Sherlock Holmes (1981) (TV)

Director:

Peter H. Hunt

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)
William Gillette (play)

Release Date:

15 November 1981 (USA)

Plot:

Prof. Moriarity returns to kill Sherlock Holmes, and unleashes a complex and clever plan to lure the great detective to his death. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play | Character Name In Title

Cast

Frank Langella	...	Sherlock Holmes
Susan Clark	...	Madge Larrabee
Stephen Collins	...	Larrabee
Richard Woods	...	Dr. John H. Watson
George Morfogen	...	Prof. Moriarty
Laurie Kennedy	...	Alice Faulkner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Atkins	...	Craigin
Louis Beachner	...	Sidney Prince
Robert Brolli	...	Forton
Yusef Bulos	...	Count von Stalburg
William Duell	...	Parsons
Hugo N. Furst	...	Cab man
Jennifer Harmon	...	Mrs. Smeedley
Frank Maraden	...	Leary
Sebastian Moran	...	Old gentleman
Michael Quill	...	John
Dwight Schultz	...	Bassick
Christian Slater	...	Billy
Ralph Strait	...	McTeague
John Tillinger	...	Sir Edward Leighton
Barbette Tweed	...	Terese

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes: The Strange Case of Alice Faulkner (USA)

Runtime:

USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Company:

Williamstown Theatre Festival

Trivia:

Christian Slater's feature film debut. Coincidentally, his father Michael Hawkins also made his feature film debut in a Sherlock Holmes film portraying Lord Caphill in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).

Movie Connections:

Version of Sherlock Holmes (1916)

A nostalgic treat

William Gillette, who wrote this melodrama, was the definitive Holmes of his generation, and this production is a great tribute to him. Being an old melodrama, the live audience laughed throughout: but the actors got in to the spirit of the fun and we should too. It is a very well-staged play, superbly paced and acted, and the audience applauded every time the curtain rose. In a word, I enjoyed it immensely.

What I think is particularly valuable here are the well-known props. Mr. Gillette invented the use of the deerstalker and the Inverness cape--they're here. I guess I miss the big calabash a little. Mr. Langella is a powerful force, and interprets the part most satisfactorily. One can see that, despite his important film roles, he is most effective as a stage actor. Stephen Collins did a good turn, as did George Morfogen as Professor Moriarty (wait till you see the tortuous vein throbbing in his forehead).

On the negative side, the ending was a little unsettling--but I don't want to spoil anything. Great fun.