Sleuth (play) and Patrick Macnee. Baxter was succeeded by Brian Murray, Donal Donnelly, Jordan Christopher and Curt Dawson. "Sleuth" received the 1971 Tony Award for Best Play, and received nominations for Best Direction of a Play (Clifford Williams) and Best Lighting Design (William Ritman). Anthony Quayle and Keith Baxter received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. "Sleuth" also received the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Play. In 1972, Shaffer adapted his play for film, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. Another film adaptation was released in 2007 with a screenplay by Harold Pinter.
Sleuth (2007 film) "It's a totally new take...I had not either seen or read the play, and I hadn't seen the film adapted from the play either, so I knew nothing about it. So I simply read the play and I think it's totally transformed. I've kept one or two plot things because you have to but apart from that, I think I've made it my own." Caine stated, "The first "Sleuth" I thought was great and the second "Sleuth" I thought was great until I read the reviews. I said to Pinter, 'What film did they show them?' I have a feeling