Sleuth (1972 film)

Sleuth is a 1972 mystery thriller film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay by British playwright Anthony Shaffer was based on his 1970 Tony Awardwinning play Sleuth. The film stars Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, both of whom were nominated for an Academy Award for their performance. This was Mankiewiczs final film. Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews, and would later note similarities between it and Caines 1982 film Deathtrap.

A few days later, a policeman, Inspector Doppler, arrives at the manor house to investigate Milos disappearance. Andrew at first purports to know nothing, but his guilt becomes evident as the inspector collates clues. Frightened, Andrew breaks down and explains the burglary ruse but insists that he only pretended to shoot Milo using a blank cartridge and that his rival left the house humiliated, but alive. Andrew insists that he has no knowledge of what happened to Milo after he left the house. After finding more seemingly unmistakable evidence that a murder had taken place recently in the house, Doppler arrests Andrew for murder. As Andrew is about to be taken to the station, Doppler reveals himself to actually be Milo, in disguise, having engaged in the deception to get revenge on Andrew.Just as the score seems to be even between the two, Milo explains that theyll now play another game, this time involving a real murder. Milo describes how he visited Andrews mistress, Tea, that afternoon, and strangled her. The police will soon be arriving and that he has planted evidence throughout the house that could well incriminate Andrew in Teas murder. Andrew dismisses this but rings Tea anyway, to be told by Teas tearful flatmate, Joyce, that Tea has been strangled and her body found. Andrew now hunts through the house in an increasing fervour, searching for each piece of evidence on Milos cryptic clues who is revelling in Andrews predicament. Andrew finds the last item just as Milo sees the police arriving outside the house. Milo answers the door to the police while a dishevelled and picked Andrew straightens himself up. In the background we hear Milo talking to the police officers in an attempt to stall their entry into the house, which Andrew pleaded with him to do. Milo then invites the officers in. However, there are no policemen and Milo reveals that he had faked Teas death with Joyce and Teas willing help, thus fooling Andrew a second time. ........

Source: Wikipedia