Sleuth (1972)
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Duration: 138 minuten
Country:
United States / United Kingdom
Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine and Alec Cawthorne
IMDb score:
7,9 (52.576)
Releasedate: 10 December 1972
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Sleuth plot
"Think of the perfect crime... Then go one step further."
Milo Tindle and Andrew Wyke have something in common, which is Andrew's wife. In order not to lose a fortune on the divorce, Andrew has devised a plan. Milo is supposed to rob Andrew's house and so Andrew can claim the insurance money.
Actors and actresses
Andrew Wyke
Milo Tindle
Inspector Doppler
Detective Sergeant Tarrant
Marguerite Wyke
Police Constable Higgs
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
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- 87623 messages
- 12889 votes
heh.
Will someone put me out of my misery and confirm that this is actually a comedy? A bit dark perhaps, but mystery/thriller I absolutely do not see in this.
I really didn't expect the clownish atmosphere (and I don't use that word just because of the suit) in this film. Certainly not after a very dull intro. But gradually it becomes more and more comical. You can see the plot twists coming from miles away (that disguise also of Caine, it's just not yet Samson and Gert), so there is never any tension.
Furthermore, only moderately acted by both gentlemen. Caine in particular sometimes falls through the cracks (that reaction when he is threatened with death 
). Visually a lot of seventies ugliness, especially in the use of color. To be honest, I didn't really notice and/or remember the soundtrack. And that playing time ... well. Might be responsible for people who didn't see the twists coming.
But I could laugh about it every now and then. No idea if it was all the intention, but luckily a little less dull than I had feared beforehand. Although it all still looks very clumsy.
1.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 6070 messages
- 2476 votes
Long searched for this DVD, found by chance on an Anchor Bay release with no subtitles but with an excellent transfer and a nice documentary (mainly an interview with Anthony Shaffer), and the experience is still as intense as when I first saw the film. saw more than 40 years ago. Olivier is delightfully jerky (his overacting that bothers some users here seems to me to be just part of his arrogant character), Caine tries to keep his cool as he slowly gets spun in, and during the last half hour the tension builds. sublimely screwed up. "The shortest way to a man's heart is through humiliation" : Olivier dominates the first half of the film, Caine the second. Admittedly, now that I know I recognize the voice of Michael Caine in the "inspector" , but when I first saw the film I absolutely did not realize it, nor did the undercurrent of the very British class system that I do recognize now. Top notch entertainment thanks to a great script and two – well, three – brilliant performances. Watching the remake again tomorrow, I have pretty good memories of that too.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Woland
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- 4809 messages
- 3825 votes
I had a great time with Sleuth. What is striking is the minimal cast, in which there are really only two real roles. It's a film that's made in a kind of whodunit style, but also different: it's not so much that a murder has to be unraveled, it's more that two people are constantly outsmarting each other. trying to stand out through an increasingly complex game of double and triple and quadruple bluff. Far too complicated to be true, but still entertainingly told with lots of manipulations and twists. Good actors too, with Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine as the two competing men. As befits a good whodunit, it also has a slightly corny atmosphere, with a classic setting in a large mansion with an aristocratic character, which in turn makes fun of the film itself. Very nice done.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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