Best of the "Whodunnit?" Genre (Part Two)
Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 1:00PM by Eurocheese
If you missed part one, we're celebreating the whodunnit subgenre since Knives Out is out soon. Last time we listed rules of the genre (not all mystery and investigation films are whodunnits) and sang the praises of Gosford Park and The Thin Man. Now let's continue the list,
6. The Big Sleep
Bogie was bound to show up on this list (spoiler: he will again), and what better way to do it than next to his leading lady Lauren Bacall in her (arguable) career-best role...
A seemingly straightforward case becomes complicated when bodies start showing up. As famous detective Phillip Harlowe, Bogart uses his swagger to turn this noir into a fun ride through a sea of shady characters. Director Howard Hawks managed to create classics in several genres (Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, Red River), and this whodunnit is among his best.
5. Charade
This colorful 1963 classic balances comedy, menace and a climactic conclusion, with director Stanley Donen gleefully bouncing between tones throughout the film. Despite the 25 year age gap between Audrey Hepburn and an aging Cary Grant, their back and forth chemistry is perfect. Is he there to protect her from the three men that are demanding her late husband’s fortune? Is he out for the money himself? The candy colored background, witty one liners and host of bad characters make this a terrific tale that keeps the audience guessing.
4. The Maltese Falcon
This 1941 noir classic has been copied so many times that Knives Out's Rian Johnson even paid homage to it in his debut feature film, Brick. (That one is fun to check out too, mystery fans.) Hardboiled ace Sam Spade brings us Humphrey Bogart in self-preservation mode, investigating the death of his detective partner more out of a vague sense of loyalty than anything else. Noir archetypes like the femme fatale, the gangster mob boss, the crony hitman – they’re all here, all the characters ready to turn on each other on a dime. That they’re pursuing the ultimate dream – “the stuff that dreams are made of” – makes their desperation all the more palpable. The Maltese Falcon arguably defined the whole genre.
3. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Listen, what fun would the list be if it was only old school classics? This smart mouthed 2005 comedy features Robert Downey, Jr. as a confused criminal who stumbles into a murder plot. With the help of an old high school flame and a condescending detective named “Gay Perry” (Val Kilmer), he manages to string the clues together. Shane Black’s script is full of winks to the camera as it pokes fun at the genre, at modern Los Angeles, and even at the viewer’s expectations. Some may find this a little too quippy for its own good, but if you're the right audience for it the dialogue will consistently crack you up. Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan make for terrific side kicks and every twist falls into place perfectly. (If you enjoy this one, you probably will also want to check out Shane Black’s other buddy-detective comedy, The Nice Guys.)
CONTINUE TO THE FINALE with two absolute favourites (and some runners up). Are you fans of Bogie mysteries? Do you think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is hopelessly underseen?
Reader Comments (19)
Do you even know what a whodunnit is,cos none of these are it and I thought this looked a fun read.
No Agatha Chrisite adaptations yet,not just the few 70's/80's famous ones but there are several others of hers especially Witness for the Prosecution,hope to see it in the Top 2
I liked KISS KISS BANG BANG at the time but have wondered how it's winky tone ages? I *really* didn't get THE MALTESE FALCON when I saw it but I think i saw it way too young. Should probably try again.
markgordonuk: Eurocheese already announced (in the Gosford Park write-up) that no Agatha Christie adaptation makes the list. Which - and I really don't want to be negative, as I'm not like that online - but not including Agatha Christie in a list of the best whodunnits seems a bit perverse! (especially given the questionable credentials of some of the films that have made the list).
Even so, it's a nice reminder of some films I want to see or want to see again.
And to answer the question: Bogie is definitely a fave - and an actor who really came into his own.
I apologize for being so rude in my earlier comment. I further apologize for my poor command of punctuation. I commit to ending questions with question marks and to putting a space after commas from now on.
Nice calls, even if I’ve never especially warmed to Charade (love its stars, though) and actually prefer The Cheap Detective to The Maltese Falcon (but how could I not? Marsha Mason, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Louise Fletcher, Ann-Margaret, and Stockard Channing!). The Big Sleep is great, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, well honestly I don’t like it like I did when I first saw it, but it’s still fun.
The Big Sleep is a crackerjack movie, but it's not even close to Lauren Bacall's best performance. Off the top of my head, I can positively say that she's better in To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage, and How to Marry a Millionaire. In fact, the actress who plays Bacall's little sister in The Big Sleep steals every scene she's in, making Bacall seem almost pedestrian in contrast.
Love Charade. Love it.
