Fletch

Fletch, Gregory McDonald's thrilling novel about an unorthodox secret agent with a penchant for elaborate disguises, was reshaped by the Hollywood know-alls into a standard Chevy Chase vehicle. Fletch (Chase) is on the trail of a vicious drug ring, but before the film is a third over he is embroiled in a deadly insurance-fraud scheme masterminded by aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson). The plot bears traces of Orson Welles' Lady from Shanghai, with a few pinches of Hitchcock's 39 Steps and Chase's own earlier Foul Play thrown in. Not everyone was enchanted by Chevy Chase's bland, wise-guy performance in the title role; even so, Fletch ended up as one of the actor's few unqualified box-office successes, spawning a 1989 sequel.