What whodunits did you see/hear/read?

[kjrwe]

Tonight: the 1946 gothic noir-mystery-thriller-locked room mystery The Verdict.

It's really a pity that this movie isn't better known.

The film starts out with a hanging of a man who supposedly killed an elderly lady. Shortly after, it's revealed that the man was completely innocent of the crime. The cop responsible for the case is asked for his resignation and he is determined to see his successor fail at finding the real killer.

Before the case gets really underway, the lady's nephew is found murdered in his bed. He had been stabbed, but how was it done? All the windows and the door were locked. How did the killer get to him?

I've seen this film many times and the ending never ceases to amaze me. This is probably one of the most underrated Peter Lorre-Sydney Greenstreet collaborations, too. I'll take this movie over The Maltese Falcon any day.

[kjrwe]

Recently, I watched Green for Danger (probably my 30th or 40th viewing).

I love this film. Alastair Sim is so good as the detective here. It's a wartime mystery, set in a hospital during WWII.  A mail carrier is injured while delivering letters (a bomb nearly kills him) and he dies during the operation. Later, one of the nurses claims that he was murdered, and she is found murdered. It's up to the inspector (Sim) to figure out who is the culprit. Highly recommended whodunit-noir!

[kjrwe]

Geez, I've been neglecting my own thread, probably because it's hard to concentrate on mysteries these days, because of the annoying 17 hours of sunlight which we are getting each day these days. Hard to watch mysteries/whodunits when it's still not completely dark at 11 pm! 

Recently, I did manage to watch two Father Brown mysteries from the seventies (starring Kenneth More):

The Eye of Apollo

The Three Tools of Death

I like both stories, especially The Eye of Apollo, which is an absolutely brilliant short story (one of the best ever). Very extremely clever ending...even better than what Agatha Christie came up with for all of her short stories!

[cigar joe]

Geez, I've been neglecting my own thread, probably because it's hard to concentrate on mysteries these days, because of the annoying 17 hours of sunlight which we are getting each day these days. Hard to watch mysteries/whodunits when it's still not completely dark at 11 pm! 

What part of the Great White North are you in? I used to live at the Western Border of Montana & Idaho right at the time zone and it used to stay light out until 10:30 PM.

[kjrwe]

What part of the Great White North are you in? I used to live at the Western Border of Montana & Idaho right at the time zone and it used to stay light out until 10:30 PM.

I live in Edmonton. That's about an 8 hour drive from the northern edge of Montana. I think it's a dump of a city (except for the river valley), but at least it's close to the Canadian Rockies.

[cigar joe]

I live in Edmonton. That's about an 8 hour drive from the northern edge of Montana. I think it's a dump of a city (except for the river valley), but at least it's close to the Canadian Rockies.

Yea the further North and the closer to a time zone the longer your daylight. We used to go up to Fernie a lot is was roughly 90 miles from us.

[kjrwe]

Yea the further North and the closer to a time zone the longer your daylight. We used to go up to Fernie a lot is was roughly 90 miles from us.

I'm not close to any of the time zone borders. In fact, I'm probably about equidistant from the ones east and west of this city.

Still, I'm quite far north, hence the annoying 17 hours of sunlight these days. We have lost about 20 minutes of sunlight since June 21st, so that's a good thing.

Could be worse. In places like Alaska, they get round-the-clock sunlight these days. Ick! When the sun sets around 11 pm and rises at 1 am, there's no chance of it getting dark outside.

I just wish that it would cool off big-time. I'm tired of the heat and of the heat warnings which Environment Canada has issued most of the province. If it keeps up, we'll end up with major forest fires, kind of like the ones burning in the Province of British Columbia. They have declared a state of emergency because of all the wildfires. Very dangerous. And yet...not a single thing we can do about it! 

It will be so much nicer in the fall when the days are short and I can watch my beloved mysteries again! As the song goes..."Think I'll go out to Alberta. Weather's good there in the fall." Yup, that's the only time we get good weather IMHO. I used to love summers, back when I was a kid and we'd go on the waterslides. No more. *sigh*

[kjrwe]

I'm back to watching some of the David Suchet Poirot mysteries. I used to love them so much, but I gave them up for a few years. I'm happy to be back to those episodes now.

Tonight I watched Death on the Nile and Poirot's Christmas. Both are extremely well done, but I think that Death on the Nile was extremely rushed. They should probably have done that one in three 50 minute episodes instead of the usual 100 minutes. (For that series, they took 50 minutes to tell the short stories and 100 minutes for the novels.) At least with Death on the Nile, they were faithful to the novel, unlike the Ustinov version.

[kjrwe]

Lately I've been watching:

--- the David Suchet Poirot mysteries

--- the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes mysteries

and this week I'm going to get cracking on the wonderful Ellery Queen (1970s) episodes.  I haven't seen them in awhile. 

Next week, I hope to watch the 1930s Charlie Chan films, and next month - more 1930s whodunits.

There's something about those 1930s mysteries which even the most authentic retro-1930s episodes can't capture.

If only more Agatha Christie novels had been filmed in the 30s and 40s.....wishful thinking.

[kjrwe]

Okay, I admit that I have been watching the Poirot mysteries and the Ellery Queen episodes longer than expected, but now I'm more than ready for some Charlie Chan. There's something about those 1930s and early 1940s mysteries which the retro episodes just can't capture. Maybe that's why I like it when I find out that a classic mystery was filmed shortly after the story was written.

I won't review each film, but if I have any random comments to make about any of the movies, I'll be sure to say a few words here.

[XhcnoirX]

I'm more than ready for some Charlie Chan.

As with any popular character played by multiple actors, I usually find it interesting to know/see if their portrayals/movies are different... Do you have a preference for Warner Oland or Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan (or another actor), and do you find their portrayals or their respective CC movies different? Just curious & interested

[kjrwe]

As with any popular character played by multiple actors, I usually find it interesting to know/see if their portrayals/movies are different... Do you have a preference for Warner Oland or Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan (or another actor), and do you find their portrayals or their respective CC movies different? Just curious & interested

The only actors I've seen in this role are Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Peter Sellers (in Murder by Death, under a different character name). I think that all three were perfect in this role. I didn't see much of a difference between the Warner Oland CC films and the Sidney Toler CC films...except that, by the mid-forties, I think they were starting to run out of ideas. I love the films which were based on the books...namely The Black Camel and the Spanish language Eran Trece. Oh, so I should have also mentioned the Spanish language actor from Eran Trece. I liked him as Chan, too.

[kjrwe]

I'm watching some of the Warner Oland Charlie Chan films these days.

I really like:

The Black Camel

Eran Trece

Charlie Chan in London

Charlie Chan at the Opera

...and I wonder if I'll ever be able to finish Charlie Chan at the Circus? Honestly, that one's such a stinker.

[kjrwe]

I have two more faves now, two films which work well as both thrillers AND whodunits:

Charlie Chan in Paris

Charlie Chan in Shanghai

Any other fans of these two films?

[cigar joe]

I have two more faves now, two films which work well as both thrillers AND whodunits:

Charlie Chan in Paris

Charlie Chan in Shanghai

Any other fans of these two films?

I've seen a bunch of these years ago, but not many recently. I believe one or two were on TCM within the last year. I'm curious are they being cablecast or are they in a collection?