Favorite Detective?

[Benny Holiday]

Robert Mitchum in "Farewell My Lovely". Philip Marlowe.

Mitchum catches PERFECTLY every little nuance you can think of ,of how to portray the world weary ,seen it all,been there done that, film noir detective.
Completely spent. Could'nt faze him if you tried.

I watched it for the tenth time only last week. The way Mitchum delivers Marlowe's jaded brand of saracsm is nothing short of brilliant. He's my favourite hands-down.

 

[LolitaHaze]

ArtDecoDame... Thank you for those links. I have never heard of Judy Bolton or Cherry Ames. I love mysteries (anything Clue is fabulous to me) so these will be a nice read. I am a horribly slow reader so seeing that these other series are only 20 - 30 something each is a pleasant thought to me. I am only on book 27 of the Nancy Drew series... and they have 100 something in that continuous series! I think I will keep an eye out for those! Thanks again.

K.D. Lightener... Thank you for the heads up on Trixie as well.

 

[artdecodame]

Oh, you're very welcome!!
Also, it's very cute they have Nancy Drew themed stationery and address books; I added them to my wishlist, of course!

 

[LolitaHaze]

Goodness I haven't seen the stationary! I would love to have that! Off to search (ba dum dum) for it!

 

[Dixon's Dame]

Dana Andrews as Mark Dixon in "Where the Sidewalk Ends"
Dick Powell as Marlowe in "Murder, My Sweet"

And I'm with the Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes group. He's awesome! (though I also liked Nicol Williamson as Sherlock Holmes in "The Seven Percent Solution" -- thought he pulled off that incarnation quite nicely, and I'm a sucker for the train chase duel at the end)

And for modern detectives, I rather dig Ken Brannagh as Mike Church in "Dead Again."

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Classic - I'd go with Powell & Loy as Nick & Nora for tongue-in-cheek fun and witty repartee, and Bogie as Spade or Marlowe for grittier, film noir hardboiled detective.

More modern - M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin. She's a retired advertising executive in her 50's from London who retires to the English countryside. So it's something of a fish-out-of-water story. What makes it fun is she's somewhat inept, something of a younger Miss Marple with an acidic-attitude. She's always trying to snag a husband. But the murders and/or how the victims are found are funny. A combination of being somewhat horrified but unable to not laugh. The local super gardener she's in competition with for both best gardener and snagging neighbor James still makes me chuckle. Wonderful reads!

 

[artdecodame]

Goodness I haven't seen the stationary! I would love to have that! Off to search (ba dum dum) for it!

Heehee, I found them here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08...102-8676796-0263330?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08...102-8676796-0263330?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I think there should also be versions with the original artwork, not just the 50's & 60's types. Of course they are all great, but...yes.

 

[Nathan Dodge]

Philip Marlowe- Never truly captured on film, though I enjoy Mitchum's take on him. I agree with Eddie Muller's belief that William Holden would have made a great Philip Marlowe.
Nick Charles
Jeff Bailey/Markham (Mitchum in Out of the Past)

and while not in our preferred time frame...Jim Rockford...

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Marlowe

Yes, Mitchum is more like I imagine him from the stories than Bogart. Not that he was bad, just different.

 

[LadyStardust]

Though I dearly love Mitchum as Marlowe, I have to adhere to the absolutely phenomenal portrayal of Sherlock Holmes by Jeremy Brett. Close on his heels though, I would put Vasily Livanov, who pulled off the Russian adaptation of Holmes near flawlessly.

:eusa_clap

 

[Story]

Robert B. Parker's Spenser

As originally written, a Korean War vet who could cook and had a sense of humor.
For general edification -
http://bullets-and-beer.com/

 

[Parallel Guy]

Definately, Spencer. Robert B. Parker is a Chandler/Hammett scholar and it shows.

How about Max Allan Collins' Heller series? Also, some of his early novels about 1930-1940 true crimes are highly entertaining.

While I have read and enjoyed some of the orignial 30s and 40s writers, I prefer the pacing and styling of modern mysteries.

 

[jamespowers]

How about old Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn? Anyone know who this is?

Regards,

J

 

[Fatdutchman]

Am I the only Jack Webb fan here? Nobody can deliver those cool deadpan staccato lines like Joe Friday!

And, as a child of the '70's and '80's, my favorite show was Simon and Simon.

 

[TailendCharlie]

Elementary Vladimir!

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

Ditto Kamerad!:eusa_clap

 

[Lady Day]

None other than...

LD

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Philip Marlowe- Never truly captured on film, though I enjoy Mitchum's take on him. I agree with Eddie Muller's belief that William Holden would have made a great Philip Marlowe.
Nick Charles
Jeff Bailey/Markham (Mitchum in Out of the Past)

and while not in our preferred time frame...Jim Rockford...

I never heard that -- but William Holden really would have. Now you got me really thinking about that.

 

[Mr. Pinstripe Suit]

It's a Toss-Up!

.
-Bogey as Spade: a tough, honest everyman...essentially
-Nero Wolfe: and Archie!
-Hercule Poirot: even though a little annoying sometimes

However, since I can only get a little of each of the above, I've also become a serious fan of Harry Nile. Many/most of you may not know of him unless you listen to Jim French Productions' OTR-like creations of this likeable, down-on-his-luck LA/Seattle detective. You can listen to him at the link below or email me and I'll hook you up with a full sample episode from the series. (to which I have NO connection)

http://jimfrenchproductions.com/media/nile_1short.m3u
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