Indian cultures aren't "stoic," and that's a stereotype that shouldn't be used to describe those books, either. The action is mental--there is a lot more internal voice going on in those novels that doesn't translate as well. (They're also great roadtrips/travelogues through the desert southwest.) Redford has to figure a way to see these people moving around without benefit of the energy of their thoughts translated on the screen.

It's awfully hard to come up with solid American contributions to the mystery genre, at least that are on a par with the British ones. I did always like Perry Mason the series and they're still fun to watch in reruns. Barnaby Jones is one my mom watched but I never did. Remington Steele was always a tongue-in-cheek drama that had more to do with maintaining a disguise than solving mysteries. Thinking back, Darren McGavin's The Night Stalker series was a pretty unique contribution to the genre, in an occult sort of way.