Favorite Detective?

[Big Joe]

We are huge fans of Agatha Christie and her famous sleuth Hercule Poirot which begs the question, "who is your favorite detective"?

Poirot is also well dressed, don't you think?

Big Joe

 

[Burma Shave]

Easy...

...Sam Spade, hands down.

Been a fan since I saw The Maltese Falcon when I was 8 or so. When I was 10 I tried my (elementary) best to find a double breasted overcoat. My parents were a little worried.

 

[Nick Charles]

Tough

Nick Charles

Charlie Chan

Philo Vance

Philip Marlowe

Bulldob Drummond

 

[Feraud]

Dana Andrews in Laura
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe
Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes
Bogie as Sam Spade.

 

[MK]

.

Dick Powell as Marlowe.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Good topic!

Boy, it would be hard to tell. I read a lot of the modern women detectives, i.e., Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone, Nevada Barr's Anna Pidgeon, Saraha Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski, and Marcia Mullens Sharon McCone.

I favor V.I. most of the time as she is stylish, tough and cool, is witty and mouths off a lot, comes from working class roots, drives not cars, eats classy food, drinks Johnny Walker Black Label, and is not a good housekeeper. She solves corporate crimes, so I sometimes have to keep on my toes while reading.

Kinsey is also witty, but she keeps her thoughts to herself, drives a battered old VW, does not dress particulary well, eats McDonald's cheeseburgers, but she is neat and very organized. She is also rooted in the 80's so no cell phones or computers.

Anna Pidgeon is a forest ranger as is her creator, and will give you a wonderful tour of the National Parks, plus some of NP politics. She's been in lots of parks, always finding a murder to solve.

Sharon McCone, a ex-cop, works out of San Francisco, has found a Native American family member, and also seems to be organized and domestic.

They all get their murderers in the end.

They are all slim and attractive, a bit older and feeling it, and they all tend not to get enough sleep, eat poorly for days when they are on a case, choose boyfriends among cops, disdain guns and always seem to keep them locked in their safes or in their dash drawers at the worst possible moments. Me -- if I was a girl detective -- you wouldn't catch me without my gun -- I'd probably sleep with it. (Come to think of it, it's sheathed and by my beside).

None of them wear hats except for Anna.

karol

 

[Robert Conway]

Nick Charles

Bogart as Spade

Kriminalkomissar Lohmann/Commissioner Lohmann
The German inspector from the second "Dr. Mabuse" film (Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse). This character is also in "M".

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Here is the only film made of any of the modern women detectives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Turner

karol

 

[lenj]

Female detectives

K. D.
Did you ever catch the 1991 tv series Veronica Claire - very stylishly done with a kind of retro feel to it.

lenj

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Lenj --

No, I didn't. Is that out on DVD? I would enjoy seeing it.

karol

 

[maintcoder]

My choices as well...

Dana Andrews in Laura
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe
Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes
Bogie as Sam Spade.

with the addition of William Powell as Nick Charles and Lloyd Nolan as Michael Shayne. If you haven't had the good fortune to see Dressed to Kill, it is available on DVD and I highly recommend it. I only wish the other six Michael Shayne movies were available on DVD.

 

[Andykev]

Can I mention more, and pick 'em all?

Eddie Robinson has pulled off a few great detective/cop roles, ie Bullets or Ballots, The Clock(?) , with Orson Wells. Bogart is my favorite in the Maltese Falcon, and esp. in The Big Sleep. All time favorites.

Robert Mitchum is great in "The City" with Robert Ryan. Plays a tough Police Captain in a crooked precinct.

Jimmie Cagney, great in the "G-Man"...

Oh, and Regis Toomey...he's the cop in Maltese Falcon. Great supporting role.

God, there are so many, THIN MAN...Dick Powell....Wonderful.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Sherlock Holmes for sure, preferably with Basil Rathbone playing the part.

 

[lenj]

Veronica Claire

Hopefully one day they will be out on dvd.

lenj

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yeah,.......

Sherlock Holmes for sure, preferably with Basil Rathbone playing the part.

Basil Rathbone is Sherlock Holmes!

 

[MudInYerEye]

Richard Harris, undercover Pinkerton dick in THE MOLLY MAGUIRES. Gritty.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Police officers, not detectives, but I have enjoyed the Tony Hillerman series that portrays Captain Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee.

I like deliving into a Navajo perspective. Plus, I love the Southwest most of all and so am happy to read novels that take place in the four corners.

I recently read my first Sherlock Holmes novel ever, and enjoyed it. It was Hound of the Baskervilles, which I would like to see on film. Rathbone was a favorite actor of mine from the Golden Era and I would like to see him in what was probably his most famous role.

I saw a couple of the films in the Miss Marple series that starred Margaret Rutherford. She was certainly funny and interesting. Different than the Ms. Marple character on PBS.

karol

 

[Jack Scorpion]

1. Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity.

2. Nick Charles AND Nora Charles.

3. Dick Powell and Powers Boothe as Marlowe.

4. Inspector Gadget the cartoon.

5. Clint Eastwood variations.

 

[Captain Krunch]

The Hardy Boys were pretty cool....

 

[Doh!]

If TV counts, mine is Columbo (the '70s version, anyway; the newer movies are too silly).