Sleuth (1972)
UK 138m, Colour
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz; Cast: Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier
Based on Anthony Shaffer’s 1970 play of the same name, Sleuth is a murder mystery with an ever-twisting plot that follows the maneuvering of its two principal characters who attempt to outwit each other in a series of “games” that are designed to manipulate and humiliate one another. Likewise, the audience is taken along an equally puzzling journey which unfolds like a chess match, calculated, deliberate and ever so clever. Unfortunately, the excessive run time and pacing of the film also resembles a chess match – which is probably not everyone’s cup of tea (Klaus Ming February 2013).
2 comments on “Sleuth (1972)”
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ming movie reviews 
It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it is mine. Of course, it’s also a film I saw early in life, so I have fond memories of it being one of the first “grown-up” films I ever saw.
I loved it when it came out. I was a kid and already steeped in the mystery novels of John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L. Sayers and so on. When the remake came out, I saw it but was disappointed. I’d love to see the real thing again, but US Netflix doesn’t have it. Oh, well. Someday it will pop up.