COMING UP! The Greatest Screen Sleuths Draft

“*The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time*.”

I love my buddies Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo. We are three lifelong mystery fans who are joined at the hip. At the same time, we all have different tastes, different preferences – which makes the times we get together to talk about our favorite genre so very stimulating. This spring, we gathered for a solid four-hour drafting session in order to put together our list of the Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time. I promised you then that this was only the beginning – our big summer draft is just around the corner, and as before, we going to let YOU, my dear readers, have a say in who will make the list.

What list is that going to be, you ask. Well, draw up a seat and let me tell you . . .

“*We didn’t exactly believe your story, Miss Wonderly. We believed your two hundred dollars. I mean, you paid us more than if you had been telling us the truth, and enough more to make it all right.*

Mysteries have been a popular film entertainment since the cinema was in its infancy. Back in 1900, a thirty-second long strip of celluloid called Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900) became the first detective story ever put on film. It should come as no surprise that Holmes – who made the top of our list of the Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives last March – is not only the most frequently portrayed sleuth of all time, he may be the most prolific character to appear onscreen. He inspired many early films, such as Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in 1905, Arsene Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes in 1910, and A Study in Scarlet in 1916. A whole slew of fine actors have portrayed the Greatest Detective of Them All, including John Barrymore, Raymond Massey, Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Nicol Williamson, Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Ian McKellen, and many, many more.

“*Murder is an insidious thing, Watson. Once a man has dipped his fingers in blood, sooner or later he’ll feel the urge to kill again*.”

And Holmes is just the beginning! Dozens of literary detectives have been portrayed on film. Eighteen of the twenty detectives that made our spring list have appeared on the big and/or small screen. The only two sadly missing are the two sleuths created by John Dickson Carr – a serious lapse of judgment on Hollywood’s part, if you ask me. And our list only scratches the surface! Plus, there are dozens more who were created strictly for the movies!

Which of them were the best?

“*Theory like mist on eyeglasses – obscures facts.*”

I can’t promise you that the Three Amigos can answer that question to anyone’s satisfaction (although I personally know the correct answer!), but it will be foremost in our minds when we gather together on the 7^th of June to decide the Twenty Best Screen Detective Performances of All Time.

As we did for our first topic this year, each of the Three Amigos will be drafting six picks, and the order of our selection will be determined by random draw. That leaves two slots open – and YOU are going to decide who fills those slots. The way you do that is to nominate your favorite screen performance of a detective role. Either place your nomination in the comments below, or email me at ahsweetmysteryblog@gmail.com. Nominations will be accepted up through Monday, June 1^st. The two highest vote-getters will be guaranteed a place on our list, and their spot in the draft will be determined by whichever player chooses to claim one of the Readers’ Picks as a turn.

Here’s what you should no in order to make a nomination that actually qualifies for the draft.

The performance must have originated on the big screen. The world of TV detectives is so vast and marvelous that it must have a draft of its own. (Hopefully, next year!) This time around, it’s movies only, please.
The detective being portrayed does not have to have originated in another medium, like literature or theatre. Literary characters that have transferred to film are indeed welcome, but so are characters that have been created for the movies.
If an actor portrayed a character in only one film, it counts. If he or she played it in a series of films, it counts as one nomination. If two or more actors played the same character, even if it was part of the same series – this requires two separate nominations and would take up two slots.
A detective character is eligible to appear more than once on our list if multiple actors who played the role are drafted.
An actor is eligible to appear more than once on our list if he or she has played more than one detective in their career and multiple roles are considered the very best.
You are not limited in your nominations by time period, by country, or even by genre. Detectives have appeared in films all over the world since the movies began. (Just remember that the performance you loved in that Latvian film that has never been released in English-speaking countries or given subtitles or been dubbed may not have been seen by very many of us!)

“*The murderer is right in this room, sitting at this table . . . you may serve the fish*.”

The Three Amigos all have our fingers crossed that you will inundate us with nominations. All of your choices will go on a list, and then just before we draft, I will tally up all the votes, and the top two vote-getters will end up on our draft as READERS’ CHOICE picks. We will have to play your top two picks, although we do have the right to control their placement.

And now, my friends, it’s up to you. Sift through your memories, your old movie books, or your DVD collection. Who are your favorite movie sleuths?

Start nominating now!!!