Amateur Sleuths on TV and in the Movies
Agatha Christie’s Marple
Miss Marple is one of the most beloved (and imitated) amateur sleuths in literary history.
An aging spinster, Miss Marple solves difficult mysteries in and about her village of Saint Mary’s Mead.
This award winning series is a perennial fan favorite that will satisy your craving for cozy English mysteries.
Cadfael
This detective series is set in the 12th century in England, mainly at the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury where Brother Cadfael lives.
The titles are from books by Ellis Peters, who wrote The Cadfael Chronicles.
The television programmes were filmed in Hungary, as the original abbey in Shrewsbury no longer stands, just the church.
Poker Face
Created by Knives Out mastermind Rian Johnson, Poker Face follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), a casino worker with an uncanny gift: she can always tell when someone is lying.
After going on the run, she finds herself solving murders in a different town each week. With a throwback Columbo-style format, clever writing, and Lyonne’s brilliantly offbeat performance, Poker Face is a fresh, funny, and stylish love letter to classic mystery TV.
The Third Man
An out-of-work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post-war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, where a shortage of supplies has led to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident.
From talking to Lime's friends and associates, Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher's stylish 2011 remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" stars Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.
Based on the mega-bestselling mysteries by Swedish journalist-turned-novelist Stieg Larsson, the movie follows the travails of orphaned hacker Lisbeth Salander who teams up with a disgraced reporter. This odd couple finds redemption as they investigate the cold case disappearance of an heiress with dark secrets.
The Big Lebowski
“The Big Lebowski” is a 1998 crime-comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Julianne Moore. The film follows a laid-back, slacker character called “The Dude” as he gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity, leading to a series of bizarre and hilarious misadventures.
One of the key characteristics of “The Big Lebowski” is its unconventional storytelling structure, which jumps between various subplots and non-linear timelines. The film also features a unique and memorable cast of characters, each with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies.