Sleuth, Laurence Olivier & Michael Caine Star
I first saw this 1972 film on television at some point during the second half of the 1980s. An acquaintance, who did some acting in local theater, had previously mentioned the stage play to me. The film stars Laurence Olivier as Andrew Wyke, an eccentric writer of crime mysteries and a lover of games, and Michael Caine as Milo Tindle, a half-Italian, half-English hairdresser, who is having an affair with Andrew's wife. Both stars were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1973, but lost to Marlon Brando for his role as "Vito Corleone" in "The Godfather." Joseph Mankiewicz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director that year for "Sleuth," losing out to the director of "Cabaret," Bob Fosse, and the Music score for "Sleuth" was also nominated for an Academy Award. If you've never seen this film before (or the stage play), you likely will need to see it more than once to really follow it, and to further appreciate the great performances of Olivier and Caine. Be aware, this article deals with the entire film and it's ending!
The film is a bit deep, symbolized by its opening scenes, as we see a lifelike painting of a mansion, which then changes to real life, and as the film progresses, you'll find that telling what is real can be difficult. Then in another symbol of what's to come, we see Milo's car pull up in front of the mansion, which we eventually learn belongs to Andrew. Milo then walks into a maze made of large hedges on the grounds of the mansion. He walks and walks, but cannot find his way through to the center, finally asking Andrew, who is in the center of the whole maze, for help. The two later go inside and we see a house filled with all sorts of games, toys and mechanical dolls. Andrew tells Milo that he knows Milo wants to marry his wife, Marguerite, and that he wants to be rid of her, but he's fearful that Milo doesn't have the financial means to keep her happy, and that she'll end up coming back to him. The film is much about class status, ego and revenge. As for status, when Milo says his father was an Italian immigrant to England, but he wanted himself and his family to "become English," this prompts Andrew to repeat the words as a question ("Become English?) and in a condescending way.
Andrew tells Milo that he has a large collection of very valuable jewels in a safe in the mansion, and that he wants Milo to steal the jewels, so he will have enough money to support Marguerite, thus making sure she will not return. Since the jewels are insured, Andrew says he won't lose anything, but, in order to convince the insurance company and the police that a robbery has occurred, he wants Milo to wear a disguise and actually break into the mansion through an upstairs window. Milo dresses as a clown with long floppy shoes, climbs up a ladder, cuts out a glass panel, reaches in and unlocks the window, then enters the house, although not before first falling down the ladder. The whole thing is hilarious. Throughout the whole "robbery," Andrew, the fiction writer of crime, is giving Milo instructions on what to do to make it all look completely real for when the investigators come later. Andrew rigs up a small explosive charge to the wall safe for Milo and the safe is blown open. Milo triumphantly gets the box of jewels. Andrew says the two need to scuffle and he gets a gun, because he wants the gun fired, so the police will think it went off during the scuffle. Things then turn very serious, when Andrew points the gun at Milo, and tells him, "I'ma gonna killa you," in a mocking Italian accent. He then proceeds to unleash anti-Italian and class bigotry abuse on Milo. Andrew tells the terrified Milo that he has the perfect set up, a man dressed in a clown suit, who has just robbed his house. The gun goes off and Milo, dressed in the clown outfit, tumbles down the staircase.
A couple of nights later, with Cole Porter songs playing on a phonograph, and as Andrew prepares to bite into some caviar on toast wedges, the bell rings and an overweight, balding man is at the door, who introduces himself as Inspector Doppler, from the local constabulary. He tells Andrew he is investigating the disappearance of Milo Tindle. Andrew plays down his knowledge of Milo, telling Doppler he hadn't seen Tindle for "some months." The inspector shows Andrew a note he found at Milo's house, which Andrew had sent to Milo, inviting him to his manor. Andrew admits Milo had been there. Doppler then says a passerby had heard shots fired the night Tindle had been there, but Andrew says the shots were all part of a game the two had been playing that night. Andrew finally tells the inspector what had really happened that evening, and that he had "shot" Tindle with a blank, which caused Milo to faint, but that a short time later, Tindle left. He tells the inspector he had done everything to humiliate Tindle, not to kill him. Doppler finds some dried and even damp blood on the staircase, which shakes Andrew, especially when the inspector follows that by telling Andrew he saw a mound of fresh dirt on the manor grounds. On the way back from the mound of dirt, we see Milo's car hidden in some hedges and vines, something not observed by the two men. Back inside the house, Doppler finds Tindle's clothing in a closet. When the inspector asks if Tindle had left Andrew's house while naked, Andrew tells him that Milo had changed back into his clothes, the very clothes found in the closet. When Doppler lays out the evidence he has and tells Andrew he must take him in to headquarters, Andrew runs off, only to be caught by the inspector, who then peels away his disguise to reveal that he is really Milo. As Milo cleans up, Andrew tells him he was only playing along with Milo's own game, and that he likes the Inspector Doppler character Milo has invented.
