Indie Spotlight: ‘Dick Hopper, Private Eye’ Makes Film Noir Look Silly

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

Kung Fury recently gave viewers a loving spoof of 80s cop movies, but elsewhere on YouTube, a different film genre is getting taken apart, one ridiculous convention at a time. Fleming Films is the production team behind Dick Hopper, Private Eye, a very silly send-up of film noir mysteries.

Dick Hopper establishes its tone right from the start. In the first scene, a murderer attempting to sneak up on his prey loudly walks across a creaky floor. Its a simple joke, but it will draw a laugh from anyone who has wondered how killers can make it through an old house without so much as a peep.

That sort of silliness permeates throughout Dick Hopper. Writers Tommy Fleming and Riley Smith stuff sex jokes into character names, write their titular character as a gormless idiot, and give him lines that consist primarily of ridiculous figures of speech. In the first episode, for example, Dick Hopper notes that “this cookie’s about to crumble” and vows to “catch the first rat that nibbles up those oatmeal raisins.”

Beyond its status as an absurd satire, Dick Hopper is also a loving tribute to the genre it parodies. With shadowy, black-and-white production, a slow-burning jazz soundtrack, and a wide ensemble of characters that runs the gamut of crime movie archetypes, Dick Hopper serves as a love letter to film noir, even as it skewers the genre with no mercy.

The first season of Dick Hopper will run for seven episodes. New installments can be viewed each Wednesday on the show’s YouTube channel.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• The Rolling Solider. A military operative attempts to put his life back together after waking up from a years-long coma.
• Us. This artsy series, shot in black and white, adds a surreal twist to the romantic web series format.
• Cam Girls. Three friends explore the community of women who strip online for money.
• The Girl From Carolina. This series promises “10 episodes, 10 redneck mysteries.”

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.