Directed
by: Billy Wilder, Starring: Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Geneviève Page, Christopher Lee. Comedy/Crime,
UK 1970, 125mins, Cert PG.
Queen
Victoria: “When can we expect to read Dr Watson's account of the case?”
Holmes:
“I hope never, ma'am. It has not been one of my more successful endeavours.”
From Cushing
to Cumberbatch, Rathbone to Robert Downey Jnr, Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous
literary detective is one, if not the
most portrayed fictional character on both the big and small screen. In amongst
the seemingly endless list of esteemed actors to take have taken on the mantle,
Robert Stephens’ 1970 interpretation is often, like the film it so admirably
services, undeservedly overlooked. Co-written and directed by the legendary
Billy Wilder, this irreverent yet affectionate film playfully reinterprets
long-held canon about the Baker Street detective and his partner in
crime-solving, Dr. Watson (Colin Blakely), and grafts a romantic back-story
layered with melancholy which lingers like loch fog throughout the film.
Originally
running in at some 200 minutes in its first cut, the eventually released version
was by all accounts butchered by studio insistence resulting in the culling of
roughly a third of Wilder’s intended material. Two of the four cases scripte
d were axed, along with some additional flashback material. As a result, the surviving 125 minutes inevitably feel off-kilter and uneven, although there’s still heaps of enjoyment to be had. For starters there’s the pleasingly amusing diversion whereby Holmes is invited to impregnate a famous Russian ballerina in exchange for a priceless Stradivarius violin, before the suitably convoluted and frankly barmy main case involving (but by no means limited to) the Loch Ness Monster, midgets, Trappist monks, canary smuggling and Queen Victoria!
d were axed, along with some additional flashback material. As a result, the surviving 125 minutes inevitably feel off-kilter and uneven, although there’s still heaps of enjoyment to be had. For starters there’s the pleasingly amusing diversion whereby Holmes is invited to impregnate a famous Russian ballerina in exchange for a priceless Stradivarius violin, before the suitably convoluted and frankly barmy main case involving (but by no means limited to) the Loch Ness Monster, midgets, Trappist monks, canary smuggling and Queen Victoria!
Wilder,
together with his long-time collaborating co-writer A. L. Diamond gift Robert
Stephen’s Holmes with pithy witticisms, for example, upon being requested to help
recover six missing midgets, he pronounces thusly: “The circus owner offers me
five pounds for my services. That's not even a pound a midget!” Alongside
Holmes, the excellent Colin Blakely more than holds his own as the
long-suffering Dr. Watson, whether it’s excitedly spotting the supposed Loch
Ness Monster, or single-handedly (and somewhat over ambitiously) trying to get
off with an entire company of Russian ballerinas. To be fair he appears to be
making reasonable progress - that is until Holmes impishly suggests he and
Watson are lovers!
Geneviève Page’ delivers a mesmerising performance
as the multi-layered Victorian femme-fatale ‘Gabrielle’ who manages to best
even the great Holmes, and ‘Mycroft’ - who is also always several steps ahead
of his sleuthing brother - is memorably portrayed by the ever-reliable
Christopher Lee (the only actor to have played the roles of both Mycroft and
Holmes in his career).
Rich
period production detail and some lovely location work in Scotland provide
plenty of diverting pleasures, all whisked along to the accompaniment of Miklós Rózsa’s memorable score.
**** (out of 5*)
Paul Worts
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