It is February, and everyone knows what that means. Valentine's Day gives us the chance to take a look at love in mysteries. Next week we will talk about couples in novels, but this week we will look at the many, many crime solving, loving couples in cinema and television.
And no such conversation can begin anywhere other than:
The Thin Man
Released on May 24, 1934, "The Thin Man" was the first of six movies to feature the exploits of Nick and Nora Charles. A retired detective and his heiress wife fast talk and drink their way through martini after martini while solving crimes through six films.
The title of the first one, "The Thin Man," referred to the client of Nick Charles and not William Powell, however, the film, also starring Myrna Loy, was such a hit that all five sequels used the name in the titles. Only the first was based on the novel, The Thin Man, by Dashiel Hammett.
The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy was so exciting that they created a new baseline for all future couples who would work together to solve crimes.
Charade
So high was the standard set, that I had to go all of the way into the 60s to find another couple that came close to these two, and that was Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Alfred Donen's 1963 "Charade."
Costarring Walter Matthau, James Couburn and George Kennedy, it was filmed in Paris and combines the best elements of romance, comedy and suspense with a convoluted plot involving the murder of Hepburn's husband and the search for missing money.
Fortunately for us, Universal Pictures screwed up the paperwork leaving the film in the public domain so it is available to download free from multiple sources including Hulu and YouTube.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
A slight twist on the crime solving couple, is the assassin couple as presented by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2005's, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." To all outward appearances, the Smiths are a typical suburban couple. What sets them apart is the work that each does in secret. In secret from the neighborhood, in secret from their families and in secret from each other, they are both assassins working for different entities. The facade is kept up until they receive orders to assassinate each other.
Okay, on the face of it is simply ridiculous, but the charm of the leads make the movie watchable. And this is a diary about couples, love and crime, not necessarily outstanding films. So Mr. & Mrs. Smith have to be included.
Double Indemnity
The other type of lovers in crime movies are the bad guys, the most famous of which are Fred MacMurry and Barbara Stanwyck in 1944's "Double Indemnity."
Double indemnity refers to a clause in a life insurance policy that promises to pay twice the face amount if the death of the insured is deemed accidental. Fred MacMurray's character knows this because he sells life insurance. Barbara Stanwyck is the customer who seduces MacMurray into selling her a policy on her husband and then helping her to murder him, staging the murder as an accident to collect under the double indemnity clause.
Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1992, Double Indemnity was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 1998, it was ranked #38 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century, and in 2007 it was 29th on their 10th Anniversary list. - Wikipedia
Body Heat
Considered a remake of "Double Indemnity" and at least inspired by it, "Body Heat" was a 1981 movie starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Also starring Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, and Mickey Rourke, and credited with launching the career of Kathleen Turner, it has to have been one of the sexiest, steamiest movies made in that era that still received an R rating.
Kathleen Turner enlists a shady, small-time attorney to help her kill her husband for his fortune, first seducing him carefully. This all happens during a particularly, humid Florida heat wave that cause all clothes, but especially Turner's to cling tightly to bodies. The twists that follow lead to an ending I found delightful.
But wait, there is more
A whole world of more on the television machine.
My favorite is and always has been
Remington Steele
1982-1987
Stephanie Zimbalist plays Laura Holt, a licensed private detective who, deciding that the public will not hire a woman private eye, invents a male partner who she names Remington Steele, never suspecting that Pierce Brosnan's character would show up to claim the name, and eventually the position.
It was a groundbreaking series in many ways. First, it showed a professional woman wielding a lethal weapon providing a role model for a generation of women unfamiliar with the glass ceiling. It combined romance, mystery and comedy in an hour long episode that had not been done before. It also introduced us to the "will they or won't they" dilemma that is now part of series television.
Brosnan reminded me immediately of Cary Grant in his charm and in his suave manner. It launched his career and has held up well over time.
Moonlighting
1985-1989
It also led directly to Moonlighting, another detective series with a male and female, will they or won't they, romantic comedy drama. Launchpad for Bruce Willis, and comeback vehicle for Cybil Sheppard, Moonlighting was the most influential of the first dramedies.
Innovative, the show would occasionally have a cold opening where Bruce Willis and/or Cybil Sheppard would simply, in character, address the audience, usually because the show featured the quick talking dialogue similar to the comedies of Howard Hawks and The Thin Man. And the script would be twice as long as a normal hour long show, but would still run short and require the cold open. They also broke the "fourth wall" and addressed the audience directly during the show itself.
The series had some great fantasy episodes, like "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" which included black and white dream sequences as well as musical numbers.
Hart to Hart
1979-1984
Starring Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers, this series was about a wealthy jet setting couple who were also amateur detectives. Ostentatious wealth was a big part of this series which opened every week with this voice over:
"This is my boss Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire. He’s quite a guy. This is Mrs. H, she’s gorgeous. She’s one lady who knows how to take care of herself. By the way my name is Max; I take care of both of them which ain’t easy ‘cause when they met, it was murder."
McMillan & Wife
1971-1977
Rock Hudson was Stewart McMillan, a police commissioner who, with his wife Sally, played by Susan St James, managed to find themselves called away from stylish dinner parties to solve murders in San Francisco.
It was one of the first crime shows to involve a couple, and the role given the "wife" was pretty much reflective of the era.
Castle
2009-
In a cute return to the romantic comedy drama format, Castle is about a best selling author, Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillian, who is foisted upon an unwilling NYPD detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) as he gains background information for his novels.
This one was one of my husband's favorites. It is a light frothy television program that has spawned actual novels written by a Richard Castle that my husband also enjoyed though I haven't read them yet. I have missed this series lately, but I may start watching it again.
Now, these are not even close to all of the romantic couples who play detectives, but I wanted to save some for your suggestions. Come on, what are your favorites? Who have I left out?