Well, this is a rum old do, and no mistake.
If you’re a fan of your more normal or ‘trad’ Holmes and Watson, as we are, this might take some getting used to, because it certainly ain’t that.
For starters, it’s partly played as a comedy. And it is funny, in places. But it is also a Sherlock Holmes mystery, albeit not an Arthur Conan Doyle one.
But it’s also a tragedy. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it. I started out thinking I wasn’t too keen. But by the end, I loved it.
It’s a thing quite apart from Holmes as he’s usually portrayed. Playing somewhat on the distinction – already mentioned by Holmes/Conan Doyle in the original canon – between the ‘real’ Holmes, and the Holmes portrayed to the World via Dr Watson.
There are various strange strands, and muddling McGuffins, from the Russian Royal Ballet, to disappearing midget acrobats. And all are woven together into what ultimately proves to be quite a lush and lovingly produced homage to the world’s foremost ‘consulting detective’.
I know Robert Stephen’s primarily as Aragorn, in the BBC radio adaptation of TLOTR. And secondarily as a character in Ridley Scott’s sublime Napoleonic debut movie, The Duellists.
If you love Jeremy Brett, or even Basil Rathbone, such one off Holmes turns can be difficult to digest. But Stephens totally won me round. And (?) Watson is perfect as his sidekick and companion, deftly mixing the earnest with the comic.
Some pretty big names add their heft to proceedings, in both major and minor roles: Christopher Lee as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, and Irene Handl as mrs Hudson both figure quite large, whilst Stanley Holloway (first gravedigger) and Frank Thornton (hotel receptionist) have smaller parts.
An unusual entry in the Holmes oeuvre, but worth checking out.