The Private Eyes
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
After a few Apple Dumpling Gang films for the last
years of the Classical Disney Studios, Tim Conway and Don Knotts decided to do
an independent production as a sort of “graduation” to slightly more adult
comedy with The Private Eyes (1980), in which the two are Scotland yard
detectives without accents (?) sent to investigate the suspicious deaths of a
rich Morleys. The estate is huge and
all those running it are suspects. The
country ride to the estate follows the nicely animated title sequences, as the
two head for the late couple’s massive estate.
Winship and Tart have made headlines before bumbling
through cases, but keep getting assignments anyhow. When they arrive, the help are the strangest group of suspects
this side of Clue (film and board game), but someone is going around in garb
crossing The Shadow and the Grim Reaper to cause more havoc. Whether they will get to the solution of the
case will depend in part on if they do not bumble their way into a fatal
accident with an alarm clock gun an unpleasant supply of homing pigeons.
This film was only a moderate success in its time, with a
budget that was lower than average, but the film has developed a unique cult
following among fans of the talented leads.
This might have been funnier in its time considering the TV taboos it
was breaking and by whom. There is no
doubt how funny these guys are, but they can only lift the material so
much. Conway admits that he wrote this
in a few days, but a second rewrite could have turned out another Cheap
Detective, High Anxiety or Murder by Death, despite how much
more adult those films are.
The full screen 1.33 X 1 image looks like the full frame
the film was shot in. It would then be
soft matted to a 1.85 X 1 (or even 1.75 X 1 in England) widescreen ratio, but
this transfer is a somewhat aged analog transfer. The dullness of the color, softness, and slight yellowing gives
that away. The print used is not bad,
and except for one moment of jumpy frames, the image is stable. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is a simple
Stereo mix, very slightly rough, but better than flat mono. The extras include a commentary track by
Conway and co-producer/director Lang Elliott, a stills section of location
shooting, and the original theatrical trailer that will make fans happy.
With the nicely done poster art and animation in the
credits, the filmmakers were hoping to launch a Pink Panther-like
franchise on the momentum of the Apple Dumpling films, but it did not
work out that way. Too bad, because
with some additional writers, including some savvy about the Detective genre,
this could have still been launched on the mixed success of this film. However, that was not to be and this would
be a one-shot affair. It is fair to say
that even a simple film like this with some entertainment value could not be
made by a studio or production company today without them going overboard with
the sex, gross-out and violence
Factor, so The Private Eyes can at least make the
claim of being a time capsule of a time in filmmaking where the family audience
was considered without making sappy pictures.
- Nicholas Sheffo
