Sleuth (1972 film)
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| Sleuth | |
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 Sleuth film poster |
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| Directed by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Produced by | Morton Gottlieb |
| Written by | Anthony Shaffer |
| Starring | Laurence Olivier Michael Caine |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | December 10, 1972 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 138 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Sleuth is a Tony Award-winning play by British playwright Anthony Shaffer. The mysterious plot consists of several cat-and-mouse games between two men, one of whom has invited his wife's lover to his home in order to participate in these "games" which conclude with deadly results. The play premiered in London, in 1970, and successfully transferred later that year to Broadway. It was adpated as a feature film released in 1972.
The London stage version starred Anthony Quayle and Keith Baxter, both of whom also starred in the Broadway theatre production.
The 1972 film version stars Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. "Co-stars" Alec Cawthorne, Eve Channing, and John Matthews are imaginary. "Eve Channing" for instance is merely a painting that appears in the movie.
Shaffer wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Edgar J. Scherick was the executive producer.
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[edit] Plot
Andrew Wyke is a wealthy writer of detective novels who delights in elaborate games. One day he invites Milo Tindle, the owner of a chain of hairdressing salons, to his country manor house. Wyke is well aware that Tindle is having an affair with his wife, Marguerite. Far from being outraged, Wyke is delighted, since he himself is having an affair with a woman named Tea and is keen to rid himself of Marguerite. Wyke's only concern, he claims, is that Tindle, a struggling businessman, will not be able to maintain Marguerite in the style to which she has become accustomed. This would mean that their relationship may not last, and she will end up returning to him.
Wyke therefore suggests that Tindle steal some valuable jewelry that Wyke owns, purportedly proposing the plan that Tindle is to sell it in order to live happily with Marguerite, while Wyke is to claim the insurance in order to live happily with Tea. This is the start of a series of schemes and double-crosses with potentially deadly results....[citations needed][1]
[edit] The Play
Shaffer said the play was partially inspired by one of his friends, the composer Stephen Sondheim, whose intense interest in games-playing is mirrored by the character Andrew Wyke. The play opened in London (playing at the Ambassadors Theatre and later at the St. Martin's Theatre) and ran on Broadway from 1970-1973 at the Music Box Theatre. Clifford Williams directed the Broadway production, which later featured Paul Rogers, Patrick Macnee and George Rose in the part of Wyke; and Donal Donnelly, Brian Murray and Jordan Christopher in the part of Tindle. The play was nominated for four Tony Awards. It won Best Play and Best Producer(s) of a Play (Helen Bonfils, Morton Gottlieb and Michael White), but was also nominated for Best Director of a Play and Best Lighting Designer - both of which did not win.[citations needed]
[edit] The Film
[edit] The making of the Film
Shaffer was reluctant to sell the film rights to the play, fearing it would undercut its success of the stage. When he finally did relent, he hoped the film version would retain the services of Anthony Quayle, who essayed the role of Wyke in London and on Broadway. Alan Bates was Shaffer's pick for the part of Milo Tindle. In the end, director Mankiewicz opted for Olivier and Caine, though the former had once denounced the play as a "piece of piss."[citations needed]
The film is noted for its prop-cluttered set (courtesy of production designer Ken Adam), quasi-baroque music score (from John Addison, whose Oscar nomination was announced after Nino Rota's score for The Godfather was ruled ineligible) and its Oscar-nominated performances from Olivier and Caine.[citations needed]
Olivier spoke highly of his co-star, noting "Michael Caine was an absolute delight in 'Sleuth' . . . The camera loves him just as much as we who work with him do. He has the true personality of a star, and in 'Sleuth'--in particular the scene on the stair case--he showed deep and difficult emotion."[citations needed]
In turn, Caine was reportedly somewhat awed to be working with Olivier, and was somewhat unsure as how to address him (as by that time Olivier had become a life peer). Caine finally approached Olivier regarding the issue. Olivier then replied: "Well, I am the Lord Olivier and you are Mr. Michael Caine. Of course, that's only for the first time you address me. After that, I am Larry and you are Mike."[citations needed]
The other actors listed in the cast are actually dummy names used to support some the film's illusions (the play's programs used the same artifice). Not surprisingly, the fabricated names are winking in-jokes: Eve Channing is a reference to Mankiewicz's All About Eve; the character played by "Alec Cawthorne" is actually played by Michael Caine.[citations needed]
A line from the film: "A jumped-up pantry boy who doesn't know his place" was used by Morrissey as a lyric in The Smiths' 1983 single, "This Charming Man."[citation needed]
The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier), Best Director and Best Music, Original Dramatic Score. It was one of the few films in which the entire cast was nominated for Oscars. Olivier won the New York Film Critics award for Best Actor.
On September 7, 2006, Kenneth Branagh announced at the Venice Film Festival that he would be directing a remake of the film, based a script written by Harold Pinter, and that it would again starring Michael Caine, but now in the role of the cuckolded husband, opposite Jude Law (who is also producing the film) as his rival. Production is scheduled to start in January 2007.[2]
[edit] Reception
Most critics praised the film. A critic in Variety writes: "'Sleuth' is terrific. Anthony Shaffer's top-notch screenplay of his legit hit provide Laurence Olivier and especially Michael Caine with their best roles in years. Hailed as a major suspenser by playgoers and legit critics, the story operates on many intellectual and physical levels to provide a broader mixture of terror, sophistication and sardonic humor."[citations needed]
Some were less impressed. David Thomson dismissed it as "trite" in his Biographical Dictionary of Film, condemning it as "a grotesque throwback to theatricality, indicative of Mankiewicz's readiness to be fooled by cleverness."[3]
Shaffer received Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America for both his play (in 1971) and screenplay (in 1973).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Cf. Plot summary at IMDb.com.
- ^ Dalya Alberge, "Branagh thrilled to be retelling Sleuth," The Times Online September 8, 2006, accessed October 13, 2006. Cf. Sleuth at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Thomson, David (2002). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Alfred A. Knopf, 558. ISBN 0375411283.
