What is Detective and Mystery Films?
What is Detective and Mystery Films?
The detective and mystery film genre has a long tradition, spanning from early mystery tales, fictional or literary detective stories to classic Hitchcockian suspense-thrillers.
There are many variations of this genre, each with its own practitioners and fans. In general, this category focuses on whodunits and detection. Some may also feature elements of gothic, psychological suspense and police procedurals.
Characters
Detective and mystery films are a genre of film that focuses on solving a crime through clues and deduction. They can be murder mysteries or a variety of other genres such as horror, science fiction, or fantasy.
The genre originated in England in the early 19th century. Various literary characters were introduced to the screen over the years, most notably Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. These sleuths solved murders using their wits and the help of sidekick assistants.
These sleuths are well known to fans of detective novels, which inspired the original filmed versions. The prototypical sleuth was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and his detectives have appeared in over 200 movies since 1900.
Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot have been adapted into 32 films, while the world’s first private detective Bulldog Drummond has appeared in no less than 24 films. Several other popular sleuths have been featured in film including Charlie Chan, Ellery Queen, Nancy Drew and Nero Wolfe.
Many detective and mystery films also include comedy. The classic example of this is Boston Blackie, who was played by Chester Morris in fourteen films from 1941 to 1949. Columbia Pictures also turned the long-running radio series Crime Doctor into a series of mystery films, starting with Crime Doctor in 1943.
The 1930s saw the rise of a new breed of hard-boiled, professional detectives who carried guns and were generally more rugged than their literary counterparts. These tough-guy sleuths were the inspiration for Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and their characters were faithfully adapted to screen in the 1940s.
Other characters based on literary characters who appeared on the screen included Lord Peter Wimsey, a classic British sleuth created by Dorothy L. Sayers. She was a spinster who wore a hat and carried a cane, but she was very smart and often solved crimes by her wits alone.
Some sleuths in mystery films were drawn from real-life detectives and their friends. For example, Robert Altman’s nostalgic Gosford Park (2001) is a whodunit set in 1932 that features the same fictional character as in his own films.
Plot
Detective and mystery films are films that feature a detective or detective-like characters solving a mystery or crime, often through deductive reasoning. The detective (or the protagonist) is an amateur, a police officer or plain-clothes policeman, or a private investigator, or a PI – Private Investigator, and the story revolves around the detective’s quest for the truth or the identity of the criminal.
A Detective and mystery film can be a murder mystery, a thriller, or an adventure-mystery. The plot of a Detective and mystery film usually involves the protagonist chasing down clues to solve an unsolved crime or uncover a secret, and sometimes it also involves the villain (a killer or a villain).
In the classic Hollywood era, detective films were characterized by hard-boiled detectives who were often seen as edgy or sleazy. Examples include the films of Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd and Ella Raines.
Another common plot element of the detective genre is that of mistaken identity. Several films, including My Favorite Brunette (1947) and Hard Boiled Mahoney (1951), have used this plot device, where the detectives in a case are mistaken for one of the suspects.
The detectives in these cases must then go through the same process that they had to when the person they were trying to track down was a suspect. This can be a rousing challenge for the protagonist, and adds to the tension of the film.
These movies usually have a twist in the ending. This may be a character or situation that changes the plot entirely. It could be a new piece of evidence or a surprise climax.
This can be a witty or comical way to make the detective’s work more interesting, but it can also be used to give the audience a sense of the detective’s skill and intelligence. This is why detectives are sometimes referred to as “detectives with exceptional rational powers.”
The main character in a detective film usually is a hero who possesses great detective skills, such as a sharp mind, superior intellect, exceptional physical strength and the ability to think in a non-traditional way. The detective is usually a man or woman who has an independent spirit and is capable of working under pressure.
Theme
The Detective and mystery genre has a long tradition, from the early days of silent film to the more contemporary eras. These films generally involve the mystery of a crime (or series of crimes) with an emphasis on deduction and suspense.
A detective or sleuth (often an amateur or plain-clothes policeman) solves the mystery through clues and exceptional rational powers. They usually investigate the intriguing reasons and events that lead to the crime, unmask the villain, and put an end to his or her evil activities.
Several variations of the theme exist, such as the “ad hoc detective” and the “suicide detective.” In this sub-genre, a person who has been given the opportunity to solve the murder of a friend or clear his own name becomes a detective. Examples include Ella Raines in Phantom Lady (1944), Lucille Ball in both The Dark Corner and Lured (1947), Alan Ladd in The Blue Dahlia, George Raft in Johnny Angel (1945), and Humphrey Bogart in Dead Reckoning (1947).
Other variation on the theme of ad hoc detectives is the “murder by suicide” story, which usually focuses on a suicide or death by drug overdose. These stories are often satirical, such as The Man with Bogart’s Face (1980), which features an ad hoc detective who has his face changed so that he looks like Hitchcock’s Maltese Falcon.
This film is an affectionate spoof of the old-school detective genre and vintage “old dark house” murder mysteries, but it also takes on some darker themes with its cynical portrayal of race hate in a post-revolutionary Chile. The plot of this film is centered on two amateur detectives, who find themselves caught up in a conspiracy to frame their colleagues for the murder of a journalist and a politician, while their own son disappears.
The best detective and mystery films are always fun to watch. From classic whodunits to a mind-blowing small-town psychological thriller, they’re full of engrossing plot elements that never stop making you want to watch more!
Symbolism
Detective and mystery films have a long tradition of symbolism. These stories, whether set in a rural setting or on a city street, are filled with symbols that convey meaning to the reader. They can be a visual representation of a certain theme or idea, or they can be a reflection of the social atmosphere of the time the story takes place.
During the early twentieth century, crime and detection fiction was heavily influenced by a range of political events, especially those related to women’s rights and the African American struggle for equality. This prompted authors to create memorable female sleuths who could capture the public imagination by exhibiting qualities that reflected these issues, such as independence and a willingness to investigate the case.
The sleuth in these stories does not need to be a professional detective, but they do need to be someone who is capable of solving the crime. This is the main focus of these films, and it is one that has been studied by film scholars in various critical paradigms (including structuralism, neoformalism, and cognitivism).
In this way, the genre of mystery and detective fiction has often been able to tap into the fears and anxieties of the public. It is therefore not surprising that many crime and detection stories were centered on the American west, with its lawless frontiers.
These themes have also been used to explore other aspects of society, including immigration and national identity. For example, Electra Glide in Blue (1973) is a classic crime and mystery that tackles the death of dreams and idealism in an increasingly corrupt world.
Another example is Robert De Niro’s Taxi Driver. This film embodies the anti-hero, with Travis Bickle (De Niro) being forced to clean up the streets and pushed to the limits of his own mental state. His journey to psychiatric care ends with him channelling his anger and guilt into a gun that he holds in his hand, representing a symbolic gesture of atonement for the wrong he has done.
The most successful detective and mystery films follow a formula that is usually quite simple: there is a murder and the sleuth must solve it. The sleuth may be a professional, a layman, or both.
