Sleuth (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1972) - Updated Link!

In England, the Italian English hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) is invited by the successful writer of detective stories Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) to visit his isolated house. The lower class Milo is the lover of Andrew's wife, who is used to have a comfortable life, and he intends to marry her. Andrew proposes Milo to steal his jewelry simulating a burglary. Milo would make a fortune selling the jewels to an intermediary; and Andrew would be reimbursed by the insurance company and would not pay alimony. However, the whole situation was part of an evil game. When Milo vanishes, a detective visits Andrew to investigate what really happened that night, when deadly games are disclosed.

    Director
        Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    Writer
        Anthony Shaffer (his play and his screenplay)
    Stars
        Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Alec Cawthorne

Music by John Addison.

Film nominated for 4 Oscars and 4 BAFTAs.

 Sir Michael Caine was so very much beside himself to be working with Lord Laurence Olivier that he didn't even know how to address him. Eventually, he broke down and just asked. Olivier replied "Well, I am the Lord Olivier and you are Mr. Michael Caine. Of course, that's only for the first time you address me. After that I am Larry, and you are Mike."

The reason this film is so difficult to find on streaming is because it fell into the hands of a pharmaceutical company called Bristol-Myers Squibb, who dissolved their entertainment division shortly after creating it, leaving this movie's distribution rights in limbo. It has since never been re-acquired or restored as of early 2022.

Michael Caine tells in his biography that Laurence Olivier could not, at first, remember his lines - he, a great stage actor who could initially remember three hours of lines in a play. He could not because of pills he started taking to calm him down after he learned that a theater of his, which he put much money and many efforts in for many years, had to be closed down. But Olivier eventually stopped taking those pills and his memory.

(At around forty-seven minutes) When tossing the chess pieces to the floor, Sir Laurence Olivier cuts the palm of his hand very badly. You can see him look down at his hand, put his handkerchief in his palm, and put his hand in his jacket pocket. He then finishes the scene.

At 45 minutes, as Milo looks at the jewelry he thinks he is going to steal, Andrew says,"Moses looks upon the Promised Land" Milo told Andrew that he wasn't religious. Had he been more familiar with the story he would have known that Moses wasn't allowed to enter the promised land, just look at it from a distance. This may have been Andrew giving Milo a clue.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider

Subtitles: English, Spanish & Portuguese

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/5HVt-aDf3XM

Copyright owner is blocking in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Why only in these countries??