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Alec Cawthorne, Eve Channing, John Matthews

Wicked, nasty, delicious fun. Laurence Olivier is a wealthy, veddy English mystery writer. He invites Michael Caine to his elaborate country house, in order to settle some rather unpleasant business b...( read more  read more... )etween them: Caine is having an affair with Olivier's wife, and she is about to divorce the older man. Olivier, smooth as brandy, suggests that there might be a way the two men can help each other, but what appears to be an intriguing proposition escalates into a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Sleuth boasts a twisty script by Anthony Shaffer, calculated to drive an audience to distraction; and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve) shows a keen eye for the telling detail. But the real fun is watching Olivier and Caine go at each other hammer and tongs, a virtuoso wrestling match between two splendid actors (both were Oscar-nominated, but lost to Marlon Brando in The Godfather). Alec Cawthorne is also quite good as the inquisitive inspector on the case. --Robert Horton

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90% liked it

6,781 ratings

PG, 139 min.

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Release Date: December 10, 1972

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DVD Release Date: January 27, 1998

Stats: 599 reviews

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Laurence Olivier in Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Jack & Milo Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Milo Tindle Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth Sleuth "SLEUTH" Sleuth Sleuth
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Flixster Reviews (599)

  • ThePublicEnemy
    November 6, 2008
    ThePublicEnemy
    After a friend told me to see "Sleuth" [1972]. i had to see it! Its a good thing i did because this may be one of the greatest films i've ever seen!

    In England, the Italian English hairdresser Milo Tindle is invited by the successful writer of detective stories Andrew Wyke to ...( read more)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.

    Now if you think that thats a dumb plot then you have no movie taste at all.

    The acting was simply amazing and the movie is filled with twists and turns. I loved watching the cat and mouse game between the two characters which is why i really enjoyed this film.

    This is an atomatic 5 stars and it hit my top 10 definatly!
  • ceWEBrity
    May 3, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Sleuth is brilliantly written, brilliantly acted and brilliantly crafted. It is a stage adaptation of the highest form. The material gets a little samey, which even the movie itself seems to acknowledge toward the end. It's compulsively watchable entertainment, though - dialogue ...( read more)and expression that hasn't aged a drop since 1972.

    Perhaps it also suffers a little from being overly theatrical, but Olivier and Caine could act the hell out of a character. They are two totally unforgettable presences. And hell, it WAS a play...the adaptation is more generous than some, such as the insufferable House of Yes, but adheres enough to its source that it doesn't lose any of its original essence. If the movie has its faults, it is because of its nature, but you can't really begrudge it much.
  • webalina
    February 11, 2008
    webalina
    A hoot of a film with a completely oddball ending. Rich eccentric Lawrence Olivier invites Michael Caine over for visit to discuss Larry's wife, who Caine is seeing on the side. Larry likes games, and suggests one with Caine. Lots of twists and turns, and just when you think you ...( read more)have it figured out, they throw another curve ball at you. Watching two great actors like Caine and Olivier play off each other (which is reportedly what they did in that the script was barebones and they were told to elaborate), is always a treat, and they don't disappoint. But wtf was that ending all about? Instead of making me go "AHA!", I was left more with a feeling of "Huh?"
  • EarthlyAlien
    February 4, 2008
    EarthlyAlien
    Sublime. The kind of film Sir. Alfred Hitchcock himself would have been proud to make. One of the most imaginatively scripted films ever made. A 2-hour comedy-mystery-thriller and a tour de force for two enormous, genius actors. Expertly directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (his fare...( read more)well film) and based on the play by Anthony Schaffer, the film opens with delightfully circus-tinged music that lends itself throughout the entire film to mix up the tone as each of the characters transition from serious to comical. Sleuth is a grand example of how you can take the barest of essentials - two great actors, one great script, one great set - and make magic happen. A game of murder, mystery, intrigue, deception and good old-fashioned sleuthing. Outstanding acting from its two main - and only - actors. Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier in one of his most eccentric and wickedly clever roles ever. One of the greatest British films ever made.
  • wellmeetagain
    January 11, 2008
    wellmeetagain
    Superb cat and mouse mystery with Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine as adversaries. See it with "Deathrap" on a rainy day.
  • rudolfanddorfmeister
    November 23, 2009
    rudolfanddorfmeister
    A perfectly balanced battle of the titans with an aftertaste of a classic theatre play.
  • afbuelvasp
    September 4, 2009
    afbuelvasp
    Magnifico duelo actoral entre dos grandes del teatro británico, dos "Sir" que entablan una lucha sicológica para ver quien es el más listo... "ahora prueba que es un juego..."
  • Mijou
    August 10, 2009
    Mijou
    I have to say it is a really original movie and a good adaption of the theatre piece.
  • HorrorMovieCinema
    June 4, 2009
    HorrorMovieCinema
    "If it was murder, where's the body?"


