A wonderful piece on Rathbone and Flynn sword fights.

Flynn & Rathbone – the perfect duelists

Read almost any study of the Golden Age of movies and sooner or later you will probably come up against a reference to the “classic pairing” of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone as swashbuckling duellists. They are the go-to names and imagery for the genre. When you want to illustrate a classic swordfight – you use a still from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. In the collective consciousness these two fought each other through countless rounds in countless films. Rathbone and Flynn, Flynn and Rathbone locking swords, throwing giant shadows across our memory as they parry and thrust and leap in an eternal, immortal showdown.

So, in how many movies did they duel each other? Ten? Seven? Five?

No, actually it was two.

I will let you read the rest at the source;

And another good piece here;

Two Holmes' in one movie!

A lot of times when watching older movies I will read the list of co-starring actors and see if any of those listed became famous in other roles. My wife hates that I then tell her these little bits of trivia. (But then again my wife hates the bagpipes.) She is also trying to get my daughter to hate that I do that. My daughter is holding out.

But I digress.

While watching the Rathbone/Bruce film, "Dressed to Kill" (1946) I noticed the name Holmes Herbert. (1882-1956).
An English born actor who never made a film in his home country, but played a supporting role in many American made films with notable English Actors. And as you can see from the list, he was in several films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as well as Dressed to Kill. And The Pearl of Death. (And the list goes on with other of the Holmes movies and other Rathbone films. Holmes Herbert IMDb).

A couple of years ago, one of the hosts of the Academy Awards, got in a little trouble for commenting on the fact that at that time it seemed Jude Law was in just about everything that came out that year.
If you look back at some of these old character actors, the same would seem to be the case.

We can not however blame his mother for choosing the name because she loved the works of Doyle. He was born before STUD.

But it just goes to show you can never have too many Holmes'.
Right Brad?

Dressed to Kill (1946)

Several old Sherlock Holmes movies are available free to watch on Amazon Prime at the moment.
Since I don't usually get to watch many movies start to finish at one setting, Amazon Prime works well for my down time.

Last night I started watching this the last Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes adventure.

I have not finished it yet.

But one thing I did enjoy was the opening exchange of dialog between Rathbone as Holmes and Bruce as Watson.

After the first couple of movies with Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson,  many feel the series suffered from the move to more modern times that the shows took after the Adventure and Hound.

But at least this opening segment of Dressed to Kill seemed to remain fairly in tune with the Canon and offered a comfortable setting for the two to start their adventure.

He even made Yahoo.

Ian McKellen Suits Up As Sherlock in the New Drama ‘Mr. Holmes’

Between Robert Downey Jr.’s action-hero detective and Benedict Cumberbatch’s modern-day sleuth, there’s no shortage of Sherlock Holmes stories out there. Still, how can you say no to Ian McKellen in a top hat and beekeepers’ outfit?

Behold the first trailer for Mr. Holmes, the new drama from Dreamgirls director Bill Condon that features McKellen as the 93-year-old legendary detective working on one last mystery. Holmes, in this adaptation of the 2005 novel A Simple Trick of the Mind, is an unwilling celebrity, thanks to the exaggerated stories of his exploits authored by his partner Dr. John Watson. He’s also a reluctant retiree thanks to a case he bungled 30 years prior. The screw-up still sticks in his craw however, and since he does his best to keep his failing memory intact, he returns to that last, haunting case. 

Laura Linney co-stars in the film as Holmes’ cook and housekeeper, while Milo Parker plays her young son and Holmes’ protégé.

The film got good reviews after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, with Variety calling McKellen “predictably superb” and Condon’s direction “elegant.” No release date has been set.

source

SHIN - More on the upcoming movie.

Berlin: Ian McKellen Calls Sherlock Holmes a "Great Englishman," Gandalf an "Oxford Professor"

Ian McKellen estimates that he’s played "around 250" roles on stage and film, including a number of renowned British figures.

But his turn as an elderly Sherlock Holmes inBill Condon’s reflective Mr. Holmes, having its world premiere Sunday night at the Berlinale, offered an interesting twist, he told a Berlinale press conference early on Sunday.

"Like most people in this room I have an image of what Sherlock Homes looks like," he said. "He’s one of the great Englishmen. And he never lived. It’s astonishing. Of course, I’ve played other great Englishmen, like Richard III of whom we’re not so proud."

And while the original birthplace of arguably McKellen’s most recognized onscreen character is shrouded in mysterious Middle-earth, Tolkien-esque history, the actor said that he considers the character a fellow Brit.

