The List of Adrian Messenger

Saddled with an incredibly creaky whodunit plot, this thriller should really have been set in Victorian times to accommodate its villain with a passion for disguises, its Holmesian detective in a bowler hat, its murder in a fog-bound Limehouse that is pure Griffith. As it is, archly playing the country-house game complete with drawing-room teas, fox-hunting guests, and port passed to the left, Huston never seems entirely sure whether he means to parody or play straight. Though not without longueurs, the result is surprisingly rich in fun, not least the insolent assurance with which Huston can give away the murderer's identity, knowing he has four guest stars (Mitchum, Lancaster, Curtis and Sinatra) also prancing around in disguise to act as mystificatory red herrings. (From the novel by Philip MacDonald.