I have seen it a few times now and I really like it. :)
Jim Hutton looks unbelievably hot and sexy in this movie. :)
I also enjoyed seeing Leslie Nielsen in a small supporting role. :)
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Ellery Queen(Jim Hutton) = HOT SEXY ADORABLE ATTRACTIVE CUTE
Me! Me!
I'm going to watch it right now. :)
I'll try not to drool too much when I see Jim Hutton.....
He looked sooooooooo hot & sexy in this movie!!!!!
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Jim Hutton: talented attractive hot; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Lately, I've been watching this movie over and over again. Lots of great talent here, especially Jim Hutton, Leslie Nielsen, and Carmen Mathews. I recognized both Mathews and Lloyd Bochner from one Ellery Queen episode each. :) Jim Hutton looks so unbelievably sexy in this movie (also as Ellery Queen) that I just can't keep my eyes off of him. Very complex ending, too! I was able to figure out part of it, but some of it came as a surprise.
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JIM HUTTON: talented gorgeous HOT; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
It's earned it's low IMDb rating- slow as molasses. And Hutton looks heavier than in anything else I've seen him. Due to his drinking and eventual liver
cancer?
It's a tad slow, but that's okay. Jim Hutton's in every scene, so I'm not complaining. The ending is a very complex one, and I'm proud to say that I was able to figure out a part of the ending near the start of the movie. Leslie Nielsen was excellent in his role.
Jim Hutton looked so incredibly sexy in the seventies. He was VERY skinny in the sixties, and filled out a bit in the seventies. I just can't keep my eyes off of him each time I watch this flick. (By the way, I don't know if he drank a lot, but I do think he died way too early in life.)
As for IMDb ratings, I sure don't pay attention to those! Ditto with the Oscars and movie reviews. They mean nothing to me.
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JIM HUTTON: talented gorgeous HOT; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
It's a great little mystery. I bet if Agatha Christie saw it back in 1971 she was both amused and flattered - since it uses some of her devices.
Though personally I find Jessica Walter sexier than Jim Hutton
Jessica Walter sure was a lucky lady in this movie.
Geez, all those scenes with Jim Hutton....
Funny you should mention Agatha Christie...I've read the book that this movie is based on, and since then I've thought that the script was written in a way to make it look like Agatha Christie had written it. The movie definitely has the Agatha Christie touch, even though Erle Stanley Gardner wrote the book. Did you notice that, by any chance?
Jim Hutton =
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Yes, the false identities, the insurance claim, the family secrets, the bodies being moved from where they were killed to a different spot....pure Agatha!
shareYup, even the way that the detective got to know the family members a bit better. That's totally Agatha Christie. In the novel ("The D.A. Draws a Circle"), the emphasis is on the detective and police working together (their interactions), as well as emphasis on the gangsters. There are more characters in the book than in the movie. The ending of the book is somewhat different as well.
There is one part of the book that I wish had been included in the movie, something to do with the crooked lawyer. If you would like, I could spoil it for you. Please let me know.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Yes, tell me. The movie leaves it pretty vague as to how involved the lawyer really was in the whole scheme.
shareWell, in the novel, the D.A. draws the circle more times than in the movie. In the movie, he just does it once for the young woman. In the book, he does it a few times, even for the crooked lawyer.
In the book, the lawyer buys a house next door to where that family is living. When the cops and D.A. visit his home, they find a telescope there, and he says that he's into astronomy. Later they realize that he was just using the telescope to spy on the family (tee hee). In the movie, he was in the neighborhood, but not necessarily very close to the family.
It's been awhile since I read the book, but from what I remember, his involvement wasn't that different than what happened in the movie. I think that there was money in it for him or something like that. I admit that I didn't read over the financial details that carefully. I never do when I read mystery novels.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
By the way, gridoon, were you able to figure out the ending of this movie? I had my suspicious that Brian Antrim was still alive, but I wasn't sure about the details.
Anyhow, enjoy your weekend!
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
I suspected that Frank's paralysis may be fake after a point, yes. But that Frank is actually Brian!!, no way!
shareI was kind of wondering about his paralysis, too.
One plot hole in the movie: wouldn't someone notice him moving his legs? In the book, he and Jane Antrim are kept well out of the way from everyone. They're very secluded and he yells at her a lot (or so the housekeeper testifies). The detective & cops think that it's because he's mad that his son was killed off. As it turns out, he is the hubby and he's abusing her. The movie glosses over the fact that he was treating her like dirt. She says something about it briefly at the end, but that's about it.