"I always think that Gandalf is really an Oxford professor," he joked to laughs from the audience.

Unlike previous incarnations of the Baker Street-dwelling sleuth, Mr. Holmes has the lead as a 93-year-old, long-retired and living on a remote British farm, reflecting on his previous life while tending to his bees.

"I said to Bill, 'Look, I’d be delighted to play Sherlock Holmes, but I am having nothing to do with bees.' And he said, 'No that’s fine.' And of course he then sent me on a bee training course," McKellen said. "I’m now proud to say I worked with the bees. I did my own stunts on this occasion. Those are my hands lifting the frames with the bees on them. I wasn’t wearing gloves, which is a dangerous thing to do. But I didn’t get stung and nor did anything else."

McKellen concluded: "No bee was harmed in the making of this movie."

source

And.

Reuters) - Ian McKellen transformed himself from Gandalf into a nonagenarian Sherlock Holmes for "Mr Holmes" shown in Berlin on Sunday, giving the veteran British actor a chance to portray one of England's most treasured characters.

McKellen, making his second movie with Bill Condon, said he had leapt at the opportunity to work with the American director, with whom he last filmed in 1998 in "Gods and Monsters", and at the opportunity to portray Holmes.

"He's one of the great Englishmen and he never lived -- it's astonishing," McKellen said at a news conference after the movie was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Based on the Holmes spin-off novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind" by Mitch Cullin, the film, like other new iterations of the detective stories, picks up where Arthur Conan Doyle left off.

This one finds Holmes in retirement in the English countryside where he lives as a recluse, tending bees and looked after by a middle-aged woman, widowed when her airman husband was shot down during World War Two, and her son Roger.

Partly because of Roger's curiosity, the aged detective, who is losing his memory, tries to recall the details of a case involving a beautiful young woman whose husband had asked Holmes to track her movements. Her fate has troubled him ever since, and led him to give up detective work.

Condon said the project had been 11 years in the making and he had persisted because he wanted to work with McKellen again and because he believed in the script.

"It was such a delicate and beautifully told story and I have to say, too, secretly for 17 years I've been reading scripts constantly imagining that I could work with Ian McKellen and suddenly there is this script," he said.

American actress Laura Linney, whom McKellen complimented on her English working-class accent, said the setting in 1947, with part of the plot taking Holmes to war-ravagedJapan in search of a cure for his amnesia, gave it an extra dimension.

"She's a war widow from that period of time and the impact that the war has on everyone in this film is the sort of unspoken earthquake underneath the story," Linney said.

Child actor Milo Parker said he'd been thrilled by the opportunity to work with McKellen.

"I learned a lot from Ian on the basis that he's a really nice man and he's also an amazing actor and he's Gandalf," Parker said.

Source

You gotta love the photo's here!

Well, here.

SHIN - Does this work for you?

Story

Ian McKellan as Holmes

Do you agree?

10 Best Sherlock Holmes Film Adaptations

Well someone says it's official . . . .

Benedict Cumberbatch Is Your Doctor Strange

The Huffington Post  | By Christopher Rosen

Benedict Cumberbatch is officially the Sorcerer Supreme. Following months of speculation, Marvel announced on Thursday that Cumberbatch will play the lead role in "Doctor Strange."

"Stephen Strange's story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity,"Marvel Studios president and "Doctor Strange" producer Kevin Feige said in a statement. "In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character."

Cumberbatch was first rumored for the part back in June, but Marvel's search would later focus in on Joaquin Phoenix. But after Phoenix dropped out of consideration,Cumberbatch's name resurfaced in late October. Marvel wouldn't confirm anything then, but the new round of rumors proved true.

"Doctor Strange," written by Jon Spaihts ("Prometheus") and directed by Scott Derrickson ("Sinister"), will arrive in theaters on Nov. 4, 2016.

Anyone know what ever came of this. . . .

BRIGADIER GERARD

In Movie Theaters:	To Be Announced (TBA)
Screenwriters:	John Altshuler David Krinsky
Cast: more cast	Steve Carell
Produced by:	Media Rights Capital Ternion

Storyline

The story about a French solider during the Napoleonic wars who is deluded about his level of bravery.

A comedy set during the Napoleonic Wars. Steve Carell would play Etienne Gerard, a soldier who considers himself a gallant swordsman but whose actual skills often pale in comparison to his own conception of them.

ComedyPeriod

Additional Notes:

Based on a series of short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Mobilizing for a spring2009 production start.

and this is on Wikipedia

As of 2014 television and movie writer John Altschuler is developing Brigadier Gerard, as a feature with Steve Carell attached to play Brigadier Gerard and Ricky Gervais attached to play Napoleon.

