Most critics find Sleuth an engrossing battle of wits, with praise centred on Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine’s sparring and their ability to make theatrical performances compelling on screen. The reviews also credit Mankiewicz’s assured direction with sustaining the intricate mystery, while the mansion’s detailed sets and unsettling atmosphere give the verbal contest a persuasive setting. For the majority, the tricks remain entertaining, with several reviews finding something disturbing in the gamesmanship and class hostility.
The reservations concern how fairly those tricks treat the audience and how well the play’s deceptions survive the move to film. Enthusiasm varies, but eight of the nine reviews are positive, making the spread broad rather than evenly divided. The New Yorker supplies the lone negative assessment: it acknowledges the accomplished filmmaking but finds the material unworthy of Olivier’s intensity, and the cleverness tiresome once the early exchanges are over.