Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedic thriller directed by Carl Reiner. Reiner uses footage from classic films spliced in with his own actors, creating a blend of new and old material. Private investigator Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin) is just reading about the death of a famous scientist, John Hay Forrest (George Gaynes), when Forrest's daughter Juliet (Rachel Ward) walks into his office to recruit his services. Juliet suspects that her father was murdered. Rigby begins investigating the scientist's death, but before very long he meets with his first would-be assassin (Alan Ladd). Shaken by the murder attempt, Rigby nonetheless wades deeper and deeper into the odd world of suspects, including Leona (Barabra Stanwyck), Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner), Doris Devermont (Bette Davis) and many other strange figures who may or not hold the keys to Forrest's mysterious death. Rigby's budding romance with Juliet only complicates matters further.moreless