The Private Eyes

Lang Elliott's 1980 film is a comedy that turns the English manor mystery into parody. The lord and lady of a great house have been killed, after which the servants start dying one by one and it is said the dead lord's ghost is doing it. Inspector Winship and Dr Tart, sent to solve it, are two men good at nothing and cause more accidents than answers. The film is built on the physical comedy of Don Knotts and Tim Conway, with falling, colliding and misunderstanding rather than verbal jokes. The mystery is not taken seriously and the finale rests entirely on absurdity. It is aimed at a family audience and the horror is kept light. Who it's for: viewers who like old-fashioned slapstick and parody. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a real mystery; the film refuses one from the start.