This thread inspired me to try to figure out who are my favorite detective characters—as characters rather than detectives.
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, for example, is in some of my favorite mystery books, but I find him a caricature in the early books and, for the most part, a bore in the late ones. His best characterization is in Christie’s late ’30s and ’40s books—
Death on the Nile,
Five Little Pigs—but on the whole, he’s not one of my favorite detectives as characters. That’s not a criticism, mind: Christie was always more interested in characterizing suspects, including murderers, more than detectives.
And that holds for other mystery authors, too: John Dickson Carr (one of my favorite detective-story writers) was similarly uninterested, in general, in characterizing his detectives. His heroes, heroines, and (other) suspects all get far more character development, in general.
All that said, here’s—for now!—a list of my favorite detectives as characters, from books, movies, and TV:
Sherlock Holmes (books and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle) — still so compelling as a character, so many sides, so believable, so much fun.
Thackeray Phin (books by John Sladek) — one of the most convincing portrayals of what a “Great Detective” figure would be in real life. Enthusiastic, clever, erudite, funny, but humanly fallible.
Inspector Cockrill (film
Green for Danger, played by Alastair Sim) — while Christianna Brand (probably my #1 detective-story writer) created the character, writer-director Sidney Gilliat and actor Sim brought Cockie (and how cocky he is) to life. He’s puckish and conniving, playing games with the suspects and thinking he’s oh so clever—but the plot brings him down to earth.
Mrs. Bradley (books by Gladys Mitchell) — a brilliant, shrieking, psychoanalyzing, sometime-murdering witch who investigates some of the most unconventional mysteries of the Golden Age. And she’s wonderful. (She also has a deep warmth, as did Mitchell.)
Turtle Wexler (book
The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin) — a totally unsentimentalized portrait of a kid who wants to be already grown up. She seems real, which may be the highest distinction a character can have.
Benoît Blanc (films
Knives Out and
Glass Onion, played by Daniel Craig) — already a favorite. As I
wrote elsewhere, I find his character admirable: “He uses his intelligence for good, enjoys the fine things in life (no sin, that, in my opinion), and is a kind, consummate gentleman.” To that I’ll add that, along with his kindness, he displays a savage wit.
Lieutenant Columbo (TV show, played by Peter Falk) — what can I say that hasn’t already been said? Columbo has insight and humility of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown without the moralizing. (Father Brown still came close to making this list, and may some other day.) But he’s no lovable puppy—at the end of an episode, viewer and murderer see how he planned detail after detail to trap the murderer. His character is a brilliant piece of work, largely on Falk’s part.
As usual, I’m sure I’m forgetting something major.
EDIT: Of course I did forget a major character! See my last entry above.
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