Sherlock Holmes & The Deadly Necklace – Shortly after their hit collaboration on THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, Christopher Lee and director Terence Fisher returned to Holmesiana for Lee’s sole feature film portrayal of the world’s greatest detective. Shot in Berlin with Hammer regular Thorley Walters as Dr. Watson, Lee considered it to be “one of the best things I’ve ever done because I tried to play Holmes really as he was written – as a very intolerant, argumentative, difficult man.”
Sherlock Holmes – Having first portrayed the legendary detective for Hammer Films in 1959, Peter Cushing enthusiastically returned to the role of Sherlock Holmes for this 1968 BBC television series co-starring Nigel Stock as Dr. Watson. Though most of the shows were forever lost, these six surviving episodes – including the two-part The Hound of The Baskervilles adapted by award-winning playwright Hugh Leonard – showcase Cushing at his elementary best, with guest stars that include Madge Ryan, Ann Bell, Nick Tate and Gary Raymond. This definitive presentation of SHERLOCK HOLMES – which also includes the classic cases A Study in Scarlet, The Blue Carbuncle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery and The Sign of Four – is now restored from BBC tape protection masters.
What We Thought:
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are absolute legends and both tackled Sherlock Holmes at various stages. Lee played Holmes once in Sherlock Holmes and The Deadly Necklace which got a fantastic Blu-ray release. This 1962 West German-French-Italian co-production is in German and also has an English dub which Lee himself wished was the original audio. It’s in black & white and Lee gives a stellar performance even if the movie itself is a bit choppy.
That’s my biggest issue with the film, it jumps around in a badly edited way. The story works with Lee’s Holmes trying to convince the authorities that Moriarty is a criminal who killed over Cleopatra’s necklace, but scenes don’t flow very smoothly despite Lee’s best efforts. You can clearly tell some of the supporting cast are not British and neither are some of the locations. But it’s Lee’s only take on Sherlock so I dug it and wish he did more because he very much looked the part especially with the wardrobe.
Cushing’s was a TV series and this Blu-ray release includes the only six existing episodes. Cushing’s Holmes doesn’t have the towering height of Lee’s, but Cushing wasn’t short and carries his Holmes well. I binged all six episodes over two days and very much enjoyed Cushing’s version. The show looks good restored and I wish there were more episodes available, but even with only six episodes this is must own for Cushing fans.
The six episodes are the two-part The Hound of The Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, The Blue Carbuncle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery and The Sign of Four. With it being from the BBC the series is much more British than the Lee film and the actors and locations are more suitable. It has great costuming as well.
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE Special Features
Audio Commentary With Film Writers Kim Newman And Barry Forshaw
Tony Dalton Interviews Terence Fisher
Tony Dalton On Terence Fisher
Trailer
SHERLOCK HOLMES Special Features
Audio Commentaries For All Episodes Featuring Kim Newman, Author Of Anno Dracula, Barry Forshaw, Author Of Brit Noir And David Stuart Davies, Author Of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century Of The Master Detective On Screen
All Episodes Available With BBC Countdown Clock
Illustrated Peter Cushing Audio Interview With David Stuart Davies
Missing Episode Clips With Optional Commentary By Jonathan Rigby, Author Of English Gothic, And Horror Historian Kevin Lyons
The Nerds Templar 