Sleuth (1972)

A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Anthony Shaffer (play), Anthony Shaffer (screenplay)

Stars:

Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Alec Cawthorne

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laurence Olivier	...	Andrew Wyke
Michael Caine	...	Milo Tindle
Alec Cawthorne	...	Inspector Doppler (credit only)
John Matthews	...	Detective Sergeant Tarrant (credit only)
Eve Channing	...	Marguerite Wyke (credit only)
Teddy Martin	...	Police Constable Higgs (credit only)

Storyline

Andrew Wyke is a famous and successful author of detective novels. Milo Tindle comes to him with a strange request, that Mr Wyke divorce his wife so that Tindle can marry her. Mr Wyke is not particularly perturbed by this, he and his wife have drifted apart, and he is having an affair with another woman anyway, but uses the meeting and Mr Tindle's request as a chance to play a game, a game with potentially deadly consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

battle of wits | suspense | surprise ending | psychotronic film | huis clos | 

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Taglines:

If it was murder, where's the body? [original movie poster]

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Caine tells in his biography that Laurence Olivier could not, at first, remember his lines - he, a great stage actor who could initially remember three hours of lines in a play. He could not because of pills he started taking to calm him down after he learned that a theater of his, which he put much money and many efforts in for many years, had to be closed down. But Olivier eventually stopped taking those pills and his memory issues stopped.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 29 mins) Camera shadow on Milo's hidden car.

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Quotes

Inspector Doppler: Not to appear facetious, sir, but you had better tell that to a judge.

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Connections

Featured in 1,001 Movies You Must See (Before You Die) (2014)

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Soundtracks

Anything goes
Words and music by Cole Porter

User Reviews

Slightly Corked...

... very entertaining nonetheless but you can't help feeling however, that to get away with the intent, you need a hard of hearing audience with poor vision, while accepting that gullibility and greed are sufficient to open the gambit. Michael Cane plays Michael Cane, no matter how you dress him up but it's Olivier who steels the show and by a country house pile.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

11 December 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sleuth

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,081,254

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palomar Pictures International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1