10 English detective stories with a twisted plot

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Screen versions of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, mysterious disappearances and other tangled stories from the UK.

Serials

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

• Great Britain, 1984-1994.
• Detective.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

Now everyone knows Sherlock Holmes from Arthur Conan Doyle's novels based on screen adaptations with Benedict Cumberbatch or Robert Downey Jr. And the Russian audience adores Vasily Livanov. But in the eighties and nineties, the most iconic series about the adventures of the great detective came out on the television screens of Great Britain. It is he who is most loved in the homeland of the author himself, and Jeremy Brett is considered the most real Sherlock.

Each episode of this series is based on one of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. Over the years, the authors have managed to transfer more than 40 stories to screens.

2. Poirot Agatha Christie

• Great Britain, 1989-2013.
• Detective.
• Duration: 13 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

A reference film adaptation of the classic works of Agatha Christie about the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is able to unravel even the most difficult case.

Producer Brian Eastman had no doubts about the choice of the lead actor. And David Suchet really looks as similar as possible to the book Poirot and even depicts his Belgian accent.

3. Young Morse

• UK 2012 - present.
• Detective.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

Since the late 1980s, the television series Inspector Morse, based on the books of Colin Dexter, has been on the British screens. And in 2012, he launched his prequel about the young years of the protagonist. And many considered the new project even more interesting than the classics.

In the center of the plot is Constable Endeavor Morse: he has difficulty communicating with colleagues, but his immediate superior immediately notices the newcomer's talent and allows him to deal with the most complex crimes.

4. Murder on the beach

• UK, 2013-2017.
• Detective.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

In the small town of Broadchurch, the body of an 11-year-old boy is found. It seems that he fell off a cliff. But it soon becomes clear that this is a murder. Ellie Miller, just out of vacation, is taking over the investigation. And as a partner, they give her the gloomy and unsociable Alec Hardy. The problem is that it was he who took the place that Miller hoped for.

The project is based primarily on excellent actors. If up to this point, many perceived David Tennant exclusively as a funny and positive hero from the TV series "Doctor Who", then here he presented a completely opposite image. Alec Hardy looks like a disillusioned cynic. And Ellie Miller, played by Olivia Coleman, creates the feeling of a typical police representative from a quiet town: she does not know at all how to behave with suspects, that is, people with whom she has known for many years.

5. Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

• UK, 2004-2013.
• Detective.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

And one more multi-part film adaptation of the works of Agatha Christie. This time about the elderly lady Jane Marple, who does not at all look like a detective, but understands riddles much better than the police.

Unfortunately, after the third season, the lead actress has changed in the series. Actress Geraldine McEwan had already turned 77 years old by that time, and she decided to retire. In the remaining episodes, Miss Marple was played by Julia Mackenzie.

6. Father Brown

• UK, 2013 - present.
• Detective.
• Duration: 7 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The plot tells the story of Father Brown - a priest of the Catholic Church in the small village of the Cotswolds in the early 50s. He is fond of solving crimes, and he tries to be guided not only by logic, but also to understand the very way of thinking of the criminal and let him repent.

The series is based on the books of Gilbert Chesterton, but the authors do not always follow the original exactly, allowing the on-screen characters to develop a little differently.

Films

1. Play right through

• Great Britain, 1972.
• Detective, thriller.
• Duration: 138 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Popular detective writer Andrew Wyck invites his wife's young lover Milo Tyndle to visit him. He makes an unexpected offer to the guest. Andrew is ready to let his wife go and even give Milo part of the fortune. And he has to stage a robbery at home.

In this film, only two actors starred: the role of Andrew went to Laurence Olivier, and the young Milo was played by Michael Kane. It is interesting that many years later, the same Kane played again in the remake of the same name. Only this time he appeared in the form of Andrew.

2. Lady disappears

• Great Britain, 1938.
• Detective, thriller.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

While boarding the train, a flower pot falls on Iris. An elderly fellow traveler Miss Froy helps the girl to get on the car and treats her to tea. However, the next morning Miss Froy disappears, everyone around claims that she never was, and false memories are just a consequence of a blow to the head.

This film was shot by the famous master of suspense and thrillers Alfred Hitchcock. That is why here a considerable emphasis is placed on the atmosphere of mystery. But in general, this is a real introverted detective, the action of which takes place on the train.

3. Death on the Nile

• Great Britain, 1978.
• Detective.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The heiress to a huge fortune, Linnet, stole the groom from her friend. And she decided to take revenge on her by going on a cruise on a motor ship with the newlyweds. But soon Linnet is killed. And then the great detective Hercule Poirot takes on the investigation.

In this film, the role of a Belgian detective was first played by a British actor with Russian roots, Peter Ustinov. Subsequently, he returned to this image five more times.

4. The disappeared Bunny Lake

• Great Britain, 1965.
• Detective.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Anne Lake moved to London with her daughter Bunny and lives in the same apartment with her brother Stephen. One day, the heroine takes the girl to kindergarten, and after returning for her, she discovers that Bunny is missing. Moreover, no one remembers that she even existed. And even a detective begins to doubt the reality of the abduction.

This picture was often compared to the work of Hitchcock, and during the life of director Otto Preminger, it was not very popular. But over time, the intense detective thriller became a truly cult classic.