Synopsis for
Sleuth (1972)

Andrew Wyke, a famous mystery writer, invited wife Marguerites lover, Milo Tindle, to his country house for the weekend.

Marguerite had lavish tastes and numerous lovers, but would not leave Andrew because none of her lovers could afford to maintain her lifestyle. Knowing that Milo, a self-made popular hairdresser from a poor Italian immigrant family, could barely afford Marguerites expenses at it is, Andrew decided to give him a large sum of money to take Marguerite off his hands.

Andrew came up with an insurance fraud scheme that will give Milo 170,000, the value of Marguerites most expensive jewels. Milo will play the burglar and steal Marguerites jewels, while Andrew used his talents as mystery write to plan out corresponding clues to fool the police and insurance company. Milo gets Marguerite, Andrew gets to stop paying her bills.

All went well, the two men had great fun playing out the plot, until Andrew pointed a gun at Milo he WAS the jealous husband after all. Andrew found it humiliating that his wife had chosen a lover from the lower classes, and Milos good look, youth, specifically sexual prowess further infuriated the impotent man.

Two days after Milos murder, Inspector Doppler arrived to investigate the disappearance of Milo. Andrew admitted to the entire event as a game he had planned out for his own entertainment and that Milo was not really killed he used a blank bullet. But Doppler found evidences suggesting otherwise and arrested Andrew. Andrew now began to see the difference between murder in real life and his books. The police inspectors are not all stupid and the upper class gentry who moonlights as detective do not always have the upper hand.

As Inspector Doppler had the panicking Andrew pinned and ready to be arrested, he took off the theatrical makeup and revealed himself to none other than Milo Tindle. And it didnt stop there, Milo had setup a much more elaborate game to get back at Andrew.

Andrew had gone out the day before, and as Milo sneaked into the house to setup his own game, he met Thea, Andrews mistress. Thea and Milo shared the same detest in Andrews insane sense of humour and condescending manner to the lower classes, and she agreed to play the murder victim.

Milo told Andrew how he had strangled Thea as his revenge and hid four incriminating evidences in his house; and that the police are on their way to his manor. Andrew went through 13 aggrevating minutes running around looking for the evidences, only to find that Thea wasn't killed and it wasnt the police inspectors at the door it was just Milo exhibiting his talent as an amateur actor.

With everything he cherished insulted and dragged through the mud by Milo, Andrew shot and killed him with real bullets. But since Milo had reported his prior experience to the police, Andrew had now trapped himself with no creditable excuses, and a house-full of evidences to prove that everything Milo said about him was true.