Wit in the Face of Adversity

Sleuth is being remade! Joseph L. Mankiewicz's original 1972 film, with Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, is one of my all-time favourites. Their performances are great, in this cat-and-mouse thriller that exposes England's class wars, and the bullshit macho-matches that men play. The film was adapted by Anthony Shaffer from his own Tony Award winning, and sellout-smash play. It was also his first play, which makes its success that much more remarkable.

In his autobiography, So What Did You Expect? Shaffer describes Sleuth as the "main event" of his life and tells many funny stories relating to the play. My favourite is when Shaffer recalls the occasion, on the set of Sleuth, when an extremely-nervous and intimidated Michael Caine first met Laurence Olivier, who had recently become a life peer.

     "What do I call you?", asked Michael.
     "It's quite simple", said Larry, "by our names - you are Mr Caine, and I am the Lord Olivier!"
     Michael blanched. After a beat, Larry continued, "That's for the first time, after which, of course, it will be Mike and Larry!"

Shaffer went on to script Frenzy (1973) for Alfred Hitchcock, The Wicker Man (1973), and several Agatha Christie film adaptations starring Peter Ustinov. Later, he moved to Mossman in Queensland to live with the wonderful actress Diane Cilento, whom he met on the set of The Wicker Man. I remember the occasion when Paul and I visited Karnak Theatre a few years ago. I encountered Ms Cilento in the office, sitting in the corner holding court, and still looking radiantly beautfiul in her eighth decade.

Sadly, Anthony Shaffer passed away in 2001. I don't write fan letters, but I really admired Shaffer's work, and (as silly as it sounds) I actually regret never having written a letter to Shaffer. His work is fantastic. And so it saddens me that there will be no new work. However, from beyond the grave, he conjured one final dramatic turn, with the court battle over his will. The matter was taken all the way to the High Court, and the judgement is interesting, and worth a read. I especially like the quotation from one of Cilento's faxes, to Shaffer, where she writes, "I think you're all mad living in that terrorist trap of London … but that's your choice so you stick to it." Bless.

I'm looking forward to this new adaptation of Sleuth, and hope that Harold Pinter's new screenplay and Kenneth Branagh's direction gives the film a modern, fresh take, that honours the integrity of the original. They're certainly off to a good start with the novel casting: Jude Law takes Caine's role of Milo Tindle (which will be the second Caine role he's reprised, cf Alfie), and Michael Caine will play Andrew Wyke, which is the part played by Olivier in the original film.

Here is the trailer on YouTube:


Postscript: Sleuth is the second remake of an Anthony Shaffer story to be released to cinemas in the last eighteen months. I had never considered, until now, why these films were being remade, but it may have something to do with Shaffer's estate. After writing this post, I discovered a Sunday Times article, The curse of Amadeus, from May 2005, that alludes to more of the background battle over the will. It, too, is well worth the read.