Movie: So You Want to Be a Detective

Top 4 Billed Cast

George O'Hanlon
George O'Hanlon

Joe McDoakes (a.k.a. Phillip Snarlow)

Art Gilmore
Art Gilmore

Narrator (voice)

Lila Leeds
Lila Leeds

Veronica Vacuum (uncredited)

Kit Guard
Kit Guard

Barroom Thug (uncredited)

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    Joe McDoakes imagines himself as a private detective on a murder case. Throughout the film, he spars verbally with narrator Art Gilmore.

  • Release Date

    1948-06-26

  • Average

    6.8

  • Rating:

    3.4 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Lights Out
64%

Lights Out(en)

2016-07-21

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
79%

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(en)

1948-01-15

Two jobless Americans convince a prospector to travel to the mountains of Mexico with them in search of gold. But the hostile wilderness, local bandits, and greed all get in the way of their journey.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
73%

Star Wars: The Force Awakens(en)

2015-12-15

Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers.

Interstellar
85%

Interstellar(en)

2014-11-05

The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

The Truman Show
81%

The Truman Show(en)

1998-06-04

Every second of every day, from the moment he was born, for the last thirty years, Truman Burbank has been the unwitting star of the longest running, most popular documentary-soap opera in history. The picture-perfect town of Seahaven that he calls home is actually a gigantic soundstage. Truman's friends and family - everyone he meets, in fact - are actors. He lives every moment under the unblinking gaze of thousands of hidden TV cameras.

BlacKkKlansman
75%

BlacKkKlansman(en)

2018-08-09

Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

John Wick
74%

John Wick(en)

2014-10-22

Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

Me Before You
79%

Me Before You(en)

2016-06-01

A small town girl is caught between dead-end jobs. A high-profile, successful man becomes wheelchair bound following an accident. The man decides his life is not worth living until the girl is hired for six months to be his new caretaker. Worlds apart and trapped together by circumstance, the two get off to a rocky start. But the girl becomes determined to prove to the man that life is worth living and as they embark on a series of adventures together, each finds their world changing in ways neither of them could begin to imagine.

Get Out
76%

Get Out(en)

2017-02-24

Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

Avatar
76%

Avatar(en)

2009-12-15

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

The Godfather
87%

The Godfather(en)

1972-03-14

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

Murder on the Orient Express
67%

Murder on the Orient Express(en)

2017-11-03

Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Orient Express train.

Annihilation
64%

Annihilation(en)

2018-02-22

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.

A Star Is Born
75%

A Star Is Born(en)

2018-10-03

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

Green Book
82%

Green Book(en)

2018-11-16

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Vertigo
82%

Vertigo(en)

1958-05-28

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

The Shining
82%

The Shining(en)

1980-05-23

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
73%

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them(en)

2016-11-16

In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives at the Magical Congress of the United States of America with a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt, and threatens to strain even further the state of magical and non-magical relations.

The Revenant
75%

The Revenant(en)

2015-12-25

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

The Shawshank Redemption
87%

The Shawshank Redemption(en)

1994-09-23

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Similar Movies

La Pepperette
0%

La Pepperette(fr)

2014-03-11

Without a Clue
66%

Without a Clue(en)

1988-05-05

Sherlock Holmes is as dashing as ever, but with a little secret: Dr. Watson is the brains behind the operation. When Reginald Kincaid, the actor he has hired to play Holmes becomes insufferable, Watson fires him and tries to go out on his own, but finds that he has done too good a job building Holmes up in the public's mind.

Penelope's Condition
80%

Penelope's Condition(en)

1976-01-01

A reinterpretation of the Greek legend of Penelope, ”the most faithful of wives”, who waited 20 years for her husband Odysseus to return from The Trojan War. In this animation, the two of them are presented in a more modern setting. While Odysseus is busy exploring the universe in his space rocket, Penelope is stuck at home, taking care of the children, showing how traditional gender roles say men should work, while women stay at home.

Gary the Rapper vs Stefan Blix
0%

Gary the Rapper vs Stefan Blix(en)

2014-01-01

A has-been and a never-was battle their neurosis to finish a rap track together.

