Favorite fictional early (before 1930) detective poll besides Sherlock Holmes

[sdreid]

Val Kilmer passed up additional Batman movies to make a Saint film in 1997. He apparently thought Templer was going to be a big box office draw.

[GUT]

Hi GUT - it was actually Albert Finney who played Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. Ustinov did also play the role and well several times, noticeably in Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun.

Agree with you about Suchet's tv performances - a very high bar indeed. Unlike the performances for Christie's other major creation, Miss Marple. Since the excellent portrayal by Joan Hickson in the '80s, subsequent ones have gone steadily downhill. Not helped of course by some shoddy adaptations of the works for tv.

Best regards,

OneRound

Of Course it was Finney I was thinking of, the Little Grey Cells, they fail me.

[OneRound]

I liked those I thought Lord Edgeware was very good but haven't watched t in a long time so maybe I remember it better than it was, I also liked Ustinov in Orient Express.

Of course I think Suchet in making the entire anthology for TV has set a very high bar if anyone tries to make anymore movies.

Hi GUT - it was actually Albert Finney who played Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. Ustinov did also play the role and well several times, noticeably in Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun.

Agree with you about Suchet's tv performances - a very high bar indeed. Unlike the performances for Christie's other major creation, Miss Marple. Since the excellent portrayal by Joan Hickson in the '80s, subsequent ones have gone steadily downhill. Not helped of course by some shoddy adaptations of the works for tv.

Best regards,

OneRound

[GUT]

Do you mean the Poirots of the early 1930's; Alibi, Black Coffee and Lord Edgeware dies, with Austin Trevor as Poirot, Gut?

I never minded the 1940's Falcon films with George Sanders as the lead, although they were seriously D-grade, and Leslie Charteris sued RKO for ripping off his Saint character.

I liked those I thought Lord Edgeware was very good but haven't watched t in a long time so maybe I remember it better than it was, I also liked Ustinov in Orient Express.

Of course I think Suchet in making the entire anthology for TV has set a very high bar if anyone tries to make anymore movies.

[Rosella]

Do you mean the Poirots of the early 1930's; Alibi, Black Coffee and Lord Edgeware dies, with Austin Trevor as Poirot, Gut?

I never minded the 1940's Falcon films with George Sanders as the lead, although they were seriously D-grade, and Leslie Charteris sued RKO for ripping off his Saint character.

[GUT]

I was wondering, based just on the films of these characters which are your favorite.... The Bulldog Drummond films of the 30's-50's (I have to admit, I never saw the silent films.. even though I am a huge silent film fan, and the two 60's films I didn't care for), The Boston Blackie films of the 40's, or the Charlie Chan films of the 30's and 40's, I picked those 3 as they are the ones with the most films ( I believe) outside of Holmes....all are dated but fun, I am a fan of all 3, but curious to see what others think.....I know many people HATE the films.. but I take them for what they are.. low budget Hollywood B- films... which often are the most remembered films of the era, and the most creative ( as being a B Picture the studios were not breathing down the necks of the directors so they tended to have more freedom...nothing kills creativity more than money men who think they know better than anyone else)

Steadmund Brand

What about the Poirot's

[Steadmund Brand]

I was wondering, based just on the films of these characters which are your favorite.... The Bulldog Drummond films of the 30's-50's (I have to admit, I never saw the silent films.. even though I am a huge silent film fan, and the two 60's films I didn't care for), The Boston Blackie films of the 40's, or the Charlie Chan films of the 30's and 40's, I picked those 3 as they are the ones with the most films ( I believe) outside of Holmes....all are dated but fun, I am a fan of all 3, but curious to see what others think.....I know many people HATE the films.. but I take them for what they are.. low budget Hollywood B- films... which often are the most remembered films of the era, and the most creative ( as being a B Picture the studios were not breathing down the necks of the directors so they tended to have more freedom...nothing kills creativity more than money men who think they know better than anyone else)

Steadmund Brand

[sdreid]

Reportedly, Val Kilmer passed up a second Batman movie to play The Saint in 1997. I wonder if he regrets that.

[sdreid]

I wonder if we'll live to see another Charlie Chan movie.

[Rosella]

The Bulldog Drummond stories, though enjoyable, are a bit gung-ho and politically incorrect today. I always adored Dorothy L Sayers as a writer, but to my dismay I re-read a couple of the Wimsey novels recently and found that I now can't stand Lord Peter!
So I voted for Poirot as I like the books and the TV series. I collect interwar British detective novels as a hobby and it truly was the Golden Age of detective novel writing.

[GUT]

Hopefully he will do more than copy Suchet.

I suspect that now Suchet has made them all, it may be a while before anyone else tackles them. I do agree it is hard to see anyone else in the role, he more or less made it his.

Even harder is Watching David in anything else, recently saw him on stage, he had no accent

[Pcdunn]

Does anyone now if those earliest Boston Blackie stories are available online anywhere?

Possibly at Project Gutenberg, if the stories are now in common domain.

[Pcdunn]

I Wimsey

I love Edward Petherbridges portrayal of him

I agree with all of the above!

Dorothy Sayers rocks as far as mysteries go!

I also enjoy Ellery Queen and Nero Wolfe mysteries, plus who could forget Perry Mason?

[sdreid]

If the 30s were the golden age then the 20s must have been the platinum age.

[sdreid]

for me, it's Juve. The obsessed detective looking for Fantômas, the very first super villain.

Yes, that one goes back to before WWI.