A whodunit is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues to the case, from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric, amateur, or semi-professional detective.
Panic is a 2000 American crime drama film written and directed by Henry Bromell and starring William H. Macy in the lead role, alongside Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, John Ritter, Miguel Sandoval, and Donald Sutherland. The film centers on Alex (Macy), a hitman who suffers a midlife crisis amidst the number of struggles he and his family face. Determined to quit contract killing, he seeks treatment from therapist Dr. John Parks (Ritter) and enters an affair with a younger woman, Sarah Cassidy (Campbell).
Leonard Michael Maltin is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published annually from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry.
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based on the work of Sydney Water Police who fight crime around Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney Harbour.
Invisible Ghost is a 1941 American horror film directed by Joseph H. Lewis, produced by Sam Katzman and starring Bela Lugosi.
Murder on Flight 502 is a 1975 American made-for-television drama mystery thriller film directed by George McCowan. The film stars Robert Stack, Sonny Bono and Farrah Fawcett-Majors, along with an all-star ensemble television cast in supporting roles. It was inspired by the success of the Airport films.
Cop and a Half is a 1993 American family buddy cop-comedy film directed by Henry Winkler, and stars Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II and Ray Sharkey. Reynolds plays a veteran cop who reluctantly takes an eight-year-old boy (Golden) as his partner to solve a murder investigation.
The Night Flier is a 1997 American horror film based on the 1988 short story of the same name by Stephen King. Directed and co-written by Mark Pavia, the film stars Miguel Ferrer as Richard Dees, a tabloid reporter who, while investigating a series of murders committed in airfields, begins to suspect that the killer may be a vampire.
Frankenstein is a 2004 American science fiction horror television film produced and directed by Marcus Nispel and written by John Shiban. It is a loose adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and stars Parker Posey as a police detective on the trail of a serial killer, played by Thomas Kretschmann, in present-day New Orleans. The detective is aided in her search by one of the killer's creations, played by Vincent Perez. Adam Goldberg, Ivana Miličević and Michael Madsen co-star. It was produced by Lions Gate Films, and aired on the USA Network on October 10, 2004.
Tight Spot is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson and Brian Keith. The story was inspired by then prominent U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver's strong-arm tactics in coercing Virginia Hill to testify in the infamous Bugsy Siegel organized crime prosecution. The Democratic senator from Tennessee attracted national attention with the new medium of televised investigation hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The next year saw Kefauver as the Vice Presidential nominee with former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II for the Democrats in the 1956 election against Republican incumbent 34th president Dwight D. Eisenhower and his running mate Richard M. Nixon, who were reelected.
Paul John Perri is an American-Canadian film and television actor. Perri is best known for portraying Edwards and Skinless Parker in Hellraiser: Bloodline, Harry Hume from Chaos, and as Dr. Sidney Bloom from Manhunter.
The Avenger is a 1960 West German crime film directed by Karl Anton and starring Heinz Drache, Ingrid van Bergen and Ina Duscha. It is based on the 1926 novel The Avenger by Edgar Wallace. It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were designed by the art director Willi Herrmann.
To Catch a Killer is a two-part television film from 1992, directed by Eric Till and starring Brian Dennehy and Michael Riley. It is based on the true story of the pursuit of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Teresa's Tattoo is a 1994 American action comedy-crime film directed by Julie Cypher. The film stars C. Thomas Howell, Nancy McKeon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Melissa Etheridge, who also performed songs for the film, Casey Siemaszko, Adrienne Shelly, and Majel Barrett. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Steele Justice is a 1987 American action film written and directed by Robert Boris and starring Martin Kove, Sela Ward, and Bernie Casey.
Don't Answer the Phone! is a 1980 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Robert Hammer. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
Jump into Hell is a 1955 war film directed by David Butler. The film stars Jacques Sernas and Kurt Kasznar. As the first Hollywood film based on the war in French Indochina, the story is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Sketch Artist, also known as The Sketch Artist, is a 1992 American made-for-television crime-thriller film written by Michael Angeli and directed by Phedon Papamichael and starring Jeff Fahey, Sean Young and Drew Barrymore. It was released theatrically in Canada, Sweden and South Korea.
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx is a 1942 black-and-white murder mystery/horror B film by Universal Studios directed by William Nigh and starring Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Samuel S. Hinds. Although Clarence Upson Young is credited with the screenplay, the actors mostly ad-libbed their lines. The plot involves the search for a serial killer who is targeting men who have been acquitted of murder. The film received poor reviews upon release.
The House of God is a 1984 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Donald Wrye and starring Tim Matheson, Charles Haid, Michael Sacks, Ossie Davis, and Howard Rollins. It is based on Samuel Shem's novel of the same name. According to Leonard Maltin, the film was never released theatrically.
