Solid and underrated neo-noir filled with twists and turns that are a treat to watch unfold. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin are both fantastic together as the unlikeliest of duos. Their character quirks never define their motives, but help to reinforce character history and are revealed as the plot thickens, a true sign of great writing. The script is dynamite in finding just the right balance of suspense and gallows humor. A nice little gem that noir enthusiasts should seek out.

Truly an underseeen gem, Robert Benton's THE LATE SHOW is a great mystery comedy with Art Carney stealing the show as aged private detective Ira Wells, who is hired by Lily Tomlin to find her missing cat. Of course, there's more to the mystery than that, but I'll leave that for you to discover. Robert Altman produced this gem, which would make a great double bill with THE LONG GOODBYE.

love art carney's acting in this. Bill Macy too. great script.

Solid and underrated neo-noir filled with twists and turns that are a treat to watch unfold. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin are both fantastic together as the unlikeliest of duos. Their character quirks never define their motives, but help to reinforce character history and are revealed as the plot thickens, a true sign of great writing. The script is dynamite in finding just the right balance of suspense and gallows humor. A nice little gem that noir enthusiasts should seek out.

Art Carney makes this film. He is so damn cool as the private eye at least thirty years past his heyday that I'm entirely willing to forgive Tomlin's obnoxiousness.

[neo-noir classic] It was this movie that pushed me over the edge on '70s movies. The aesthetic just does not work for me. As for the movie, Art Carney was a little nice as a film noir detective, but the supporting characters and the story get overwhelmed by the 70's-ness.

Absolutely wonderful, funny and touching homage to old private detective films.

Of the many gerat neo-noirs of the '70s, this one is probably the most overlooked, but that shouldn't keep anyone from seeking it out. It's actually easy to find.

Robert Benton, who'd win the Oscar two years later for Kramer vs. Kramer, wrote the script and originally approached Robert Altman to direct, but Altman turned it down, and Benton did it himself.

The story centers around over-the-hill private eye Ira Wells (Art Carney), who gets drawn into the mystery of his former partner's murder and a missing cat owned by ditzy flower child Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin).

Aside from the comedy of errors that arise from the pairing and the collection of sleazy LA-types the two encounter, there's a lot of heart in their relationship, with Carney dead on nailing the hard-boiled type but with a big heart. And Tomlin is a master of eating carrots petulantly.

Truly an underseeen gem, Robert Benton's THE LATE SHOW is a great mystery comedy with Art Carney stealing the show as aged private detective Ira Wells, who is hired by Lily Tomlin to find her missing cat. Of course, there's more to the mystery than that, but I'll leave that for you to discover. Robert Altman produced this gem, which would make a great double bill with THE LONG GOODBYE.

Art Carney may have won the Oscar for HARRY AND TONTO but he absolutely knocks it out of the park in this film noir written and directed by Robert Benton (Kramer Vs. Kramer, Nobody's Fool). Inaccurately marketed as a comedy, this is a tough thriller that has unfortunately become a forgotten seventies gem.