Did anyone catch the obvious nod to Sherlock Holmes in. . .

Mr. Peabody and Sherman?

The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes - St Louis Science Center

As St Louis Sherlockains we are lucky that our Science Center is one of the host cities for The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes.
I am luck enough to have a little time off of work and was able to attend it yesterday.

 Unlike Holmes, I can not start a 'case' without a good breakfast.
So, since we were in the area we hit a St Louis landmark, 'Courtesy Cafe' . . .

 But, like Holmes, I do need a good assistant.

 Several blocks around the Science Center had banners and signs advertising the exhibit.
And since this is right along Hwy 70 it should get peoples attention.

 Sign along the side walk.

 Waiting in line to use the phone.

 Inside advertisement.
A little hokey but okay.

 After handing over your tickets, you walk into the gallery. The first, as should be, is devoted to Doyle, Victorian medicine and the creation of Holmes. For the older Sherlockains amongst us, there could have been a little bit more about Doyle, but what they had was a good introduction.

Poe is also give some credit for being an early founder of the form.

 Early medicine and its tools.

We were not allowed to use flash, so I could not get the photos I really would have liked.
This display shows Bells teaching gown and some of his letters. There was a very good nod to Dr. Bell. And a very good painting of him.

 The displays were very well done and very well lit.
Some were just around to set the theme, while others were relevant to the display.

Here is assistant with London street window, which on the other side was part of Baker St.

 After the displays about Doyle and Bell, we came to a section on the manuscripts and how they appeared in publication.

There were many first additions and rare letter and art work.

To the true Sherlockain of early work this was indeed a treat.

Very good labeling and numbering described each piece.

First edition Hound and letters from Doyle.

 Strand and other magazines on display.


















After the historical displays about Doyle and Holmes the next section was devoted to understanding forensic science of the time. The displays were set up to help you understand the mystery you could be solving later in the exhibition. Each station would be relevant later in the show. The lighting was not good enough for me to get many pictures of this part, but the displays were fun and educational. Aimed at the younger participants.

 They also had period hosts wondering around to help and answer any questions.
Hear is one posing with daughter.

 Next you came to several displays set up to represent 221b Baker St.  It was broken up into four sections instead of one room. But, although broken up, to aid with the mystery people were working on, they were still very well done.


Here is the seats around the fireplace.

 By the window and the wax statue of Holmes.

Each room had several things in them that visitors needed to find as sort of a scavenger hunt.

 Seats by the fireplace again.

Although the items needing to be found were very Canonical, there was no explanation for the non-Sherlockian on how they appeared in the stories.

 Holmes' chemical desk.

 Pipe and tea cup.

 Watson writing desk.


















After viewing the rooms at 221b you went into a section where the below room was set up as a crime scene. You were to observe numbered items in the room as clues and then go to station where four examples or explanations of the clues were shown. You had to pick the one that you thought best matched the crime scene. It was a little confusing, but very fun. (Or maybe I am just not a good detective.)
Again the lighting was not good enough for my camera to get good photos of the stations.

 The crime scene.

 After solving (or not) the mystery you entered the gallery that displayed items that have used Sherlocks representation of the years.

Here you can see 'Young Sherlock Holmes' and other movie stuff.

 Games and toys that have used his likeness.

 Some of my favorite things were all the art work by Paget and Steele.

Covers, sketches, prints, etc.

 I love these two.

Steele's work on early covers.

 More toys/

 'Peanuts'.

 Lots of movie props from some of the latest works.

Here is Blackwood's coffin from the first RDJ movie.

 Other props from that movie.

 And again.

 The lock wall from 'Elementary'.

 One of Lucy Liu's outfits from 'Elementary'.

 Miller's outfit from 'Elementary'.

 Do you recognize these from 'Sherlock'?

This last gallery was a great experience for anyone in to the movie or TV world of Holmes.












Over all the exhibition was very well done, with things to be found for die hard Sherlockians or casual fan. Most of it pertained to the Canonical Holmes more than the movie or modern Holmes, with just enough of that for those interested.
It was mostly aimed for a family experience but I saw a lot of adult Sherlockians taking it in.
The science center asked for volunteers to help at things like this and we spotted several local Sherlockians we knew.
If it come near you, you should go. I plan on trying to volunteer at least a few times.
We enjoyed it very much.

From the BBC

Sherlock Holmes film A Study in Scarlet from 1914 sought