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Title: Bogart Satire Misses the Mark
Review: Writer Neil Simon, actor Peter Falk and director Robert Moore reunite for this disappointing follow-up to "Murder by Death" (1976). The laughs are rather scant in Simon's lackluster satire of Humphrey Bogart classics (primarily "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca"). Falk's Bogart parody is less successful this time around, with the all-star supporting cast mostly wasted. Robert Luthardt's stylish production design remains among the few virtues. A weak effort, "The Cheap Detective" pales next to Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (1982) yet surpasses George Segal's disastrous spoof "The Black Bird" (1975).
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