The Late Show (film)
| The Late Show | |
|---|---|
DVD cover
|
|
| Directed by | Robert Benton |
| Produced by |
Robert Altman Scott Bushnell |
| Written by | Robert Benton |
| Starring |
Art Carney Lily Tomlin Bill Macy Eugene Roche Joanna Cassidy |
| Music by | Kenneth Wannberg |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher Jr. |
| Edited by | Peter Appleton Lou Lombardo |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
|
Release date
|
April 22, 1977 |
|
Running time
|
93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Late Show is a 1977 American neo-noir mystery film written and directed by Robert Benton and produced by Robert Altman. It stars Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, and Joanna Cassidy.
A drama with a few comic moments, the story follows an aging detective trying to solve the case of his partner’s murder while dealing with a flamboyant new client.
Benton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1977.
A financially strained, aging Los Angeles private detective named Ira Wells isn't a well man and is barely active in the business. He is a loner who doesn't much care for company or small talk. When his ex-partner Harry Regan, however, shows up at Ira's boarding house one night mortally wounded while on a case, Ira feels it's up to him to get to the bottom of it.
The trail leads Ira to a small-time fence named Birdwell, whose young bodyguard Lamar is only too happy to rough up the old man when Ira pays a call. But they make a mistake in intimidating and underestimating Ira, who ends up paying Lamar back in kind as well as tracking down Birdwell's missing wife.
Meanwhile, a would-be client named Margo Sperling is introduced to Ira by a mutual acquaintance, Charlie Hatter, a tipster. Margo is a quirky individual who acts as an agent for a singer, sells marijuana on the side and wants to hire Ira to find not a murderer but just her missing cat.
As they get to know each other after a rocky start, Ira and Margo hit it off to the point that she offers to become his new partner. But first they need to deal with a dangerous confrontation in Margo's apartment.
In early 1976, Robert Benton brought his script to Robert Altman who, after reading it, decided to produce the film. While Benton had co-authored screenplays for several films, he was the sole author for The Late Show, which was also only the second film that Benton directed. Production began in spring of 1976 and wrapped in November. Lou Lombardo, who had a long relationship with Altman and edited several of Altman's films in the 1970s, edited along with Peter Appleton.
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