All just a bloody game…
I’ve been a film lover since I was first terrified by the wicked witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and a film professional for around 12 years, so, like choosing your football team late (which I also did – West Ham Utd, for those who care), it’s a relief to know that I can finally answer the ‘What’s Your Favourite Film?’ question that normally follows whenever I tell people about what I do.
It’s Sleuth (1972), by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. My first viewing of this sublime two- (or is that three?) hander was sometime in the early eighties – my mum and dad were now allowing me and my younger sister, Sarah, to babysit for our youngest sister, Rachel, and the old man, knowing that I was already heavily into movies, gave me a recommendation for the night’s viewing. This, of course, was back in the day when a movie from 1972 could still be shown as BBC’s primetime Saturday night flick – ‘Think you might like that, James – watch it with your sister, and I bet neither of you can guess what’s going to happen.’
Begrudgingly agreeing, myself and sis dutifully tuned in at the appointed hour and, by slow degrees, were engrossed, amused, thrilled and transfixed. Funnily enough, it wasn’t to be the last time that I watched the film – at present count, my viewing tally must be in the hundreds.
Now, I am going to have to tread carefully here, because Anthony Schaffer’s original play (he also wrote the screenplay) is all about games and games-playing. My apologies, therefore, to those Picturenose readers who have seen the film, for the few games of my own that I play with this review, but it is all in keeping with the spirit of both play and film.
Young, reasonably successful hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) (of Italian stock) arrives at Cloak Manor at the invitation of world-renowned detective novelist Andrew Wyke (Sir Laurence Olivier), the creator of the fabulously popular amateur sleuth St John Lord Merridew, and a frightful snob who believes all police to be incompetent and that only the best detectives are those with titles. He’s also a games-player par excellence, as his mansion’s decor makes more than clear.
Ostensibly, Wyke wants to ‘have a chat’ with Tindle concerning his affair with his wife Marguerite (Eve Channing) and the hairdresser’s intentions of marrying her and, apparently, undertake a little skullduggery together in order to provide Tindle with enough funds to take Wyke’s unfaithful wife off his hands for good, not just a ‘two week touch-up’. Initially reluctant, Tindle nevertheless enters into the spirit of the caper, until Wyke reveals his true intentions – to be able to justifiably shoot the cuckolder, which he indeed does. Wyke appears to have got away with the perfect murder – until the dowdy, dilligent Inspector Doppler (Alec Cawthorne) comes knocking at his door, investigating Tindle’s disappearance…
What makes this such a joy, I believe, is the way that Mankiewicz manages to transcend the two-dimensional aspects of the original stage play, both with edgy, unnerving cinematography that makes superb use of the various automata in Wyke’s house and with three 
lead performances that are simply spellbinding. A relative newcomer at the time, Caine’s discomfort at the prospect of being upstaged by Olivier fitted perfectly into the role of Tindle, a man apparently out of his depth with lord-of-the-manor Wyke – ‘You’re a jumped-up pantry-boy who doesn’t know his place!’ But, as Caine’s increasingly enraged turn goes on to prove, Wyke is far from being the only one with a penchant for very nasty games…
Cawthorne, who never acted again, is also wonderful as ‘the sharp-eyed copper who knows his job down to the last detail’, and the whole is simply a delightful, near-flawless combination of mood, mystery, humour and, ultimately, horror.
‘Andrew…be sure and tell them, won’t you? Tell them, it was all just…a bloody game.’
138 mins.
Hi James,
Your review was a damn good read and gave due justice to what was, and still is, an excellent piece of cinema. We’ll be delighted to show it at THE ASTRA.
I saw it when I was middle-aged, but look forward to seeing it again, now that I have reached my muddle-age (sic).
Regards,
Bryan
Dear Bryan,
Nice to know that I haven’t lost it…
Many thanks for your kind comment – it really is one of those films that I feel I will never tire of watching, particularly with really good friends.
And do let us know what you think about Colin’s take on the remake, won’t you? With that execrable piece of nonsense, whatever he says goes for me ten-fold…
Best,
James
I agree heartily with both reviews. The original is one of my favorite films…and my favorite movie score (especially since it begins with The World’s Greatest Overture – which always makes me laugh out loud upon hearing it.)
BTW, Lord Merridew’s first name is not ‘Sindon’ – it’s St. John, pronounced by Lord Olivier correctly as ‘Sinjin’.
Hello Ron, and welcome to Picturenose.
James, of course, knew it was ‘St John’, but got the phonetics wrong. All fixed now and thanks for the good spot!
I’m glad we agree – James and I both loved the original and thought, as I believe I mentioned, that the remake was at best a waste of everyone’s time and several hundred feet of celluloid.
