Best films/ shows / books with a female...

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  • Best films/ shows / books with a female...

    ...cop/ P.I. / bounty hunter?

    Doing some research for a next project, interested in knowing what/who peeps here like in that particular genre.

    Cheers!

  • #2
    Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

    Cagney and Lacey?


    Seriously, the only one that jumps out of the top of my head is Silence of the Lambs. I'm sure there must be more, but it does seem a little under-represented

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    • #3
      Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

      Some TV shows off the top of my head:

      The Closer
      Bones
      Rizzoli & Isles
      Saving Grace
      Veronica Mars
      Alias
      The X-Files

      There are a lot of female cops/detectives (usually as secondary characters, but sometimes equal weight co-stars) in shows like CSI, NCIS, various Law & Orders, Cold Case, Without A Trace, etc.


      Movies I can think of:
      Salt
      Fargo
      Gone Girl
      V.I. Warshawski
      Hanna
      The Heat
      Miss Congeniality
      Kill Bill
      Insomnia
      Out of Sight
      Haywire
      Erin Brockovich, perhaps

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      • #4
        Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

        Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
        Some TV shows off the top of my head:

        The Closer
        Bones
        Rizzoli & Isles
        Saving Grace
        Veronica Mars
        Alias
        The X-Files

        There are a lot of female cops/detectives (usually as secondary characters, but sometimes equal weight co-stars) in shows like CSI, NCIS, various Law & Orders, Cold Case, Without A Trace, etc.


        Movies I can think of:
        Salt
        Fargo
        Gone Girl
        V.I. Warshawski
        Hanna
        The Heat
        Miss Congeniality
        Kill Bill
        Insomnia
        Out of Sight
        Haywire
        Erin Brockovich, perhaps
        Sandra B. was also an alcoholic cop in Murder by Numbers, and Angie was in law enforcement in at last two more that I can think of, the Bone Collector and that one with Ethan Hawke, plus she plays another assassin in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Gina Davis is still one of my faves in Long Good Kiss Goodnight.

        But I don't think any of these female characters have the same mythical reputation as a Philip Marlowe, a Sherlock Holmes, a Poirot or a Clouseau, even though there are a number of major best-selling crime series starring women. There hasn't been another V.I. movie (I can't remember if the one that did come out was any good or not) and I don't know if they're thinking of doing another Stephanie Plum one. Not sure if Kay Scarpetta has made it to film yet. A couple of years ago I discovered an excellent crime series written by a pulitzer-winning reporter, Edna Buchanan, which is also pretty cool, set in Miami and featuring a tough-as-nails woman reporter, which would adapt well to the screen, I should think.

        In TV though, I agree there is a lot there.

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        • #5
          Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

          Thought I'd chime in on this one:

          FARGO is probably the best example of any movie out there. But you've seen it, right?

          Television has had many female cops, but you might want to look up a little sweetie played by Anne Francis named HONEY WEST (1965).

          On a more genuine note, there is the true story set in my hometown of Houston, TX. Back in 1985, I was watching the news one day and I saw a guy that I actually knew being cuffed and arrested for capital murder. His name was David Duval West, and he was brought down by a young private investigator named Kim Paris. You can find all the sordid details in a book called DADDY'S GIRL by Clifford Irving (that's right, the Clifford Irving).

          Oh, yeah, they also made a TV movie about it called LOVE AND LIES (1990) with Peter Gallagher and Mare Winningham. Check it out.
          "THIMK." - Amomynous

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          • #6
            Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

            Best ever series of female PI novels is by Sue Grafton.

            Bill
            Free Script Tips:
            http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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            • #7
              Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

              Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
              Best ever series of female PI novels is by Sue Grafton.

              Bill
              Oh, I'll have to check those out.

              @ R.D.: I'll look for that book / film too.

              Thanks to everybody for the tips.

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              • #8
                Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                Not exactly cops, but two amateur gals taking down a crime boss...

                High Heels and Low Lifes

                http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253126/?ref_=nv_sr_2

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                • #9
                  Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                  Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
                  But I don't think any of these female characters have the same mythical reputation as a Philip Marlowe, a Sherlock Holmes, a Poirot or a Clouseau, even though there are a number of major best-selling crime series starring women.
                  So Miss Marple, then? Hugely popular Agatha Christie character, with plenty of PBS adaptations. Anyone who's citing Poirot will also mention Miss Marple, unless you're talking specifically about sworn cops (in which case there won't be any before the last 40 years or so).

                  Or in TV, there's Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote. I would put her right up there with the other heroes among the Matlock audience. Another older, amateur detective.

                  For a book series with a very different vibe from your usual detective fare, there's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is a series of books about a female private detective in rural Botswana. She mostly solves small issues and petty crime - community problems and the like. But they're pretty delightful.

                  Your most famous cop duo of the classic sort is probably going to be Cagney and Lacey, though.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                    There's a superb British series on Netflix right now called Happy Valley. One of the best lead detective characters I've seen in a long time, and she happens to be female.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                      Originally posted by carcar View Post
                      There's a superb British series on Netflix right now called Happy Valley. One of the best lead detective characters I've seen in a long time, and she happens to be female.
                      Oh, nice, I'll have to check that out!

                      @ OMJS, you're right, I forgot about some of those series. Never actually read much AC, and never watched Murder She Wrote, so there you go. But that would be a good one to check out. I'm more interested in PIs than cops. And I saw a few episodes of the Botswana (it was made into a TV series) and really enjoyed it.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                        Let's not forget that masterpiece, Tank Girl.
                        We're making a movie here, not a film! - Kit Ramsey

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                        • #13
                          Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                          Might want to read and/or watch An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, the P.D. James novel and BBC mini-series. James' private detective Cordelia Gray also is the central character in The Skull Beneath the Skin and is mentioned occasionally in her Adam Dalgliesh novels.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                            Originally posted by gregbeal View Post
                            Might want to read and/or watch An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, the P.D. James novel and BBC mini-series. James' private detective Cordelia Gray also is the central character in The Skull Beneath the Skin and is mentioned occasionally in her Adam Dalgliesh novels.
                            Will do, thanks Greg.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Best films/ shows / books with a female...

                              Edna May Oliver teamed with James Gleason as detectives in a good series, The Penguin Pool Murders, etc.: https://oldmovieteams.wordpress.com/...-exasperation/

                              There's also the Torchy Blane series, with Glenda Farrell as a crime-solving reporter. B-movies, very entertaining.

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