How to Be a Detective

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Robert Benchley in How to Be a Detective (1936)

Benchley's lecture on detective work includes topics such as: types of criminals to be detected; getting a confession; and escorting a criminal to prison. Guess who ends up behind bars.Benchley's lecture on detective work includes topics such as: types of criminals to be detected; getting a confession; and escorting a criminal to prison. Guess who ends up behind bars.Benchley's lecture on detective work includes topics such as: types of criminals to be detected; getting a confession; and escorting a criminal to prison. Guess who ends up behind bars.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

348

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

Top cast3

Edit

Robert Benchley

Lecturer

Arthur Hoyt

Worried Citizen
(uncredited)

Dewey Robinson

McNulty
(uncredited)

Director
- Felix E. Feist
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Quotes
[first lines]
Lecturer: [shooting rubber bands at an anatomy poster] Ha ha ha... uh, a little target practice... Well, I take it for granted that you're all here because you want to be detectives - and that your time is short, so we will make it as brief as possible. Now, first of all, to be a detective, it's necessary to have somebody to detect - otherwise, you'll have playing the game alone. For this reason, it's necessary to recognize criminal types when you see them.

User reviews5

Review

Featured review

Has Some Good Gags, & Benchley Is Amusing

This is a pretty good entry in Robert Benchley's "How To " series of short comedies, with Benchley this time playing a detective giving lectures on his work. It includes some good gags, and Benchley himself is fun to watch, with his amiably amusing manner.

The movie is mostly episodic, with each 'lesson' about detection generally focusing on one particular gag that is set up carefully. In most cases, you can pretty much see the punch line coming, but that's part of Benchley's skill; his manner of setting it up and his understated reaction to the payoff are often just as funny as the gag itself.

Benchley's style works well in this format. This comedy doesn't offer any uproarious laughs, but it does feature a few good comedy ideas that are carried off with Benchley's droll style.