# Fictional detectives who never made it in the movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198 "2007-03-16T13:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/1 "2007-03-16T13:49:47Z")
I have trouble understanding why some detectives made the jump to the silver screen and others didn’t. Hercule Poirot, Lew Archer and Sam Spade (and his alter egos) are of course examples of successes. Of my favorites who got (largely) left out, one at least makes some sense. Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op had a couple strikes against him - he was short and fat (though tough) and worked for a detective agency instead of being a romantic loner. Still you’d think he’d make a good subject for a modern film. Nero Wolfe had a TV run but no real movie career to my knowledge. I would have liked seeing him played by Sidney Greenstreet. Matt Scudder should have been a natural. Instead we wind up with Nick Nolte in a version of “Eight Million Ways To Die” that bore virtually no resemblance to the novel or Lawrence Block’s detective (though it did set some sort of a record for the most swear words in a single sequence). A “B” movie or two was made involving John McDonald’s Travis McGee or someone vaguely resembling him. Nothing at all memorable though. And I would enjoy seeing Pronzini’s Nameless Detective in a screen adaptation, pedantic moralist that he sometimes is. Why didn’t these guys become movie heroes? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/2 "2007-03-16T13:54:27Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] Nero Wolfe had a TV run but no real movie career to my knowledge. I would have liked seeing him played by Sidney Greenstreet. [/QUOTE] With Bogart as Archie. I think Wolfe was too excentric to make movies with. There was certainly more thinking than action, and lots of interviews that may bore movie goers. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/3 "2007-03-16T14:36:39Z")
There were two Nero Wolfe movies in the '30s, with two different actors playing Wolfe. Lionel Stander played Archie. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/4 "2007-03-16T14:40:57Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] I think Wolfe was too excentric to make movies with. There was certainly more thinking than action, and lots of interviews that may bore movie goers. [/QUOTE] This is true. You’d want to play up the murders, hot babes and exploits of Archie. I’d rather see Nero Wolfe in action than Dick Tracy anyday. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/5 "2007-03-16T15:11:08Z")
Interesting topic, one I have wondered about from time to time. I would love to see Joe LeapHorn and Jim Chee portrayed on the screen in an adaption of any Tony Hillerman novel. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/6 "2007-03-16T15:14:53Z")
How about Orson Welles as Nero Wolfe, with Joseph Cotten as Archie? I wonder if you could ever do a proper movie version of George Chesbro’s Mongo books? Peter Dinklage would be great – except that the stories involve physical demands that might be impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/7 "2007-03-16T15:17:16Z")
Have there been any movies (or TV shows) based on C.G. Chesterfield’s Father Brown books? I’d like to see that. (I know there are Father Brown movies/shows out there, but they don’t seem to be the same Father Brown). ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/8 "2007-03-16T15:17:39Z")
[QUOTE=TwoTrouts] Interesting topic, one I have wondered about from time to time. I would love to see Joe LeapHorn and Jim Chee portrayed on the screen in an adaption of any Tony Hillerman novel. [/QUOTE] Looks like it was done at least once: > **[Masterpiece | PBS | Official Site](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/)** > > The official site for MASTERPIECE on PBS. View the broadcast schedule, watch full episodes, clips and more from the acclaimed drama series. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/9 "2007-03-16T15:26:22Z")
I’d love to see what Bruce Willis would do as Andrew Vachss’s Burke. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/10 "2007-03-16T15:40:05Z")
[QUOTE=Skammer] Have there been any movies (or TV shows) based on C.G. Chesterfield’s Father Brown books? I’d like to see that. (I know there are Father Brown movies/shows out there, but they don’t seem to be the same Father Brown). [/QUOTE] Assuming you mean **G K Chesterton’s** Father Brown, then Kenneth More played the role in the 70s – [see here.](http://www.amazon.com/Father-Brown-Set-Peter-Jefferies/dp/B000K7UBUM) If there’s a different Father Brown going around, then I’m clueless. ETA: I just remembered that Alec Guiness played Father Brown in a film, too. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/11 "2007-03-16T15:43:34Z")
[QUOTE=Skammer] Have there been any movies (or TV shows) based on C.G. Chesterfield’s Father Brown books? I’d like to see that. (I know there are Father Brown movies/shows out there, but they don’t seem to be the same Father Brown). [/QUOTE] There was a [British TV series](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069582/) in 1974, starring Kenneth More. (btw, it’s G. K. Chesterton.) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/12 "2007-03-16T15:46:15Z")
