Sleuth (1972).

Review #2204. Sleuth (1972).

Cast: 

Laurence Olivier (Andrew Wyke) and Michael Caine (Milo Tindle) Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (#750 - All About Eve, #1378 - People Will Talk, #1798 - No Way Out)

Review: 

In 1970, the play Sleuth came out to the stage to tremendous success as created by Anthony Shaffer. He had worked as a barrister and a copywriter before his calling as a writer. He based the play as a take on the mysteries written by author John Dickson Carr to go with inspiration from his friend Stephen Sondheim and his penchant for game-playing (incidentally, the first and only screenplay Sondheim wrote was done with Anthony Perkins involving mystery with The Last of Sheila (1973), as inspired by scavenger hunts that were done by who else but Sondheim and Perkin). The result was a Tony Award-winning play that had a variety of British actors playing the two roles, such as Anthony Quayle acting opposite Keith Baxter, with a run-on Broadway happening in the autumn of 1970. Two years later, he was brought on to write the screenplay for the film, one that has just two actors but had credits that listed fake names to fool the audience for a bit (the movie does the same thing). The film rights were purchased fairly quickly, and Shaffer expressed interest in Alan Bates to play opposite Anthony Quayle (who had played the Andrew role on stage originally) ...but when one finds Laurence Olivier, how does one say no? Through the rejection of actors such as Albert Finney and Bates came the bringing of Michael Caine to play opposite Olivier. Shaffer would be a bit busy as a writer, as his first screenplay went onto the screen in 1971 with Mr. Forbush and the Penguins before 1972 saw both Sleuth and Frenzy released. He wrote a handful of screenplays until 1993 that ranged from The Wicker Man (1973) to his last effort in Sommersby (1993).This was the 20th feature film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Although he worked on the screenplay for a would-be adaptation of a novel called Jane in his later years, Sleuth ended up being his final film prior to his death in 1993 at the age of 83. In 2007, a new version of Sleuth was filmed that had Kenneth Branagh as director to go with Caine now the old pro playing against a younger one, this time playing against Jude Law in a movie that apparently didn't use any dialogue from Shaffer's original script. It probably didn't go as well as when Caine was in that other who-dun-it Deathtrap (as released in 1982, for which some have compared it to Sleuth, although really they arent that similar), that's for sure.

Not many movies can say that they have pros for every cast member, but this is one of those times where the fun isn't so much just the mystery but the fact that you get 138 minutes of two absolutely invested actors in their element for a film that shows a relish for methodical entertainment. When it comes to cat-and-mouse games, it really doesn't get any better than this, and it does certainly lend itself to going into it with as little to know as possible besides the fact that one really can get too absorbed into one-upping the other person. When Olivier encountered Sondheim at the end of filming, he apparently stated that he based his performance off him. Olivier puts his best foot forward in that grand display that arises from an aristocratic display that could only be shown for all of its degrees of tone and reaction by a pro that knows it is the utmost importance to not have it seem like just a bit to play for the straight gag. For all the people that know (and knew) the power of Olivier in a role with meat to play, there are probably almost as many people who know how damn good Caine can make a role within the first few scenes he appears in. The differences between him and Olivier when it comes to curiosity and upbringing for the film make a compelling double act that lends each the chance to explore how far pride can go, particularly among the higher classes. Caine excels in those razor-sharp exchanges that become more and more predicated on the idea that if someone has to win, the loser is going to be buried one way or another. It is the kind of movie to sit back with a drink and just enjoy slowly over the course of the film. Even when one has an idea of where the film might go with its tête-à-tête, the ride never seems to loosen up, and this is for a film with plenty of scenes in a house with plenty of atmosphere and staging to spare (such as with its one particular laughing electronic toy). In the end, however one finds themselves watching this film in the progression of mystery and thrills, one will have plenty to enjoy within its contained dedication shown by all involved in its execution from its director right down to its actors for all that one could ever want.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.