Gumshoe (film)

Gumshoe is a 1971 film, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears. Written by local author Neville Smith, who appears as Arthur, the film is set in Liverpool with Albert Finney playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingocaller and occasional club comedian who dreams of being a private eye of the kind he knows from films and pulp novels. Having put an advertisement in a local newspaper the Liverpool Echo as a birthday present to himself, Ginley is suddenly contacted for what appears to be an actual piece of detective work...

Despite its relatively lightweight tone, Frears film is not without its contentious moments. TV broadcasts are nowadays rare because of Ginleys use of racist language and insults such as calling a black African character Mighty Joe Young and a spade see list of ethnic slurs. Another scene was significantly and clumsily shortened before release because of its detailed depiction of a heroinuser preparing and taking his fix.

Source: Wikipedia