What about Jupiter Jones, Pete Crewshaw and Bob Andrews? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/13 "2007-03-16T15:46:27Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] There were two Nero Wolfe movies in the '30s, with two different actors playing Wolfe. Lionel Stander played Archie. [/QUOTE] Wow, what a great memory you have – or you also looked it up. 😉 [Meet Nero Wolfe](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027952/) with Edward Arnold as Wolfe. [The League of Frightened Men](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029127/) with Walter Connolly as Wolfe. Unfortunately, neither seems to have ever been released to VHS or DVD. I guess the user reviews for both movies must be based on them being shown on cable at some point. [QUOTE=JThunder] What about Jupiter Jones, Pete Crewshaw and Bob Andrews? [/QUOTE] Man, I _loved_ reading that series as a kid! I think several of those books would make excellent movies. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/14 "2007-03-16T15:58:23Z")
[QUOTE=WotNot] Assuming you mean **G K Chesterton’s** Father Brown, then Kenneth More played the role in the 70s – [see here.](http://www.amazon.com/Father-Brown-Set-Peter-Jefferies/dp/B000K7UBUM) If there’s a different Father Brown going around, then I’m clueless. [/QUOTE] It ran on PBS, quite successfully. I am assuming you mean ones that were attempted either on the big or little screen but bombed. I immediately thought of V.I. Warcholsky (sp). The one movie done was with Kathleen Turner, who should have been perfect for it, but it was terrible. I also thought of Hillerman’s Legendary Joe Leaphorn. It’s been attempted a number of times, but never pulled off. I saw one movie with Nevile Shute’s Australian aboriginal detective Napolean Boneparte but it didn’t work either. There may have been others in Australian and they may have been successful there. I don’t know. Years ago, I saw an attempt on television of Judge Dee. It didn’t really work either. As I remember the lead was played by a non-asian and they cut out most of the sex parts so much of the plot suffered. No great productions of Christie’s Harley Quinn that I can remember either. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/15 "2007-03-16T16:08:37Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] A “B” movie or two was made involving John McDonald’s Travis McGee or someone vaguely resembling him. Nothing at all memorable though. [/QUOTE] I agree with you, but will say I did enjoy the Rod Taylor version. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/16 "2007-03-16T16:11:56Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I wonder if you could ever do a proper movie version of George Chesbro’s Mongo books? Peter Dinklage would be great – except that the stories involve physical demands that might be impossible. [/QUOTE] Interestingly enough, [An Affair of Sorcerers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840276/) is listed as being “in production”; which may mean nothing more than that someone has purchased the rights and has started looking into it. And they have Peter Dinklage signed up to play Monge. And I agree after seeing him in “Threshold” that he would be perfect to play Mongo. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/17 "2007-03-16T16:13:28Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] I saw one movie with Nevile Shute’s Australian aboriginal detective Napolean Boneparte but it didn’t work either. There may have been others in Australian and they may have been successful there. I don’t know. [/QUOTE] [Another early 70s series.](http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/Boney.htm) I suppose the controversy over the casting may have put off US networks. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/18 "2007-03-16T16:15:18Z")
Yes, I meant Chesterton. I shouldn’t post and have conversations at the same time. Thanks for the responses! ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/19 "2007-03-16T16:16:21Z")
The Napoleon Bonaparte detective series are by Arthur William Upfield. Nevil Shute is perhaps most famous for the novel _On the Beach_. (I had to look up both authors - something about Bonaparte & Shute just seemed wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198/20 "2007-03-16T16:17:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Matt Scudder should have been a natural. Instead we wind up with Nick Nolte in a version of “Eight Million Ways To Die” that bore virtually no resemblance to the novel or Lawrence Block’s detective (though it did set some sort of a record for the most swear words in a single sequence). I **so** agree with that. Matt Scudder is my favorite and both were terrible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-detectives-who-never-made-it-in-the-movies/396198.md?page=2)