Andrew thinks the two are now even with one another, but Milo tells him that is not really the case, as he really thought he was witnessing his own last moments when Andrew pointed the gun at him and then pulled the trigger. He tells Andrew that he really killed Andrew's mistress, something Andrew does not believe, but when he calls her house, he's told that she has been murdered. Milo tells him that he has planted clues around the room, clues that point to Andrew as the killer of his own mistress. Further, he tells Andrew that he has already called the police, and that they are due there in a matter of a few minutes. Andrew scurries about the house, trying to find the four clues, at times seeming to be totally taken by the whole thing, game player and fiction writer though he is. Given hints as to the whereabouts of the clues by Milo's riddles, Andrew finds all the clues just after Tindle tells him the police are coming up the driveway. As Andrew struggles to make himself appear composed to meet the police, we find out there are no police, as this has just been another game by Milo, who has shown himself to be above Andrew at game playing, even though Andrew has considered himself to be the master of games. Milo turns the humiliation on Andrew, telling him that he really talked with Andrew's "supposed" mistress, who told him that Andrew is "pretty much impotent," and that she was more than happy to participate in the deception of Andrew about her "death." As Milo goes upstairs to get Marguerite's fur coat, Andrew loads a pistol, all the while speaking aloud of the plan he has to justify Milo's death, just as if he were writing one of his mysteries. When Milo comes downstairs, he is confronted by Andrew, who tells him he can't let him leave, now that he knows humiliating information about him, and that this time, the gun has real bullets. Milo explains that he really did talk to the police, and that they know of Andrew's games of humiliation and possible homicidal tendency. Milo walks toward the door and Andrew shoots him. Milo falls to the floor, but we hear the sound of a motor, the motor of an approaching vehicle. Andrew opens the door to see the police pulling in. He goes inside, locks the door and sees wounded Milo crawling along the floor. As the we see the flashing blue lights of the police car through the windows, Milo tells Andrew, "Be sure to tell them it was all just a bloody game." With the police pounding on the door, Milo grabs the switch to the mechanical dolls and toys and pushes it, making all of Andrew's collection laugh, spin, flash. Milo then dies. Which man is crazier?
Photo is of the Umbrella Entertainment 2015 DVD
WORD HISTORY:
Sleuth-The origins of this word are unknown, but English borrowed the word in the late 1100s from Old Norse^ "sloð" (ð=(e)th), which meant "track of a person or animal." Where Old Norse got the word is unknown. English applied the word to a bloodhound as, "sleuth-hound," obviously for a bloodhound's super sense of smell and it's ability to track something. By the 1800s (mid?), the hound part had largely been dropped, leaving "sleuth," and the meaning "investigator." The less used verb form developed from the noun and means, "to investigate, to act like a 'sleuth'."
^ Old Norse is from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, and it, or its most prominent descendants: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, influenced, and was/were influenced by, Low German, Frisian and English. Old Norse speakers, collectively called "Danes" by the English, landed and often settled in northern and parts of eastern England beginning in the 800s AD, eventually leading to a number of words being borrowed by English, which often already had similar, related words.
The film is a bit deep, symbolized by its opening scenes, as we see a lifelike painting of a mansion, which then changes to real life, and as the film progresses, you'll find that telling what is real can be difficult. Then in another symbol of what's to come, we see Milo's car pull up in front of the mansion, which we eventually learn belongs to Andrew. Milo then walks into a maze made of large hedges on the grounds of the mansion. He walks and walks, but cannot find his way through to the center, finally asking Andrew, who is in the center of the whole maze, for help. The two later go inside and we see a house filled with all sorts of games, toys and mechanical dolls. Andrew tells Milo that he knows Milo wants to marry his wife, Marguerite, and that he wants to be rid of her, but he's fearful that Milo doesn't have the financial means to keep her happy, and that she'll end up coming back to him. The film is much about class status, ego and revenge. As for status, when Milo says his father was an Italian immigrant to England, but he wanted himself and his family to "become English," this prompts Andrew to repeat the words as a question ("Become English?) and in a condescending way.
Andrew tells Milo that he has a large collection of very valuable jewels in a safe in the mansion, and that he wants Milo to steal the jewels, so he will have enough money to support Marguerite, thus making sure she will not return. Since the jewels are insured, Andrew says he won't lose anything, but, in order to convince the insurance company and the police that a robbery has occurred, he wants Milo to wear a disguise and actually break into the mansion through an upstairs window. Milo dresses as a clown with long floppy shoes, climbs up a ladder, cuts out a glass panel, reaches in and unlocks the window, then enters the house, although not before first falling down the ladder. The whole thing is hilarious. Throughout the whole "robbery," Andrew, the fiction writer of crime, is giving Milo instructions on what to do to make it all look completely real for when the investigators come later. Andrew rigs up a small explosive charge to the wall safe for Milo and the safe is blown open. Milo triumphantly gets the box of jewels. Andrew says the two need to scuffle and he gets a gun, because he wants the gun fired, so the police will think it went off during the scuffle. Things then turn very serious, when Andrew points the gun at Milo, and tells him, "I'ma gonna killa you," in a mocking Italian accent. He then proceeds to unleash anti-Italian and class bigotry abuse on Milo. Andrew tells the terrified Milo that he has the perfect set up, a man dressed in a clown suit, who has just robbed his house. The gun goes off and Milo, dressed in the clown outfit, tumbles down the staircase.
