Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as speculative fiction and other genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Kogoro Akechi, and Hercule Poirot. Juvenile stories featuring The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children have also remained in print for several decades.
John Randolph Webb was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet franchise, which he created. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.
Michael Hammer is a fictional character created by the American author Mickey Spillane. Hammer debuted in the 1947 book I, the Jury. Hammer is a no-holds-barred private investigator whose love for his secretary Velda is outweighed only by his willingness to kill a killer. Hammer's best friend is Pat Chambers, Captain of NYPD Homicide. Hammer was a World War II army veteran who spent two years fighting jungle warfare in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II against Japan.
Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective, who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his career, particularly as a noted Shakespearean. He is the recipient of several theatrical accolades: four Drama Desk Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards and two Obie Awards for Distinguished Performance by an Actor. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Arthur Kopit's 1969 production of Indians.
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie is a 1998 (two-hour-format) television film based on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order . Written by Charles Kipps, and directed by Jean de Segonzac, the film originally aired on NBC on November 8, 1998. The film revolves around Noth's character, Detective Mike Logan. Kipps received a 1999 Edgar Award for his screenplay.
The Squeeze is a 1977 British gangster thriller directed by Michael Apted and starring Stacy Keach, Edward Fox, David Hemmings and Stephen Boyd. It was based on the 1974 novel Whose Little Girl Are You? by Bill James. The screenplay was by Minder creator Leon Griffiths.
Hawaiian Eye is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the ABC television network.
The Last Detective is a British TV comedy drama series, broadcast on ITV between 7 February 2003 and 31 May 2007, starring Peter Davison as the title character, Detective Constable "Dangerous Davies". The series is based on the "Dangerous Davies" series of novels written by Leslie Thomas, and was filmed in the north London suburbs of Willesden, Neasden and Harlesden.
Bloody Bones is a horror/mystery novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the fifth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.
Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All is a 1989 American mystery crime thriller television film. It starred Stacy Keach, Lynda Carter, Lindsay Bloom, Don Stroud, Michelle Phillips, Lyle Alzado, and Jim Carrey. It was filmed in Culver City, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. The film premiered on May 21, 1989 on CBS.
The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, and Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln. It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda, in association with Columbia Pictures Television. A novel of the same name by John Leekley was published as a companion to the series in 1982, based on a story by John Leekley and Bruce Catton and the teleplay by Ian McLellan Hunter. The title refers to the colors of the uniforms worn by United States Army and Confederate States Army soldiers respectively.
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a 1916 American short silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A parody of Sherlock Holmes fiction, the film addresses the topic of narcotics in a very light comedic way.
Pros and Cons is an American crime drama television series that ran on ABC from September 26, 1991 to January 2, 1992, in the United States during the 1991–92 television season. It is a revamped, more lighthearted version of Gabriel's Fire, which aired on ABC the previous season.
Jack Taylor is an Irish mystery television drama based on the novels by Ken Bruen. Set in Galway, it features Iain Glen in the eponymous role of Jack Taylor, a former officer with the Garda Síochána who becomes a "finder" after leaving the service; Taylor looks for clues others have overlooked, and knows the streets of his hometown like the back of his hand.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, with Stacy Keach in the title role, is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 28, 1984, to May 13, 1987. The series consisted of 51 installments: 46 one-hour episodes, a two-part pilot episode, and three TV Movies.
