Joe Mankiewicz’s classic Olivier/Caine two-handed mystery thriller Sleuth will mark its 50th anniversary later this year, fortuitously in time for the release of Knives Out 2, which promises to be a similarly intriguing whodunnit – at least on the basis of 2019’s initial movie.
Based on Anthony Shaffer’s Tony award-winning play, Sleuth depicts a battle of wits between snobbish mystery writer Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) and hairdressing salon owner Milo Tindle/Tindolini (Michael Caine).
Despite Wyke’s self-description as an ‘Olympic sexual athlete,’ his wife Marguerite has left him for the younger charms of Tindle, dubbed variously as ‘a jumped-up pantry boy’ and a ‘snivelling, dago clown’ by the cuckolded author, who is keen to restore his wounded pride by humiliating the upstart coiffeur.
There is indeed a reckoning between the two, but will Wyke’s machinations bear fruit?
I envy those (few?) Spectator readers who have yet to see Sleuth, which is currently free to watch on YouTube.
Netflix will be releasing Knives Out 2 around the same time of Sleuth’s anniversary this December.
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