Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes - I missed this one Bernard Fox

Bernard Fox 1927-2016

He played Watson to Stewart Granger's Sherlock Holmes in 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' 1972

He was also in the Sherlock Holmes parody The Privat Eyes (1980) with Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

SDofSH - "Here's a story, of a lovely lady. . . ."

While known, now, mostly for being Mrs. Brady, Florence Henderson was also a wonderful singer.

Florence Henderson 1934-2016

Starred in 1970's 'Song of Norway'

Which also featured the wonderful Robert Morley (1908-1992)

Who, as we know, played Mycroft in 1965's 'A Study in Terror'

So, there you have it, there you are.

I don't agree with the order or the entrants.

How do you feel?

The ten greatest Watson's

Another Watson (and Sherlock) gone. . .

Patrick Macnee 1922-1955

As Brad so kindly reminded us. . .

. . . after being remind himself. . .

Happy Birthday war hero and actor, Nigel Bruce!

The Illustrious Client S3E11 and The One That Got Away S3E12 - Kitty Foyle(d) it.

One of the problems 'Elementary' is always going to face is having a character named Sherlock Holmes that bares very little resemblance to the image most people have of the Victorian detective.
Where 'Sherlock' at times seems to have plucked the Victorian Holmes out of 1895 London and dropped him, complete with wardrobe, habits and mannerisms, into 21st century London (which they are doing well), 'Elementary' as brought forth a Holmes more a creature of these present times, absent of most of traits we have come to expect from our image of Sherlock Holmes. Maybe in some eyes, this has been a failing of this show. It has, however, been a bold attempt to examine Holmes as a creature of the times he is now in.
When discussing the Canon at many Sherlockian events, arguments have often been bolstered up with some phrase along the lines of; "Well, they did things differently back then." or "People looked at things differently in Victorian times.", "We have to examine things in the context of their time."
'Sherlock' has found a way of balancing its seemingly Victorian-like Holmes in a way that has worked for it without actually giving us a modern Holmes. (I think it is the strong Watson they have in the show.)
Much of the time, this tampering, in 'Elementary', with the image has not served the show very well, being an almost parody of our much loved detective. Yes there have been episodic exceptions, but for the most part, Playing the Game with 'Elementary' has been an exercise in trying to dig up Sherlockian references (no matter how tenuous) in a show that lacks them.

The last few weeks, for me, the episodes have not fallen into that habit. Several episodes this season seem to suggest that 'Elementary' if not actually having found it's stride is very close to doing so.

I watched these latest two episodes, 'The Illustrious Client' and 'The One That Got Away', almost back to back, instead of spreading them over two weeks. That is why I am reviewing them as one.

At the end of S3E10 we find Holmes attending the crime scene of a murdered and branded young woman. The markings on the young woman are identical to those left on Kitty by her abductor.
'The Illustrious Client' found Holmes and gang pursuing an individual, de Merville, they suspected of the crime, erroneously for time thinking they had found the perpetrator of the crimes against Kitty. We find, near the end of this first episode, that although a loathsome individual in his own right, de Merville is not the man who violated Kitty. Holmes and Joan are reluctant to believe this in the beginning, The plot thickens with Kitty hearing the voice of Joan's new boss and recognizing it as the voice of the man who kidnapped and violated her.
'The One that Got Away' then picks up from here with first Joan not believing that to be possible, then, once convinced, joining Holmes and Kitty in trying to get Gruner off the streets.
Not wanting to rehash the whole story here, they do eventually do that and Gruner is put away.

But like with most episodes of 'Elementary' the plot or case is usually not what the story is all about.
Just think how much time we spend examining in the Canon things other than the case.

In these two episodes, and for that matter the one before (#10), we find a Holmes I believe is as close to a Canonical Holmes as we are going to get from 'Elementary'. He is no longer, as Brad so aptly suggested, the man child that so frequently invaded many of the early episodes. He is now more focused, introspective and stable. He now, at least for the time being (I hope it won't be short lived) the key figure in the investigations. There are no longer three 'Holmes' jockeying for position as lead detective. His skills are more refined and at the forefront. His observation, still not the only ones made, direct the investigation.

Watson's new role or position has still not yet formed, but has taken a more traditional back seat to Holmes as side-kick and helper more than equal partner. I also found it satisfying that Watson had a couple of deductive or detective missteps in her observations, once again proving she is not Holmes' deductive equal.

But lets face it, these last few episodes have really been all about Kitty. We have finally come to realize how and why Kitty has become involved with Holmes and how each have been important to the other in a certain amount of rebirth.

The episode showed much more 'depth of character' in all involved than has been displayed in many of the episodes.

While playing freely with the Canonical story ILLU, it did however remain true in many ways.

Kitty of course was a victim of the Canonical Gruner, as was she of this Gruner.

She survived his attacks in both cases and in the end extracted a little revenge in both.

Scaring was the method of disfigurement in both the original and the adaptation, although different on Kitty and Gruner in 'Elementary'.

In the end a book, used by Gruner to record his crimes, was used as evidence against him in both cases.

In the Canon, Violet was a victim of a manipulative suitor, in 'Elementary' Violet was the victim of a manipulative brother. Both required some convincing as to the horrors of their men-folk.

Both Canonically and episodically the case against Gruner was going to be hard to make.

In both, the case against Kitty for mutilation was not going to be pursued with much effort allowing on one for a light sentence and in the other an escape.

Gruner is a wealthy man in both.

Also in both, Holmes tries to get Kitty out of the way once Gruner is on to her again. In both cases this effort proved futile.

