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:

Who was the player? Who was the pawn? In this deadly game . . .

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

11 December 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sleuth

Filming Locations:

England, UK

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At around one hour and five minutes) When Andrew goes and answers the ring of the doorbell, you see him walk past two pictures of the former King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor on a wall. The Duke of Windsor died during the making of this movie and the production team added a historical touch to mark this event by including pictures of the late Duke.

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Goofs

(at around 45 mins) When Milo and Andrew have blown the safe and are organizing the fake robbery, the shadows of crew members are visible behind the translucent windows.

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Quotes

Inspector Doppler: Over the years my eyes have been adequately trained to see things for themselves, sir.

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Connections

Referenced in Knives Out (2019)

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Soundtracks

Anything goes
Words and music by Cole Porter

User Reviews

Deadly Games

In England, the Italian English hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) is invited by the successful writer of detective stories Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) to visit his isolated house. The lower class Milo is the lover of Andrew's wife, who is used to have a comfortable life, and he intends to marry her. Andrew proposes Milo to steal his jewelry simulating a burglary. Milo would make a fortune selling the jewels to an intermediary; and Andrew would be reimbursed by the insurance company and would not pay alimony. However, the whole situation was part of an evil game. When Milo vanishes, a detective visits Andrew to investigate what really happened that night, when deadly games are disclosed.

"Sleuth" proves that a great screenplay, an outstanding director, two top-notch actors and four scenarios suffice to make an excellent movie with four nominations to the Oscar. The intelligent and wit theatrical story has amazing lines and twists in a duel of cat and mouse between two icons, and has not aged. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Trama Diabólica" ("Diabolic Plot")