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The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery

  • 1975
  • PG
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
291
YOUR RATING
Will Geer, Anjanette Comer, Gabriel Dell, Huntz Hall, and Joyce Van Patten in The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975)
ParodyComedyCrimeMysteryRomance

A chicken hatchery owner (and novice private eye) tries to solve the arrow murder of local milkman, philanderer and animal fetishist.A chicken hatchery owner (and novice private eye) tries to solve the arrow murder of local milkman, philanderer and animal fetishist.A chicken hatchery owner (and novice private eye) tries to solve the arrow murder of local milkman, philanderer and animal fetishist.

  • Director
    • Dean Hargrove
  • Writers
    • Dean Hargrove
    • Gabriel Dell
  • Stars
    • Gabriel Dell
    • Will Geer
    • Anjanette Comer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    291
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Dean Hargrove
    • Writers
      • Dean Hargrove
      • Gabriel Dell
    • Stars
      • Gabriel Dell
      • Will Geer
      • Anjanette Comer
    • 9User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos13

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    Top cast18

    Edit
    Gabriel Dell
    Gabriel Dell
    • Malcolm
    Will Geer
    Will Geer
    • Dr. Simpson
    Anjanette Comer
    Anjanette Comer
    • Arlevia Jessup
    Joyce Van Patten
    Joyce Van Patten
    • Ida Mae
    Vincent Gardenia
    Vincent Gardenia
    • Big Daddy Jessup
    Barbara Harris
    Barbara Harris
    • Miss Helen Fredericks
    Sorrell Booke
    Sorrell Booke
    • Dr. Melon
    Dick Gautier
    Dick Gautier
    • Oscar Cornell
    Jackie Coogan
    Jackie Coogan
    • Detective Chief Anderson
    Nita Talbot
    Nita Talbot
    • Jasmine Cornell
    Huntz Hall
    Huntz Hall
    • Deputy Roy
    Nicholas Colasanto
    Nicholas Colasanto
    • Bert
    Howard Storm
    Howard Storm
    • Freddie Jessup
    Robbi Tremaine
    • Contestant
    Helen Finley
    • Laverne
    Old Tom
    • Bert's Customer
    Winston
    • By Himself
    Jason Fithian
    • Manager
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Dean Hargrove
    • Writers
      • Dean Hargrove
      • Gabriel Dell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    5.8291
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    Featured reviews

    10LynxMatthews

    Insane Hilarity

    This movie is not a Dead End Kids reunion, although both Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell are in it. It is instead a warped 1970s version of a film noir with utterly bizarre comic elements that hit you more with each viewing. Dell shows magnificent comic timing and utterly dry wit as the trailer park loser who is doing genetic experiments to make chickens lay colored eggs while he also pursues his private detective business. The comedy style here is a mix of some Airplane! style gags and some extremely subtle dark humor involving animal sex, incest, suicide and drugs. All tastefully handled, mind you, because it's so doggone off-the-wall, one cannot be offended. It features:

    The most bizarre gunfight in movie history

    A straightfaced plea for understanding for those who practice bestiality

    Grandpa Walton popping pills like a madman

    Barbara Harris being her brilliant self

    Hall and Jackie Coogan as a bumbling cop duo

    Some of the worst lighting you'll ever see

    This movie is extremely hard to find, but should you come across it, I implore you to give it a look and see comedy ahead of its time. Dell, who co-produced and wrote proves he was the Dead End Kid with the most talent. He really should have been in more movies like this in his adult life.
    10brownsbackers

    funny, very funny

    if you want a classic this is it.try it you'll like it. you won't find a better gun fight anywhere. there is intrigue and yes mayhem. pay very close attention to every detail you don't want to miss anything.like how to properly use a bloodhound.(watch out for that arrow!)
    SanDiego

    Dead End Kids reunion.

    Gabriel Dell and Huntz Hall, original members of the Broadway stage play Dead End (1935) and the film version two years later, reteamed as a successful nightclub comedy act in the seventies after a successful run in several film series during the 30's, 40's, and 50's which included the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, The East Side Kids, and The Bowery Boys. This "reunion" film died at the box office and though it has moments of hilarity, I recommend it for fans of the Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys only.
    kairaa

    Sarcastic, Funny Film

    It's a parody of The Maltese Falcon. Must pay attention to the clever humor.
    boblipton

    Tries Too Hard

    Gabriel Dell is the owner of a chicken hatchery who wants to be a private eye. When a local man is killed by an arrow, he is hired by the widow to investigate.

    It's a burlesque of hard-boiled mysteries, co-written by Dell and director Dean Hargrove. Dell wanders around, self-narrating, looking for clues, amidst the locals, all of whom are eccentrics: nymphomaniacal widows, pill-popping doctors, fake psychics, capped by a shootout in which he and "Big Daddy" Vincent Gardenia blast each other with shotguns, spurting blood and walking away with a band-aid over their eyebrows. It's a little too broad for the actual jokes, making it seemed far more forced, especially with a cast that includes Will Geer, Barbara Harris, Huntz Hall, Jackie Coogan, and Howard Storm.

    Dean Hargrove went back to tv work after this.

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    Related interests

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    Parody
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    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Production began in April 1973 and the film has a 1973 copyright date.
    • Goofs
      Oscar sits facing Malcom's desk when he is hit by an arrow that comes from the direction of Malcoms desk. There is a wall with a closed window behind Malcom's desk. After Oscar is hit by the arrow Malcom opens the unbroken window and climbs outside to search for the killer. It's never explained where the arrow could have come from.

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 26, 1975 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Manchu Eagle
    • Production company
      • Strathmore Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 20m(80 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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