Celebrating Mickey
80%

Celebrating Mickey(en)

2018-10-23

When Mickey burst onto the scene in the classic Steamboat Willie, he not only stole our hearts, but went on to bring joy to generations. This collection from Walt Disney Animation Studios celebrates Mickey’s cartoon legacy with favorites spanning nearly a century including Brave Little Tailor, Pluto’s Party, Get A Horse! and more. 13 Short Films: Steamboat Willie, The Brave Little Tailor, Pluto’s Party, Get a Horse, The Band Concert, Mickey’s Rival, Thru the Mirror, Boat Builders ,Mickey’s Trailer, Tugboat Mickey, The Little Whirlwind, Mickey’s Birthday Party, The Simple Things

Aliens Are to Be Blamed for Everything
25%

Aliens Are to Be Blamed for Everything(sh)

1991-08-16

The election campaign in a small provincial town is in full swing. Candidates for ministry position pop up elsewhere, promising "milk and honey" to the voters. Two inseparable policemen, Boki and Pajko, are in charge of peace and order. Everything goes as usual until unexpected visitor from space shows up.

The Blood in the Vein
66%

The Blood in the Vein(fr)

2021-05-16

Simon and Zoé meet on Tinder. They live in the same suburban town and Zoé, wasting no time, invites him right over to her house. Simon can’t believe his luck! But once he arrives, he quickly understands that his date may prove more complicated than expected.

Shivering Shakespeare
57%

Shivering Shakespeare(en)

1930-01-25

The gang is participating in a program sponsored by the Golden Age Dramatic League. They present their own fractured version of Quo Vadis. Things go from bad to worse when the neighborhood tough kids disrupt the show. The pie fight is given a new twist by use of some slow motion sequences.

Studio Visit
35%

Studio Visit(en)

1946-05-11

This humorous Pete Smith Specialty short looks around various studios on a film lot.

The Artificial Humors
57%

The Artificial Humors(pt)

2016-09-07

Using a mix of Hollywood aesthetics with documentary strategies, the film follows a young indigenous girl from the Xingu National Park to São Paulo, where she falls in love with a robot that also happens to be a stand-up comedian. This strange story mixes the anthropology of humor, indigenous communities, and artificial intelligence.

Men Don't Whisper
50%

Men Don't Whisper(en)

2017-02-14

After being emasculated at a sales conference, gay couple Reese and Peyton set out to do the most masculine thing they can think of - sleep with some women.

Murder by the Book
59%

Murder by the Book(en)

1987-03-17

Mild-mannered mystery writer D. H. Mercer has become so immersed in his material that his creation, hard-boiled private eye Biff Deegan, constantly appears to him as a hallucination. Intent on getting rid of Biff, and replacing him with a more civilized detective, Mercer soon finds himself in a genuine mystery involving art fraud, murder, and a beautiful lady in peril.

Angel
59%

Angel(en)

1984-04-19

Molly Stewart, a teen at the top of her class who survives by working nights as a prostitute on Hollywood Blvd, finds her world beginning to fall apart when a depraved, necrophiliac serial killer begins targeting LA’s streetwalkers.

The Rink
66%

The Rink(en)

1916-12-04

After amusements working in a restaurant, a waiter uses his lunch break to go roller skating.

The Pawnshop
66%

The Pawnshop(en)

1916-10-02

A pawnbroker's assistant deals with his grumpy boss, his annoying co-worker and some eccentric customers as he flirts with the pawnbroker's daughter, until a perfidious crook with bad intentions arrives at the pawnshop.

The Count
62%

The Count(en)

1916-09-04

A tailor's apprentice burns Count Broko's clothes while ironing them and the tailor fires him. Later, the tailor discovers a note explaining that the count cannot attend a dance party, so he dresses as such to take his place; but the apprentice has also gone to the mansion where the party is celebrated and bumps into the tailor in disguise…

L.A. Confidential
78%

L.A. Confidential(en)

1997-09-19

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

The Driver
72%

The Driver(en)

1978-06-08

The Driver specializes in driving getaway cars for robberies. His exceptional talent has prevented him from being caught yet. After another successful flight from the police a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises pardons to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from The Player to mislead the detective.

No Good Deed
53%

No Good Deed(en)

2002-06-28

While doing a friend a favour and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery. The screenplay by Christopher Cannan and Steve Barancik is based on the short story "The House in Turk Street" by Dashiell Hammett.

Along Came a Spider
63%

Along Came a Spider(en)

2001-04-06

After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, he is lured back into action as the kidnapper wants to deal with Alex personally. Teamed with Jezzie Flanigan, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.