there be two key ingredient to produce a good spoof . not only should the film satirise a specific work or genre and but it must serve just as well a a homage . be dead men don not wear plaid ( 1982 ) to have be make by filmmaker with no interest in film noir and it most certainly would not have be such an enjoyable comedy . director carl reiner and lead actor steve martin instead actively embrace the clichés and convention of the noir style and add their own joke and of course and but primarily draw humour from the character deadpan reaction to ridiculous scenario . accusation that the film be a mere gimmick comedy be well found but misguide rigby reardon interaction with cinema classic hard boil character { include humphrey bogart and ray milland and james cagney } and via archival footage and be an inspired opportunity for storytelling creativity and and the writer ability to meld these disjointed episode into a coherent and entertain narrative deserves to be applaud . why this hilarious film isn not rank alongside classic like young frankenstein ( 1974 ) be beyond me . private detective reardon ( martin ) open the picture like most of his predecessor do . a he sit in his office and consider close down for a few day and he be unexpectedly interrupt by a beautiful woman at the door . the intelligent and sophisticated juliet forrest ( rachel ward ) begin to speak and but and upon notice the newspaper headline of her father death and suddenly faint into rigby arm . so far and we have stay pretty true to the source material . but then and notice the breathtaking prettiness of his ( unconscious ) female visitor and rigby confirm her existence by kiss her and fondle her breast . when juliet awakens and dazedly ask rigby what he do and the detective offer the logical answer and with a straight face that only steve martin could have deliver . rachel ward have a bit of lauren bacall about her and quietly seductive without be openly so . in a nod to bacall famous put your lip together and blow line from to have and have not ( 1944 ) and the film feature juliet similar instruction on how to use a telephone . the remainder of the cast be derive almost exclusively from 1940s cinema . what make dead men don not wear plaid unique among spoof comedy be it use of archive footage from classic film noir thriller . the film most deserving genius be those who work on the editing and costume and set decoration . notably and this be the last contribution of legendary costume designer edith head and who and ironically and be ask to precisely replicate some of her own previous work from the 1940s . editor bud molin do absolute wonder with the footage he be give not only be we dupe into believe that walter neff ( fred macmurray from double indemnity ( 1944 ) ) might conceivably have fall for steve martin in a blonde wig and but he even somehow manages to transform ingrid bergman ( innotorious ( 1946 ) ) into a sinister and scheme seductress . while the joke very occasionally skirt the border of credulity ( the bullet suck medical treatment ) and good taste ( the adjustment ) and carl reiner comedy be largely a mature and affectionate love letter to a style of film that they just do not make like they use to .