SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 2 Hrs., 5 Min.
Released in 1970, through United Artists (later MGM), director/producer Billy Wilder, with collaborator I.A.L. Diamond, also co-wrote the period mystery, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
In the present-day, two London bank employees fulfill the late Dr. John H. Watson’s written instructions retrieving a locked strongbox from its vault fifty years after his death. Amongst his treasured mementos examined are several props relevant to the film’s storyline, along with Watson’s handwritten account of a case he has long suppressed. That is where the flashback begins.
Shifting to April 1887, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return home to 221B Baker Street after resolving a homicide in Yorkshire. Quickly bored, a restless Holmes begrudgingly agree to accompany Watson to a ballet performance of Swan Lake. Invited backstage, Holmes is propositioned by a Russian ballerina’s handler to become an illustrious sperm donor. Much to Watson’s shock and horror, Holmes tactfully concocts a phony excuse declining the proposed trade for an exquisite Stradivarius violin.
Barely escaping a watery grave, an amnesiac Belgian wife, Gabrielle Valladon, is subsequently brought to their notice. Her enigmatic plight compels Holmes and Watson to search for her missing husband. Despite Mycroft Holmes’ insistence that his brother drop the matter, Sherlock’s determined curiosity fatefully leads him, along with Watson and effervescent Gabrielle, to Inverness, Scotland.
As the case approaches its potentially heartbreaking end, romance, shadowy espionage, and even the Loch Ness Monster await the legendary British sleuth.
Sherlock Holmes: Robert Stephens
Dr. John H. Watson/Narrator: Colin Blakely
Gabrielle Valladon / Ilse von Hoffmanstal: Geneviève Page
Mycroft Holmes: Christopher Lee
Mrs. Hudson: Irene Handl
Rogozhin: Clive Revill
Madame Petrova: Tamara Toumanova
Woman in Wheelchair: Catherine Lacey
Scottish Gravedigger: Stanley Holloway
Scottish Guide: James Copeland
Queen Victoria: Mollie Maureen
Von Tirpitz: Peter Madden
Cabbie: Michael Balfour
First Carter: John Garrie
Second Carter: Godfrey James
Hotel Manager: Robert Cawdron
Baggage Handler: Alex McCrindle
Scientists: John Scott Martin & Martin Carroll
Monk: Paul Hansard
Other Monks: Uncredited
Other Scientists: Uncredited
Other Gravediggers: Uncredited
Submersible Crew: Uncredited
20th Century Bank Employees: Uncredited
Emille Valladon: Uncredited
Additional Spies: Uncredited
Notes: The theatrical release is severely truncated from Wilder’s far more episodic, 200-minute initial cut. Among the deleted segments left incomplete, and in some instances, completely lost, are: a present-day prologue, with Colin Blakely playing Watson’s descendant; the Yorkshire case (which is instead mentioned); the entire “Curious Case of the Upside Down Room,” where a bizarre homicide involves furniture literally up on the ceiling; the entire “Adventure of the Dumbfounded Detective,” which is a flashback spelling out Holmes’ sexuality (or perhaps lack thereof); a comedic cruise ship interlude entitled “The Dreadful Business of the Naked Honeymooners;” and two alternate epilogues – one of which references Jack the Ripper. Predictably, the studio insisted upon a streamlined running time to maximize movie screenings per day.
In 2016, the 30-foot Loch Ness Monster model lost underwater nearly a half-century before during on-location filming was finally located.
REVIEW:
Utilizing Panavision cinematography, Billy Wilder devises a gorgeous-looking Sherlock Holmes adventure that echoes the Hollywood epics of the 1930’s through the early 1960’s. More so, this production’s sets were evidently built either to or even beyond actual scale – think of it as the set designer fabricating an entire house when only a room would have been sufficient.
Such elaboration also meant necessary decorations and props being more extensive than most other period films. Taking closer looks at the construction overkill for 221B Baker Street and Mycroft’s swanky Diogenes Club will bear this observation out. Between these enormous sets and authentic location shooting in Scotland, Wilder consequently produced the most expansive Sherlock Holmes project up to that time.
As much as Wilder’s 200-minute version would be fascinating viewing (in practicality, a TV mini-series would have made more sense), his two-hour incarnation doesn’t overstay its welcome. Wilder’s storyline briskly blends mystery, light-hearted suspense, semi-risqué humor, historical spy games, the Loch Ness Monster, and timeless poignancy into a cinematic adult cocktail. The best asset of which fulfilling Wilder’s vivid aspirations can be found in his casting.
Despite the impossible task of surpassing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, the chemistry emanating between Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely is highly underrated – that is, given a century of competition from other productions. Stephens (primarily a stage performer) is an inspired choice for a semi-effeminate Holmes. Even more impressive is a hilarious Blakely (especially at the ballet) making a convincing case that he is the next-best blustery Watson after Nigel Bruce.
Completing this trio is a wonderful contribution from French actress Geneviève Page, who projects a surprisingly complex successor to Irene Adler. Adding welcome support are Irene Handl as the long-suffering ‘Mrs. Hudson,’ and Clive Revill’s amusing rendition of the ballerina’s handler, ‘Rogozhin.’
Yet, hiding in plain sight amongst a roster of non-descript British character actors is a near-unrecognizable Christopher Lee. Unmistakably, he is spot-on in a pivotal turn as the condescending ‘Mycroft Holmes.’ Given he himself has portrayed Holmes multiple times, Lee lends further credibility to Wilder’s unique depiction of Conan Doyle’s mythology.
‘Originality’ is perhaps the operative description of Wilder’s take on Sherlock Holmes. Rejecting Hollywood’s decades of either loosely adapting Conan Doyle’s stories with mixed results or blandly conjuring up new Holmes escapades, Wilder strives for a classy middle ground celebrating fiction’s greatest detective. Admirably, such creative effort is worth it as far as faithfully presenting Conan Doyle’s ensemble within a fresh big-screen mystery worthy of vintage Hollywood.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, in that sense, is not meant as either gothic mystery or a period spoof of Conan Doyle. Ultimately, Private Life is a Sherlock Holmes caper that even non-fans can appreciate as first-class entertainment.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8½ Stars
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