I recommend you track down the book if you can find it. It's called "The D.A. Draws a Circle", by Erle Stanley Gardner. Get it through interlibrary loans, if you can (ie, have your library get it for you from another city/state/province). Seriously. It's worth reading. I especially like the storyline about the crooked lawyer's telescope.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
I prefer watching movies to reading books (in fact, the only mystery novels I read regularly are Agatha Christie's). Today, I just found out that there is a new DVD collection of six PERRY MASON mysteries made in the late 1930s. I'm thinking of ordering it.
shareI want to see those, too. I love mysteries from the thirties and forties. They aren't easy to find, though.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
I have been watching a series of 1940s mysteries called THE WHISTLER the last few days, and I think it's probably the best series I've seen from that genre so far, or at least the least formulaic: each episode has a different formula. The only connections between the films are a shadowy figure who introduces and closes the stories and appears from time to time to comment on what's been going on, and the actor Richard Dix who appears in each film in a different role, sometimes playing the good guy, sometimes the bad, sometimes....something in between. If you are interested, I can tell you where I got my DVDs of this series online, as it is NOT available officially.
shareThanks! I think I've seen a few of those on TCM.
Oh, I forgot to mention one thing about the book that this movie is based on...Jane Antrim (called Rita in the book) actually killed one of the guys (the one in the pool, I think). She was under her hubby's power and she did it. She writes up a confession and kills herself. That's how the cops find her.
Recently, I read another Doug Selby mystery in which A.B. Carr reappears. I'm quite amused about what happens to him at the end. Not a terrific ending for him, but he got what was coming to him.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Did you see the Perry Mason mysteries? Would you recommend them?
BTW, I saw the first WHISTLER movie I didn't like today, Mysterious Intruder.
The Perry Mason mysteries of the thirties? For the most part they're good, but a couple of them rely too much on lousy humor to get the point across. I think that the best one by far is "The Case of the Howling Dog". It's a very clever story. If you can find these, you may as well give them a chance.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
They are easily available on Amazon, but the price is too high. 32 dollars plus shipping for 6 one-hour films? That won't do. I'll wait 'till the price goes down.
You want to know a really obscure early mystery film series? The nine ELLERY QUEEN films of the 1930s and 1940s! I was lucky enough to get them on ebay a couple of years ago, they are not commercially available and may never be.
Wait until your public library gets them. Then you can check them out. Or join netflix or something.
I would like to see all of the early EQ series (including the one from the fifties) someday. Actually, I've seen both "The Spanish Cape Mystery" and "The Chinese Orange Mystery" from the thirties.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Well, if I remember correctly THE SPANISH CAPE MYSTERY is the best or second best of the entire series. I've forgotten most of the others, except for ELLERY QUEEN, MASTER DETECTIVE which, although not a great film, has an ingenious locked-room mystery with a solution that I've never seen before or since.
shareThanks for the heads up! If you like locked room mysteries, I recommend you track down novels by author John Dickson Carr. I've read some of his books and short stories. The endings make my head spin, but they are very clever! He presented several solutions to someone walking into a room/house and vanishing. In one of his radio plays, he came up with an alternate solution to the movie "The Lady Vanishes" (which is also based on a novel). His radio play is about newlyweds who board a boat and the hubby vanishes.
One of the Ellery Queen episodes focuses on an impossible crime - "The 12th Floor Express". It's one of the best episodes, too. That one has a very simple solution.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Another new release aimed at old-mystery buffs is a PHILO VANCE set containing six movies. The price is slightly lower than PERRY MASON, so I'm thinking of getting this one instead. Have you seen any of them? The only Philo Vance film I've seen so far is THE GRACIE ALLEN MURDER CASE (not included in this set), and that's because I think Gracie is quite funny.
shareOh yes, I love "The Greene Murder Case", "The Kennel Murder Case", and "The Dragon Murder Case". I didn't care for the other ones, especially "The Gracie Allen Murder Case".
They have been aired on TV in the past.
Enjoy! I'd say that they are a better buy than those Perry Mason movies.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Well, I finally made a purchase but it was neither Perry nor Philo. It was Volume II of THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW, which is considerably cheaper than both of the above and contains about equal (in length) material. I've read that most of the stories are of the the crime / noir / mystery variety, and if I like what I see I'll get Volume I as well!
shareEnjoy!
As for Perry & Philo, I recommend you be on the lookout for TCM showings. I've heard that they are aired from time to time. Enjoy!
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Hey, someone on the boards told me last night that some of the Perry Mason movies are being shown on TCM these days. I just wanted to give you a heads up about that! Enjoy!
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Thank you, but I don't have TCM. I have plenty of old mystery dvds still unwatched anyway, like THE FALCON series.
BTW, I finished the entire WHISTLER series, and I can recommend 7 out of the 8 films (the odd one out is MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER).
I recommend you get TCM. You can watch a lot of stuff there for free.
I don't have TCM, but that's only because I stopped watching it and started to buy more DVDs.
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
Good afternoon! I just remembered that I had bumped into another mystery buff here, so I thought that I'd let you know that I started a thread about older whodunnits on the film noir board. Some of us have been mentioning the ones we've seen. Feel free to join us, or at least to just get some recommendations from us.
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JimHutton as ElleryQueen: talented hot sexy