The Game Is Afoot: For all things Sherlockian

[foxley]

I finally got to see The Hound of London, the 1993 TV movie starring Patrick Macnee as Holmes (and making Macnee one of a handful of actors to have played both Holmes and Watson).

First of this is unmistakably a TV movie, and the cheapness of the sets, costumes, etc. is painfully obvious. The stagey nature of the piece, and most of the action literally takes place on the stage in a theatre, makes me wonder if this was originally written for the stage and then adapted to be a TV movie.
(Edit: And in answer to my own question, Wikipedia informs me that yes, the screenplay was derived from a play written by Craig Bowlsby and first performed in September 1987 in Burnaby, British Columbia. The only carryover from the original stage production was Colleen Bignell who played Irene Norton in the play and the much smaller role of the Queen of Bohemia in the film.)

That said, the plot itself is quite good and stages an effective murder mystery with a limited number of players. And it makes several nice references to the canon for the dedicated Sherlockian without forcing them down the viewer's throat.

Macnee never really convinces me as Holmes, although he does capture Holmes' puckish sense of humour quite well (his dry delivery of "My eyesight is not what it was" to the villain toward the end is a delight). However, he is physically wrong for the part, for while he has the height, he is too solidly built. And an early scene where Holmes is seemingly going insane just falls flat. Probably intended as comic relief, it makes the mistake of showing us a crazy Holmes before showing us a sane one. In my opinion, Macnee plays a much better Watson than he does a Holmes.

John Scott-Paget gives us an excellent Watson, and one of the standouts of the production. Colin Skinner is a Lestrade who is even stupider than normal, showing no sign of canon Lestrade's rat-like cunning. Carolyn Wilkinson fails utterly to convince as Irene Norton, nee Adler. The rest of the supporting cast is adequate, with the other standout being Ned Lemley as Stonegrimble, the theatre caretaker, who is seemingly channeling Riffraff from The Rocky Horror Show.

[achilles]

There doesn't seem to be much shaking in terms of any new Holmes movies, but there is Liam Neeson playing Phillip Marlowe in the movie Marlowe, coming soon---looks good from the clips I've seen. I love movies based on all these old detective novels and other stories. Chandler is fairly well represented over the years, and Conan-Doyle is probably the author with the most TV, movies, and stage plays based on his works, (and that's even leaving off the Professor Challenger stuff), but Hammett has surprisingly little representation. To be sure there's Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon", and a few things based on his Continental Op, but nothing recently, and much less overall than Chandler.

[MajorHoy]

. . . but Hammett has surprisingly little representation. To be sure there's Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon", and a few things based on his Continental Op, but nothing recently, and much less overall than Chandler.

Aside from the Continental Op, Hammett didn't have a recurring character like Chandler's Marlowe.
There were the Thin Man movies with William Powell & Myrna Loy back in the day, which grew out of a single book, but I don't know if it would be worth trying to bring back that franchise.

[achilles]

Aside from the Continental Op, Hammett didn't have a recurring character like Chandler's Marlowe.
There were the Thin Man movies with William Powell & Myrna Loy back in the day, which grew out of a single book, but I don't know if it would be worth trying to bring back that franchise.

I've seen those, liked them, but acknowledge they might not work with today's zeitgeist. I'd like to see modern day versions of things like Red Harvest or The Dain Curse.

[foxley]

There doesn't seem to be much shaking in terms of any new Holmes movies, but there is Liam Neeson playing Phillip Marlowe in the movie Marlowe, coming soon---looks good from the clips I've seen. I love movies based on all these old detective novels and other stories. Chandler is fairly well represented over the years, and Conan-Doyle is probably the author with the most TV, movies, and stage plays based on his works, (and that's even leaving off the Professor Challenger stuff), but Hammett has surprisingly little representation. To be sure there's Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon", and a few things based on his Continental Op, but nothing recently, and much less overall than Chandler.

The Bogart version of The Maltese Falcon was actually the third time the novel had been filmed. There was a 1931 version starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and Satan Met a Lady in 1936, a comedic adaptation starring Bette Davis and Warren William. The 1931 version is pretty good (being made pre-Hays code Helps), but Satan Met a Lady is best avoided.

[Deathstroke]

My local library's mystery book club chose "Hound of the Baskervilles" as our April read. We are also going to watch the 1939 film version starring Basil Rathbone.

[CaptainEurope]

Finally saw ENOLA HOLMES on Netflix. It was decent, B-.
Henry Cavill who is dour and wooden as Superman is a fine Sherlock Holmes.
Anyway I rather see Cavill return as Sherlock then see him as Clark again.

Attachment 121550

Have you seen the second one? I quite enjoyed it, and it is inspired by a true story.

[signalman112]

Yes, Captain Europe, I saw ENOLA HOLES 2.
Thought it was on par as the first one. B-/B.
Hoping for a 3rd movie.

From 1954 Sunday Sherlock Holmes strip.

HolmesStrip.jpg

[achilles]

My local library's mystery book club chose "Hound of the Baskervilles" as our April read. We are also going to watch the 1939 film version starring Basil Rathbone.

I haven't seen that in years, but I'd like to see it again. I always liked Basil Rathbone, and bar Jeremy Brett, his version was my favorite on screen Holmes. I wonder what service has that '39 film these days?

[Deathstroke]

I haven't seen that in years, but I'd like to see it again. I always liked Basil Rathbone, and bar Jeremy Brett, his version was my favorite on screen Holmes. I wonder what service has that '39 film these days?

Well, I think you can find the full movie on Youtube if nothing else. It's in the public domain.

We'll be watching a DVD.

[Deathstroke]

Yes, Captain Europe, I saw ENOLA HOLES 2.
Thought it was on par as the first one. B-/B.
Hoping for a 3rd movie.

From 1954 Sunday Sherlock Holmes strip.

HolmesStrip.jpg

That's pretty damn cool. I never knew there was a comic strip. Be nice to see that collected.

[achilles]

Well, I think you can find the full movie on Youtube if nothing else. It's in the public domain.

We'll be watching a DVD.

I did so, thanks! Liked it quite a bit. And the picture quality was good. Rathbone was as good as I remembered.

[Deathstroke]

The Youtube series We Are What We Read has posted its 3rd episode.

This series gathers guests from across the mystery community from authors, fans, reviewers, bloggers and more.

Episode 3 features John Copenhaver, Robyn Gigl, Sherry Harris, Grace Koshida, James L'Etoile, Delia Pitts, LynDee Walker and in a bit of shameless self-promotion...me.

And yes, my pick does tie into this thread. I do recommend watching the whole episode but my part begins with an introduction starting around the 34:10 mark.

[achilles]

Well, I think you can find the full movie on Youtube if nothing else. It's in the public domain.

We'll be watching a DVD.

Thanks, I for some reason never think of things like that. Sherlock Holmes is comfort food for my soul. Whenever I feel down, I watch or read something about him. Give me a mystery where he has to solve a baseball player's murder over in the US, and I'd be in heaven!

[Jim Kelly]

From 1954 Sunday Sherlock Holmes strip.

Given Frank Giacoia was notorious for not being able to meet deadlines and was always depending on his friends to help him out, I'm surprised he was able to win this gig. But I'd bet other uncredited artists had a hand in finishing the pages.