I’m really looking forward to “Knives Out”. Like Jamie Lee Curtis (who plays patriarch Christopher Plummer’s daughter) says, give yourself a break from your dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving, and come see our fictional dysfunctional family instead.
I love Humphrey Bogart. He’s such a distinct personality. There’s no one like him. I love his world weariness, I love it when he laughs, I love it when he tells us what’s what.
“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” I’ve tried to watch a couple of times, because I really like Michelle Monaghan. But I know I’m in that tiny group that finds Robert Downey Jr an obnoxious little twerp.
But “The Nice Guys” never fails to amuse me, and I’ve seen it 4 or 5 times. I find the central trio (Crowe, Gosling, Rice) very appealing.
Edward L, I adore Christie but thought it might be fun to branch out a bit for this series. Plus, if I'm being honest, most of the movie adaptations weren't as much fun to me as the books. I actually prefer the TV series for Poirot/Marple adaptations, with an exception that we may see in my runners up.
My all time favorite book is And Then There Were None, but I despise the changes made for the screen. The 2015 TV series is much more faithful to the book and is leagues better, in my opinion. The entire tone is different.
Maybe the Christie films are at a disadvantage with me because so many of her endings are truly brilliant, and if the movie doesn't nail them just right, I walk away disappointed. I'd love to see some truly artistic visions of her work from directors that find ways to translate the tone of the books. With some of her greatest works, it would be an extremely difficult task.
The above apology is not from myself,sorry if I was harsh and to the imposter hi there.
I never really liked "The Big Sleep" even though I''m a big fan of the cast and director. It was just too convoluted, stylish but not really logical.
Eurocheese, which actress as Miss Marple do you prefer? (Joan Hickson is my favourite)
The new adaptations being done by the BBC are excellent, particularly "And Then There Were None". Another coming soon at Xmas.
OK while some of these are good movies they are whodunnits- "Charade" is Stanley Donen's light Hitchcock suspense thriller
Markgordonuk has a valid point, probably only stated harshly because you set the criteria only to disregard it often throughout the list. It only rankles because you literally could have changed the criteria if you couldn’t fill a list, or make it a list of five that fit. Despite saying that, it is a really good read otherwise. :)
Eurocheese: Thanks for your gracious reply - and I agree with you re: Christie adaptations. TV does often do them better. I too thought the 2015 version of And Then There Were None was very impressive. I appreciate the branching out. I guess if you had included Christie the top ten might have been all Christie, which would have denied us this fascinating look at some other classic films.
I remember liking Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but don't remember the plot at all. I thought it was a noir-send up, which is not quite the same as a whodunit (send up). But maybe I should see it again.
Is To Catch A Thief a whodunnit? There's a mystery to be solved: who is the Cat? - and anyone can be, even Grace Kelly's character, Frances, and when will he strike again? I always associate To Catch A Thief (Cary Grant and Grace Kelly) with Charade (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn), Gambit (Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine) and Arabesque (Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren). Same idea with some changes and the same ambiguous touch.
"And Then There Were None" deserves an adaptation that will be faithful to the novel. It was filmed many times but usually not that well. 1945 version ends on a cheerful note which was perhaps effect of the times - happy ending and closure was needed in the war times, not so much right now.
2015 TV version is very fine, although I'm not a fan of (spoilers):
- lesbian undertones with Emily Brent - what a way to impose current narrative where it doesn't fit,
- Philip resolving the case before dying,
- most of all - people on the island being an ACTUAL MURDERERS, for example Sam Neill's General McArthur is seen choking his rival and not sending him to the death in white gloves, it changes the entire perspective of the story in a bad way.
1987 Soviet version is actually the closest to the book and thus the best adaptation of "And There Were None" so far. Highly recommended! :)
Black Widow (1954), Witness For the Prosecution (1957), Still of the Night (1982).
Does Clue count as a whodunit?
LadyEdith - My favorite is actually McEwan, partially because she adds a bite to the character that I prefer. Poirot was always condescending and Christie kind of hated him over time, but that was part of what I liked about the character - sharp edges. I also liked that he used people underestimating "foreigners" against them. Marple was too sweet for me for a long time, so I like when they give her a bit of an acidic tone.
I think most people who don't read Christie assume her books are about a prim and proper murder, but her books focus much more on the disturbed psychology of someone taking others' lives and excusing their own behavior. It's one of the reasons I think Curtain could make for a fascinating remake if a great director could manage to pull off the tone, or an updated version of Endless Night. The problem is I think people would go in expecting a light mystery and leave feeling a little sickened, if they were done right. She loved landing her endings with a gut punch (and she basically invented a version of every twist mystery ending that exists).