History

Undoubtedly the most famous of the amateur detectives to reach the silver screen was Sherlock Holmes. He first appeared in 1903, and has been portrayed by a multitude of actors. Other famous sleuths include Charlie Chan and Hercule Poirot.

Following World War II, film noir came into style and proved a popular medium for the professional hired detective, or private eye. Humphrey Bogart was particularly notable for playing this role, including Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence of the Police Detective film, which were styles after the earlier film noir era. Among the notable mystery detective films of this period were In the Heat of the Night (1967), Bullitt (1968), Klute (1971) and Chinatown (1974). The 1970s and 1980s also saw something of the return of the serial films, with the Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon series. In 1971, The French Connection was an Academy Award-winning mystery film.

In addition to standard mystery films, some movies have intermixed with other genres. The comedic Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series starring Peter Sellars as Inspector Clouseau mixed comedy with mystery, while the medieval era Brother Cadfael series of television mysteries appeared as a form of historical fiction. The Dick Tracy films had elements of science fiction, while Blade Runner and Outland were primarily science fiction action films.