Hello Ron,
Thanks indeed for the comment, and I join Colin in welcoming you to Picturenose.
In fact, you are too kind, Colin – I did not know that the great detective was actually named ‘St. John’, nor that the correct pronunciation of his name is ‘Sinjin’. Even after heaven knows how many viewings of this marvellous movie, one lives and learns. Cheers.
Thanks for the review, Sleuth is also a personal favourite. Actually I have gone a step further, let me explain. I am a British filmmaker but I have been working on documentaries in Pakistan for five years. I have had an eye on getting back to narrative cinema for a while and was looking for a suitable story (a remake, really) to shoot in Urdu in Pakistan. I thought for a while of La Samourai (Melville), but eventually settled on Sleuth, not only for logistical reasons but because of the parallels in post-war Britain and modern Pakistan in terms of class. This is one way that the 2007 version became weakened, once the class element had been removed, the racial slur just wasn’t enough or even realistic (actually, I believe they butchered an historical piece). To rewrite, I had become immersed in the piece and consequently now know it back to front. I know how many shots there are, the exact length of each section, and so on. Getting to know it so well, I only loved it more – it isn’t a shallow work.
Interestingly, mine would not be the first film remake – just in this country, there was one made by PTV (like BBC) about 15 years ago – it makes you wonder just how many times this has been copied, as we in Europe and America have almost no clue what is going in the majority of the world. They favour ‘stagey’ dramas in developing countries, simply because they require less logistics to shoot and there isn’t the expectation of complexity. There has been a lot of doubt as to whether my film will be of interest to the average viewer over here. Myself and others have taken pains to convert every nuance to the best local equivalent and it’s remarkable how you can keep the essence of something great and transform it at the same time, something Brannagh totally failed to do in contemporizing the piece. We can only make it and see, but we are lucky to have got two good actors, one who is quite a star in India. Wish me well for the success of this film (Takrar – which means to bicker) as my intentions artistically at least are to honour it, not rip it off.
Dear Steven,
An enormous pleasure to read your comment – thanks very much, and a very warm welcome to Picturenose!
Always a joy to interract with someone else who clearly loves this film as much as I do – along with my Picturenose partner Colin (who wrote the review of Sleuth (2007)), I had to endure Branagh’s remake, and I couldn’t get over just what a hash they had made of such a brilliant original.
I am also fascinated by the fact that you are remaking it and, as you say, I had not even considered the possibility that another creative team might have had a stab, so to speak, at a remake. From the intelligence that’s apparent in your comment, I have every faith that you will do the original justice – how’s about giving Picturenose a sneak preview?
Seriously, and I am sure Colin agrees with me here, it would be great to talk with you at greater length, with an eye to a full interview-feature on yourself and Takrar. What do you say? Sound interesting? Let us know.
Regardless, thanks again for making yourself known to us – we look forward very much to your reply.
Hi Steven. Welcome indeed. I agree with all James says (and believe me, this is not normal behaviour!). I think the one thing Picturenose may lack is a good grasp on cinema from the Indian subcontinent. We do try to take a more ‘holistic’ stance by reviewing European, not just UK/US cinema, because we genuinely like a lot of European output, for a start. Funny, though – the Italians seem to keep all their cinema to themselves, and rarely want to promote outside Italy, but that’s another story.
I believe Sleuth could be remade in any language, but not necessarily in any culture, as you summarized for us above. Think how differently it would play out in Russia, Portugal or Japan – all of which have an inherent (if not always overt) system of hierarchy which is vital to the narrative. This really is a piece about class – and a class divide that doesn’t exist in the same dimensions these days in the UK. I don’t want to go on and on about the remake, but you’re right – to me, it seems hollow without the correct frame of reference.
Steven, would you care to discuss a collaboration – perhaps you know someone who critiques Indian/Pakistani cinema (Bollywood or not) – if you don’t yourself? Please do get in touch via email. In any case, I wish you all the very best with Takrar. I think, by the way, that ‘bickering’ is quite apt.
Very good review James! I finally sat down and watched this film today and quite enjoyed it! The quick British humor and wit made for an ‘on-your-toes’ watching experience that is lacking in a lot of today’s cinema. The range that Caine showed in the film was enormous and I loved seeing his turn at the end. I can imagine how the remake was horrible, since the original relies so heavily on two or ‘three’ individuals to carry the entire film.
A film I’ll now be recommending to my friends!
HI Tom,
Many thanks for following my recommendation and watching it, and yes, please do just leave it to your imagination as to how bad the remake is, don’t go anywhere near it, ‘kay?
I also adore how very nasty Caine/Tindle gets at the end, and it really is no better than Olivier/Wyke deserves. Great to add another convert to my favourite film! 