“Sleuth” (探偵／スルース), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1973, STB / Tatekan (c. 51 × 145 cm) P192
This is an original Japanese STB / tatekan signboard poster (formed from two B2 panels) produced for the 1973 Japanese theatrical release of Sleuth (探偵／スルース), the 1972 mystery thriller directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and based on Anthony Shaffer’s hit stage play. A legendary two-hander set almost entirely inside a country manor, it stars Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine as rival adversaries locked in an escalating game of deception and revenge; both actors received Academy Award nominations, and the film remains one of Mankiewicz’s finest late works.
Film background
Wealthy crime novelist Andrew Wyke invites Milo Tindle, his wife’s younger lover, to his elaborate estate under the guise of proposing an “insurance scam”: Milo will stage a burglary and steal Andrew’s jewellery, funding a new life with Marguerite while Andrew recoups the “loss” from insurers. What begins as a mischievous caper quickly turns deadly serious as their scheme spirals into humiliation, mock murder, and real violence—each man determined to outwit the other. With razor-sharp dialogue, theatrical set pieces, and a dark sense of humour, Sleuth remains a benchmark of puzzle-box thrillers.
Poster design
A fantastic, text-led Japanese design that sells the film’s premise as a deadly “game”: Olivier and Caine stare out through magnifying glasses—two equal rivals scrutinising each other—while the lower panel erupts into collage-like symbols of deception: a clown mask, roulette/dartboard motifs, maze imagery, and the sense of performance becoming danger. The huge brush-style kanji title 探偵 (“Detective”) anchors the design with dramatic weight, while the katakana スルース and the English SLEUTH appear beneath. In tall tatekan format, the poster reads like a theatre marquee—high impact at distance, richly detailed up close.
About STB (Tatekan) posters
STBs (tatekans) are tall, two-panel Japanese cinema signboard posters measuring roughly 51 × 145 cm. Formed from two B2 sheets, they were intended for signboards and theatre units, made for visibility rather than permanence—which is why surviving examples are so prized by collectors today.
This example is the common and correct format: two B2 sheets joined together to create the full STB display.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 52 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