A couple of nights later, with Cole Porter songs playing on a phonograph, and as Andrew prepares to bite into some caviar on toast wedges, the bell rings and an overweight, balding man is at the door, who introduces himself as Inspector Doppler, from the local constabulary. He tells Andrew he is investigating the disappearance of Milo Tindle. Andrew plays down his knowledge of Milo, telling Doppler he hadn't seen Tindle for "some months." The inspector shows Andrew a note he found at Milo's house, which Andrew had sent to Milo, inviting him to his manor. Andrew admits Milo had been there. Doppler then says a passerby had heard shots fired the night Tindle had been there, but Andrew says the shots were all part of a game the two had been playing that night. Andrew finally tells the inspector what had really happened that evening, and that he had "shot" Tindle with a blank, which caused Milo to faint, but that a short time later, Tindle left. He tells the inspector he had done everything to humiliate Tindle, not to kill him. Doppler finds some dried and even damp blood on the staircase, which shakes Andrew, especially when the inspector follows that by telling Andrew he saw a mound of fresh dirt on the manor grounds. On the way back from the mound of dirt, we see Milo's car hidden in some hedges and vines, something not observed by the two men. Back inside the house, Doppler finds Tindle's clothing in a closet. When the inspector asks if Tindle had left Andrew's house while naked, Andrew tells him that Milo had changed back into his clothes, the very clothes found in the closet. When Doppler lays out the evidence he has and tells Andrew he must take him in to headquarters, Andrew runs off, only to be caught by the inspector, who then peels away his disguise to reveal that he is really Milo. As Milo cleans up, Andrew tells him he was only playing along with Milo's own game, and that he likes the Inspector Doppler character Milo has invented.
Andrew thinks the two are now even with one another, but Milo tells him that is not really the case, as he really thought he was witnessing his own last moments when Andrew pointed the gun at him and then pulled the trigger. He tells Andrew that he really killed Andrew's mistress, something Andrew does not believe, but when he calls her house, he's told that she has been murdered. Milo tells him that he has planted clues around the room, clues that point to Andrew as the killer of his own mistress. Further, he tells Andrew that he has already called the police, and that they are due there in a matter of a few minutes. Andrew scurries about the house, trying to find the four clues, at times seeming to be totally taken by the whole thing, game player and fiction writer though he is. Given hints as to the whereabouts of the clues by Milo's riddles, Andrew finds all the clues just after Tindle tells him the police are coming up the driveway. As Andrew struggles to make himself appear composed to meet the police, we find out there are no police, as this has just been another game by Milo, who has shown himself to be above Andrew at game playing, even though Andrew has considered himself to be the master of games. Milo turns the humiliation on Andrew, telling him that he really talked with Andrew's "supposed" mistress, who told him that Andrew is "pretty much impotent," and that she was more than happy to participate in the deception of Andrew about her "death." As Milo goes upstairs to get Marguerite's fur coat, Andrew loads a pistol, all the while speaking aloud of the plan he has to justify Milo's death, just as if he were writing one of his mysteries. When Milo comes downstairs, he is confronted by Andrew, who tells him he can't let him leave, now that he knows humiliating information about him, and that this time, the gun has real bullets. Milo explains that he really did talk to the police, and that they know of Andrew's games of humiliation and possible homicidal tendency. Milo walks toward the door and Andrew shoots him. Milo falls to the floor, but we hear the sound of a motor, the motor of an approaching vehicle. Andrew opens the door to see the police pulling in. He goes inside, locks the door and sees wounded Milo crawling along the floor. As the we see the flashing blue lights of the police car through the windows, Milo tells Andrew, "Be sure to tell them it was all just a bloody game." With the police pounding on the door, Milo grabs the switch to the mechanical dolls and toys and pushes it, making all of Andrew's collection laugh, spin, flash. Milo then dies. Which man is crazier?
Photo is of the Umbrella Entertainment 2015 DVD
Sleuth-The origins of this word are unknown, but English borrowed the word in the late 1100s from Old Norse^ "sloð" (ð=(e)th), which meant "track of a person or animal." Where Old Norse got the word is unknown. English applied the word to a bloodhound as, "sleuth-hound," obviously for a bloodhound's super sense of smell and it's ability to track something. By the 1800s (mid?), the hound part had largely been dropped, leaving "sleuth," and the meaning "investigator." The less used verb form developed from the noun and means, "to investigate, to act like a 'sleuth'."
^ Old Norse is from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, and it, or its most prominent descendants: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, influenced, and was/were influenced by, Low German, Frisian and English. Old Norse speakers, collectively called "Danes" by the English, landed and often settled in northern and parts of eastern England beginning in the 800s AD, eventually leading to a number of words being borrowed by English, which often already had similar, related words.
Labels: bigotry, class status, English, etymology, films, Joseph Mankiewicz, Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, movies, Old Norse, Sleuth
posted by Randy at 6:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home