casts, followed by his discovery that: "I wasn't even close. It was in Beverly Hills."
On the other hand, your favorite bit may be the Humphrey Bogart impersonator reciting the credits at the beginning of the film to the accompaniment of a lone trumpet (at least, that's how I remember it; actually, since the other reviewer and I seem to be the only people in the world who have actually seen this film, who's to argue?) It's a sad fact that Peeper has been dumped. It doesn't even appear on most filmographies of Michael Caine. It's not available on video in any form, and I have never seen it appear on television (maybe we can persuade The Mystery Channel to show it, if the tape hasn't disintegrated by now). So if there's a patron saint of forgotten films wandering around this site, why don't you see if you can nudge 20th Century Fox into releasing it. It deserves better.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Interesting Neo Noir
I just saw this interesting little oddity. This isn't an especially good film, but it's more than good enough to while away an hour and a half. It's a fun little homage to film noir with it's tongue planted firmly in cheek. Great performances by Michael Cine and Natalie Wood as well as an excellent supporting cast plus a well crafted script but the film itself just doesn't quite gel. A big part of that might be due to Peter Hyams, a technically proficient and often overlooked director. Hyams is generally just a director for hire but he really puts a personal touch to every film he directs, although he rarely is given very good material to work with. Peeper was one of his earliest films, and the film's uneven pacing is probably a result of his limited experience. Still, Peeper is a pretty decent film and worth a look. It's a shame the film disappeared after it's initial limited theatrical release, but it is now available on DVD. The print is an excellent digital transfer and there's even about thirty minutes of special features on the making of the film, a nice bonus for a film which has been basically forgotten.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Peeper the Sleeper
I like this film. It has a bit of the old 40s, late 30s private eye aspect to it but Michael Caine in his unmistakable London accent puts a new twist on the tale, which includes the very lovely Natalie Wood. the film never clicked and it's now relegated to the back of the pile, no video, no DVD and something that might show up on the late show. But, hey! I liked it and suggest you check it out if it comes across your viewing circumstances.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mildly enjoyable.
"Peeper" is a lightly amusing, rapid fire spoof of vintage film noir. Its greatest assets include a witty script by W.D. Richter (based on a novel by Keith Laumer) and the top notch cast which delivers their scores of dialogue in a truly breathless manner. Ultimately it's a little too silly for its own good, and does lose its momentum a few times, but it's still entertaining and good for some real laughs. It sure gets off to a great start with the opening credits, which aren't listed but *spoken*, by Bogart impersonator Guy Marks. Peter Hyams directs with a fair amount of energy, and the movie does have a decent feel for the 1940s period, complemented by Earl Raths' cinematography and Richard Clements' music. It also helps to have the very English Michael Caine in the lead role, and to see him in this sort of setting.
Caine plays Leslie Tucker, a hard luck private eye hired by blustery stranger Anglich (a memorable Michael Constantine) to hire his long lost daughter Anya, who may have grown up to be one of the two daughters in a rich but eccentric family. Those lovely ladies are Ellen (Natalie Wood) and Mianne (Kitty Winn), and Tucker does find himself quite taken with Ellen. Meanwhile, he's constantly being chased and threatened by two goons who are dubbed "torpedoes": Sid, played by the great screen psycho Timothy Carey, and Rosie, played by Don Calfa, who became a fixture in several Hyams movies.
"Peeper" is fun, at least to a degree. The pacing is very, very good, but viewers might have a hard time keeping track of the plot with so much information divulged in such a snappy way. Caine is wonderful, with strong support from Wood, Winn, Constantine, Thayer David as pompous Frank Prendergast, lively Liam Dunn as weaselly lawyer Billy Pate, Dorothy Adams as the Prendergast matriarch, and Robert Ito as a gruff butler.
No, "Peeper" is no "Chinatown", not by a long shot, but fans of the genre and the actors may have a pretty good time with it.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Enjoyable...but only if you turn off your brain and accept it for what it is.
"Peeper" is not a bad little film and it will fit the bill if you are looking for a time-passer. There are also parts of the film I really liked (such as the snappy dialog). But it's also a film that has problems. The plot seems derivative (very much like a reworking of "The Big Sleep"), the story is confusing and inconsistent and the actors seem to try their best with a plot that really seemed forced. Because of all this, I certainly will not heartily recommend it.
The film is set in the 1940s and is introduced by an actor pretending to be Humphrey Bogart. The story itself then begins. A nutty guy (Michael Constantine) gets a private eye (Michael Caine) to take a case. He wants Caine to locate his long-lost daughter, as he wants to make her his heir. The trail leads to the Prendergast family and one of their two daughters MIGHT be the heiress. To complicate things, two thugs are on his tail and seem ready to kill him--and yet, inexplicably, each time Caine captures them he gives them a chance to escape instead of either turning them into the cops or shooting them. This actually frustrated the heck out of me--and again and again, Caine's character seemed to make dumb decisions. I hate films where you must accept the stupidity of the lead in order to make the plot workable! It's a shame, as Natalie Wood is gorgeous and Caine tries his best. It's just the case of a film that needed a re-write before it was actually made.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
CRITICA EN EL PERIODICO "ABC DE SEVILLA" (28-11-1976)
.La nueva comedia americana de intriga o policiaca, tiene marcada preferencia por California como escenario de su acción. Todas las que hemos visto en estos últimos tiempos, o casi todas, se desarrollan en aquellos soleados lugares, preferentemente en el entorno de Los Angeles. Así también en esta -centrada en Beberly Hills-, en la que Peter Hyams articula con buen pulso una compleja historia en torno a un detective privado. Thucker, zambullido con todas las consecuencias, en una compleja historia, en la que se ventila una cuantiosa herencia, con un chantaje de por medio y dos jóvenes hermanas en litigio por el dinero. La historia tiene la suficiente carga de intriga y acción para que resulte un relato entretenido, con buena caligrafía y adecuado ritmo. El acierto de Hyams ha estado, sin introducir grandes innovaciones, en dosificar esos ingredientes, especialmente la violencia, en una gradación eficaz; hay notas de humor, personajes pintorescos, como el detective al servicio de la vieja millonaria, y escenas muy bien resueltas, tales las de las escaleras -que recuerdan a Hitchcok-, las de una persecución en automóvil, con buenos efectos, y especialmente las finales, que se desarroyan a bordo de un trasatlántico de lujo. la presentación del film es original de Hyams, que sabe dar a todo el relato el aire desenvuelto que le conviene. Buena apoyadura, por otra parte, la ha encontrado en la interpretación, con un Michael Caine seguro, ál que la van muy bien estos papeles de detective; una bellísima Natalie Wood, que vuelve a los estudios para darle intención y picardía a su papel a una de las jóvenes herederas, y un plantel de secundarios -tal Kitty Winn, Michael Constantin- que están sencillamente magníficos. A.C
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
MY WEB PAGE TO NATALIE WOOD
