When he wasn't directing the best Star Trek movies, Nicholas Meyer had a successful sideline in Sherlock Holmes pastiche novels. The most famous of these was The Seven-Per-Cent Solution which saw Holmes (Nicol Williamson) whisked off to Vienna by Watson (Robert Duvall) to be treated for his cocaine addiction by Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin). This is an odd film, and not just because of the central Holmes meets Freud concept. It clearly wants to be a purely character-driven study of Holmes, delving deep into his psyche to explore his addiction and childhood trauma, but halfway through decides it would be much more fun to just have Holmes and Freud team up to solve a case, at which point it becomes a typical adventure film with sword duels atop speeding trains. Williamson and Arkin make for fun sparring partners, but Duvall is horribly miscast. His English accent is just appalling and even worse in the narration. Luckily he's made more or less redundant once Freud shows up.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee), who has recently inherited the family estate after the death of his uncle, believes his life is in danger from an old curse and Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) is brought in to investigate. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the most famous Holmes adventure, but it has never really been one of the best. And yet, because it's the most famous one it's the one that gets adapted the most. For my money, this Hammer production is the best of them all. Directed by Hammer regular Terence Fisher (Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein) and made in the colourful and dynamic style typical of the studio's horror output, it is mostly faithful to the book (thus sharing some of its problems), but moves through all the events at a nice brisk pace. There is a delightfully campy state of dread throughout, although the final reveal of the hound itself is anti-climatic. Cushing makes for a spirited and eccentric Holmes, but André Morell is utterly forgettable as Watson.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
There's so much I love about this film, which chronicles cases Watson kept hidden from the public due to their delicate nature. Christopher Challis' cinematography, that incredibly witty I.A.L. Diamond and Wilder dialogue, the sublime score by Miklós Rózsa, and the wonderful performances of Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely as Holmes and Watson, Stephens in particular is one of my favourite takes on the character. The main mystery is a little lacking, and the attempts to explore Holmes as a closet homosexual are unsatisfying, even Wilder admitted he could've done better. It's also something of a disjointed movie. The original plan was for it to be nearly three hours long with multiple chapters offering insight into Holmes' character and relationship with Watson, but it tested badly and the studio had Wilder cut the number of chapters down to two. Sadly, much of the footage and audio for the cut chapters has been lost so we'll likely never see Wilder's complete version.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
While attending a conference on the supernatural in Quebec, Holmes and Watson hear about a murder in a nearby village that the locals are blaming on a monster. This was the eighth of fourteen films made starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. The first two were made by 20th Century Fox with sizeable budgets, but Universal took over for the remainder of the series and made them all on the cheap and set in the then present day. Although an original story, The Scarlet Claw a blatant riff on The Hound of the Baskervilles with the action relocated from Dartmoor to Canada. Like Baskervilles, it suffers from being a bit dull and the supernatural element failing to generating much in the way of chills or even thrills. In many ways, Rathbone was always the perfect Holmes, but I find his take rather too simplistic. He's a creature of cold logic and reason and very little else. Not helping matters is Bruce's bumbling Watson, who often feels like he's wandering in from the set of Abbott and Costello Meet Sherlock Holmes.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson (Christopher Plummer and James Mason) are called in to investigate when a sadistic killer begins prowling the streets of Whitechapel. Like The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Murder by Decree mixes together the fictional and historical, plunging Holmes head first into the brutality and horror of the Ripper killings. It isn't the first film to do so, 1965's A Study in Terror got there first, but this one also incorporates the popular conspiracy theory that the killings were a Masonic ritual with connections to the highest reaches of British society. Alas, the low budget and uninspired direction make it feel more like a TV movie with some unintentionally hilarious moments. Couldn't stop giggling during the first murder which was shot like Jaws right down to the musical score. However, Plummer and Mason do make for a great Holmes and Watson. The pea scene in particular is a complete delight.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Many of the Holmes films of the 70s and 80s were twists on the classic formula. As well as The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and Murder by Decree, there was also Young Sherlock Holmes, Without A Clue, and The Great Mouse Detective. Based on the Basil of Baker Street children's books by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone that reimagined all the familiar characters as rodents, it sees Basil investigate the case of a missing toymaker which is all part of Professor Ratigan's plan to take over the British (Mouse) Empire. Not one of Disney's greatest efforts, but still a fun adventure film featuring delicious slice of Vincent Price ham as Ratigan. It was also the film that saved Walt Disney Animation, which was close to being shut down following the massive box office failure of The Black Cauldron. Without this film being a hit the Disney Renaissance never would've happened.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
I was planning on making a review for that Hammer version of Hound of the Baskervilles one of these days, as I love it and of course own the DVD, along with many of Fisher's other pieces, especially Dracula and Curse of Frankenstein which I have already reviewed. The only part of this version I wasn't a huge fan of was how awkward the romance scenes with Christopher Lee and Marla Landi. Peter Cushing is brilliant as Holmes here.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame Black Cauldron didn't do better, it always looks so cool, but The Great Mouse Detective also has Vincent Price as Ratigan, so huge bonus there!
Basil Rathbone will probably always be the first actor I think of when I hear Sherlock Holmes, but I haven't seen them in years. My mom is a huge fan of his films as the sleuth though.
The Great Mouse Detective was one of my favorite movies growing up. I loved how genuinely scary it and especially Ratigan could be at times. I never knew he was voiced by Vincent Price, though!
ReplyDeleteBig a fan as I am of Sherlock Holmes, I have to confess to having only seen one of these: Murder by Decree, which I like very much, despite its flaws. The Holmes/Watson relationship is wonderfully played by Plummer and Mason (and the pea scene is just brilliant). I know the grand conspiracy theory has been discredited, but it still makes for a ripping yarn (ha!); I agree that there's a bit too much conversation and not enough sleuthing going on, but I'm okay with it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a strange thing, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. There are so many other and better Holmes tales ('The Speckled Band' is fantastic, for example), it's hard to see why this one, with its somewhat lame premise and ending, became so popular. Maybe it's just the romance of the moors.
Strangely missing from this list is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother', a very funny Gene Wilder film which is pretty much as its title suggests.
As far as Holmeses go, for me, although Basil Rathbone is very good, and definitely looks the part, the amazing Jeremy Brett remains the ne plus ultra.
Sorry for the missing close-italics tag!
DeleteOh yeah! Andre Morell is in a few other Hammer films and also 'The Giant Behemoth' (that title is a of course, quite silly) as well. I think he was at his best in 'Plague of the Zombies'.
ReplyDeleteAnyone familiar with the Michael Caine (Holmes) and Ben Kingsley (Watson) film "Without a Clue?" Not a classic, to be sure (the mystery is pretty lame), but the concept is really fun: Watson is a genius detective who has hired an actor to portray his fictional character of Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, the actor he hired (Caine) is an idiot (and a womanizer and a drunk). It's primarily worth watching because of the two leads.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely recall that one, but it's been a long time. An amusing concept to be sure, and I've always liked Michael Caine.
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