    Andrew Wyke, a famous mystery writer, invited wife Marguerites, Milo Tindle, to his country house for the weekend.

    Marguerite had lavish tastes and numerous lovers, but would not leave Andrew because none of her lovers could af...( read more)ford to maintain her lifestyle. Knowing that Milo, a self-made popular hairdresser from a poor Italian immigrant family, could barely afford Marguerites expenses at it is, Andrew decided to give him a large sum of money to take Marguerite off his hands.

    Andrew came up with an insurance fraud scheme that will give Milo 170,000, the value of Marguerites most expensive jewels. Milo will play the burglar and steal Marguerites jewels, while Andrew used his talents as mystery write to plan out corresponding clues to fool the police and insurance company. Milo gets Marguerite, Andrew gets to stop paying her bills.

    All went well, the two men had great fun playing out the plot, until Andrew pointed a gun at Milo he WAS the jealous husband after all. Andrew found it humiliating that his wife had chosen a lover from the lower classes, and Milos good look, youth, specifically sexual prowess further infuriated the impotent man.

    Two days after Milos murder, Inspector Doppler arrived to investigate the disappearance of Milo. Andrew admitted to the entire event as a game he had planned out for his own entertainment and that Milo was not really killed he used a blank bullet. But Doppler found evidences suggesting otherwise and arrested Andrew. Andrew now began to see the difference between murder in real life and his books. The police inspectors are not all stupid and the upper class gentry who moonlights as detective do not always have the upper hand.

    As Inspector Doppler had the panicking Andrew pinned and ready to be arrested, he took off the theatrical makeup and revealed himself to none other than Milo Tindle. And it didnt stop there, Milo had setup a much more elaborate game to get back at Andrew.

    Andrew had gone out the day before, and as Milo sneaked into the house to setup his own game, he met Thea, Andrews mistress. Thea and Milo shared the same detest in Andrews insane sense of humour and condescending manner to the lower classes, and she agreed to play the murder victim.

    Milo told Andrew how he had strangled Thea as his revenge and hid four incriminating evidences in his house; and that the police are on their way to his manor. Andrew went through 13 aggrevating minutes running around looking for the evidences, only to find that Thea wasn't killed and it wasnt the police inspectors at the door it was just Milo exhibiting his talent as an amateur actor.

    With everything he cherished insulted and dragged through the mud by Milo, Andrew shot and killed him with real bullets. But since Milo had reported his prior experience to the police, Andrew had now trapped himself with no creditable excuses, and a house-full of evidences to prove that everything Milo said about him was true.
  • czarnainez
    May 31, 2009
    czarnainez
    Amazing! Great acting! Must-see!!

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  • Name the Alfred Hitchcock film that features James Stewart as a wheelchair bound sleuth spying on his neighbours.  Answer »
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  • My real name is Maurice Joseph Michlawhite,but changed it after seeing The Caine Mutiny. For over 40 years, parents kept secret that brother was in mental home.Won Oscar in 1986 for Hannah and Her Sisters.Also in Sleuth,Italian Job,and many as elder man, last being Children of Men. My name is-  Answer »
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