This is a reasonably faithful (to Rex Stout) movie and it has very good period piece settings. My major difficulty is with Maury Chaykin as Wolfe. Yes, he's a significant improvement over William Conrad--but a bit too distant and peevish and his shouting rants are not quite the bellowing that one associates with Wolfe. I find it difficult to relate Chaykin's acting and persona to the fictional character. Moreover, one feels mostly unsympathetic with his portrayal of Wolfe--nor does he have the mass,size or presence of the fictional Wolfe (what I would have given to see the great ORSON WELLES play this part in his day--he would have been perfect in size, bombast, wit, love of fine food and wine etc.; Raymond Burr would have made another fine Wolfe, in my opinion). Perhaps John Goodman--who certainly has the size and acting skill--would have been a better choice as Wolfe. In the books, Wolfe had the ability to silence people with one glance; he took in bushels of air in each breath. In short, he was a giant in size and intellect among men. Chaykin simply isn't and cannot convey this important side of Wolfe. <br /><br />Timothy Hutton is much better as Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's "legs and eyes" and banter between them is faithful to the books. However, the third person in the Wolfe household--Fritz--is also not quite right in his role. Here he has a Frenchish accent while in the Stout books Fritz, as befits his name, is Central European, as I recall, with a Germanic accent. Otherwise, Colin Fox looks and acts his part well. Others have commented about the orchid/planting room as not being large enough and having enough plants. I think a worse problem is that Wolfe is shown in this movie as if he is still in the office; Wolfe really worked with plants and got himself dirty--he didn't just peer at plants through a magnifying glass. <br /><br />Still, overall, this is an enjoyable period piece and a must for lovers of the great detective created by Rex Stout. To the person from Canada who wrote in, you must read the books to understand the Wolfe-Goodwin-Fritz dynamics which in a sense are the real "action" in the series. The Stout-Wolfe books are one of the great achievements of detective fiction and if I am griping a bit here, it is only because they set such a high mark.