Polanski has a go at the film noir detective thriller, very bleak, very twisted and very menacing it is to. Nicholson plays a private-eye in pre-war LA who is hired to pursue an adultery case, but finds himself embroiled in a complicated murder investigation. find out more...

An Agatha Christie thriller in a sumptous setting; Mia Farrow is superb as the woman scorned, obsessively stalking her ex-fiancee and his new wife on their luxury honeymoon. Ustinov plays the chocolate-swilling sleuth Poirot and, as always, there's a cunning twist. One of the best. find out more...

Ustinov as Poirot investigates the murder of the universally disliked Arlena (Rigg) on a sunny Adriatic island. All the suspects have airtight alibis and the pivotal clue concerns the woman under the sombrero. A beautifully filmed suspense from the Agatha Christie stable, they don't make 'em like this anymore! find out more...

The year is 1932 and the world of the aristocracy is drawing to an inevitable close, but in the house of Sir William McCordle such realities are forgotten for a weekend shooting party. As the eclectic mixture of guests arrive so the belly of the house also swells with various valets and personal servants; but as characters develop it becomes clear that some have neglected to know their place and before the weekend is out a murder has been committed. 'Gosford Park' is a quite stunning recreation find out more...

The first, and arguably the best, adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery, with Albert Finney making his first appearance as Poirot. An American tycoon is found dead on the luxurious Orient Express, stabbed 12 times with a dagger, but which one of the all-star cast dunnit? Excellent. find out more...

Set in medieval Kyoto, this is an engrossing tale of rape and murder in which contradictory accounts of events are later related from the perspectives of four of those involved. A film which awakened the West to the richness of Japanese cinema. find out more...

A fiendishly clever serial killer is stalking the streets of London, his predilection, young women from the highest echelons of British aristocracy. It's another case for Sherlock Holmes in this lush feature length BBC adaptation of Conan Doyle's detective novels, the tile role convincingly performed by Rupert Everett. find out more...

Holmes, Watson and a plethora of potty passengers are all aboard the London to Edinburgh express. As the train rattles on its way, so does the mayhem, with a corpse turning up in a carriage and a false-bottomed coffin in the guard's van. Will the stealthy sleuths solve the mystery? Elementary... As fast-paced, tightly-woven a Sherlock Holmes mystery as you will find. find out more...

The first of the classic series of adaptations following the investigations of Sherlock Holmes. A malevolent curse is blamed for the death of an aristocrat and Holmes is called in to investigate, using his scientific method and dry Victorian wit. Superb nuanced performances from Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the pudgy Watson. Cracking stuff. find out more...

Jenny Seagrove plays Mary, the recipient of pearls from a mysterious benefactor in this Sherlock Holmes tale. The pearls have appeared each year since her father disappeared ten years previously. With the help of Holmes and his trusty companion Watson, they take on the challenge of unravelling the mystery of the Sign of Four following a brutal murder. find out more...