Liked it
Best Mystery Sleuth Adaptations
Mystery fans love a good film adaptation – when it’s done right. With all the buzz surrounding the new Sherlock Holmes films in the works, below are a few supersleuths whose film or television adaptations made the grade with fans and film buffs alike.
As Sherlock Holmes prepares for his all-new film appearance (including a version starring Robert Downey Jr.), mystery fans can sink their teeth into some tried-and-true adaptations of a few other favorite sleuths.
Nero Wolfe
This A&E two-season series from the 2000s is still a popular dvd choice that satisfied even some of the pickiest Nero Wolfe fans. Timothy Hutton is clever and charming as Archie and Maury Chaykin shines as the blustery, indominitable Nero Wolfe. A smart, talented cast of regular players rounds out this impressive series, featuring fantastic music, sets, and plenty of murder.
Miss Marple
Masterpiece Mystery’s 2006 season featured Geraldine McEwan as a Miss Marple to die for (literally, if you’re part of the series). Angelic and little-old-ladyish right down to the knitting needles, the episodes were loosely adapted from Agatha Christie’s classics without damaging the integrity of the stories. “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” featured the additional bonus of Christie’s celebrated crimesolvers Tommy and Tuppence stepping in to assist Miss Marple.
The Ruby in the Smoke
Billie Piper’s plucky performance as Miss Sally Lockhart from the contemporary Victorian series drew cheers for its first installment. Intrigue, heroic resolve, and exotic mystery enveloped the heroine’s first case, with a stellar supporting cast (including Matt Smith, rumored to be the next Doctor Who).
Ellery Queen
The classic television series starring Jim Hutton filmed only a handful of episodes, comparatively speaking, but remains a cult favorite to this day. Whodunits fly as thick and fast as Columbo’s theories for mystery lovers who covet the episodes boxed set based on the classic Ellery Queen novels.
The Thin Man
A throwback to Hollywood’s classic era, William Powell brings charming sleuth Nick Charles to life in a manner which does Hammet’s novel proud. The “Thin Man” film series features Myrna Loy as wealthy and witty Nora Charles assisting her husband in his sleuthing work.
With a host of detectives and sleuths in film and television adaptation, fans will have plenty to choose from — even the toughest critics of onscreen sleuths.
