Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) on Netflix

In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.

In 1948 Los Angeles, everyone uses magic- everyone except hard-boiled private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft, who refuses for "personal reasons." Lovecraft is hired by a mysterious rich man to recover a stolen book, the Necronomicon. Investigating, he finds that the book holds the key to taking over the world by magical means, releasing the "Old Ones".

—Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>

"The year is 1948... everybody uses magic." Los Angeles, 1948. Magic is used for everything, from cocktails that mix and pour themselves, to zombie butlers, to murder. This makes things tough for private eye, Harry Philip ('H.P.', wink-wink) Lovecraft (Fred Ward). He's the only man in town who doesn't use magic. It's because of this, the richest man in LA - Amos Hackshaw (David Warner) hires Lovecraft to recover the stolen Necronomicon, a book of immense evil, containing incantations powerful enough to revive the sleeping Outer Gods. To make matters worse, Lovecraft isn't the only one searching for the book. He's up against a ruthless gangster, who happens to be Lovecraft's ex-partner. Throw in a witchy landlady, a sultry singer, a cross-dressing thief, and a jalopy full of gremlins, and Harry's up to his eyeballs in trouble. He'd better act quickly though, because the full moon is on the rise, the zombies are on the prowl, and someone's about to cast a deadly spell.

—Troy Wood <ase@garlic.com>