Another Canonical reference, made in E11 was Holmes' use of several safe houses about town.

I am surprised these episodes were not used at the end of the season, a prelude to next season. This hopefully means there are more good things to come.

Several other reviewers, not Brad, have argued that 'Elementary' is bold in its take on a modern Holmes, and for the most part I have scoffed at these interpretations, finding Miller's Holmes to far out there for me to make that image work. Maybe it is my newly found lack of taking this show too Canonically seriously, or maybe the scrips are becoming better, but I can now find some validation in that argument.

I liked how the Holmes and Kitty story arc came full circle in the conclusions offered last night.
I liked the fact that they closed the question of the cocaine bag in a satisfying way.

I will miss Kitty.

In fairness, would we now want a modern Holmes story that tries to compete with 'Sherlock', a Victorian Holmes placed in our times. One show is doing that well, two probably could not.

Not comparing these two episodes in content with the last two episodes of season three of 'Sherlock', but comparing them to how I felt about the shows at the end, I find episodes 11 and 12 very satisfying.

For these reasons, all the above, I give it;

I guess I'm a sucker for fun movies . . . and just in time for G2B4

Young Sherlock Holmes is free to watch on Amazon Prime right now.

I always thought Mr. Rowe was a good young Holmes, even if his material was very Spielberg.

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes #50 - Hattie McDaniel

Oscar winning actress Hattie McDaniel (1895-1952)

starred in the 1946 film, "Never Say Goodbye"

which starred Errol Flynn (1909-1959)

who we know starred in films with both Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

So, there you have it, there you are.

I did not know this. . . .about David Burke

"Burke had earlier experience with Holmes having played the villain in an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" for the 1965 BBC series^[5] starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock."

Right up there with Edward Harkwicke as Watson in one of the most seamless sharings of the same character.

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes - #41 - Still old movie week - Alex Mackenzie

Still catching up on old movies and some childhood favorites and trying to immerse my daughter into some classic Disney, I am going with another oldie.

"Greyfriars Bobby" was made by Disney in 1961 and tells the tale of a loyal dog sticking by it's master even after death. Although argued by critics as a much made up story (not by Disney), it is still a fun movie to watch with kids.

I picked Alex Mackenzie, who played 'Old Jock', because he didn't even get into acting till he was 61, after finishing a career as a teacher.
Surely someone who started so late would not have time to make a Sherlockian movie connection?
Wrong.

Alex Mackenzie (1885-1965) -

took part in the 1957 movie "Rockets Galore" (by another famous Scot) - 

which also featured Donald Sinden (1923-  )

who participated in 1973's "The Day of the Jackal"

in which one of our favorite Watson's, Edward Hardwicke (1932-2011) had an uncredited part

So, there you have it, there you are.

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes - #32 - Roland Young, then Greta Garbo

OK, as one last tribute to the Watson's, it was going to do Roland Young, so here goes. . .

Roland Young (1887-1953) was Watson to Barrymore's Holmes in 1922

But it turned out to easy. You see, in 1930 he was in a film called The Bishop Murder Case

But who do we see playing the detective in the movie? Why, Basil Rathbone  (1892 - 1967)

So I decided to stop doing Watson's and go back to the normal game.

So I chose Greta Grabo (1905 - 1990), even if she wants to be alone.

In 1932 she was in a little film called Grand Hotel

In which Roland Young's Sherlock, John Barrymore (1882 - 1942) also starred.

So we have come full circle.

There you have it, there you are.

\

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes #31 - The Watson's - Nigel Stock

One last tribute to the Watson's in celebration of the inaugural edition of The Watsonian.

Again, we are looking for Sherlock Holmes movie connections in rolls that do not include movies in which they played Watson.

This one was to easy, but I had never made the connection before, so I found it kinda fun.

Nigel Stock (1919-1986) who played Watson first to Douglas Wilmer and then Peter Cushing's Holmes,

took part in 1985's Young Sherlock Holmes

in which he played Rupert Waxflatter, once again inspiring Holmes.

He also has a connection to Stewart Granger who also played Holmes.

A review - Murder by Decree

During this lull in Sherlockian movie or TV viewing (Elementary had a rerun over Thanksgiving) I am trying to catch up on Sherlock Holmes films I have either not seen at all, or it has been a while since I viewed them.
These last few days I have been able to watch Murder by Decree.
I was inspired to watch this one at this time from a positive review I read on another blog.

Murder by Decree came out at the end of an era when it seemed the only Sherlockian films or shows being offered were those done from original screenplays or novels or pastiches written by others, and not really being very Canonical. Sure, all the things the public has come to expect in habit and appearance in Holmes would be present, but most of the stories would have nothing but a vaguest nod to Doyle.

Murder by Decree is commonly linked or compared to Seven Percent Solution and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

Where I had not expected to like either of those two films, but came away liking both of them, I went into Murder by Decree expecting to like it, but came away disappointed.

Murder by Decree has Sherlock Holmes getting involved with the murders perpetrated by Jack the Ripper.
He is not asked to participate in the investigation by the police but rather by seemingly concerned citizens of White Chapel. Most of it takes place at night, or in dark buildings or foggy streets.

I liked the sets for the interiors of Baker St. and several of the other location interiors.
Baker St. as shown in the movie could represent most Sherlockians image of that fabled dwelling.
Where the movie went inside for other scenes, the locations or sets were well chosen.

However, too much of the movie took place in foggy streets and narrow alleys. While it is probably true that most of the crimes took place in those settings, I doubt if most of the investigation did.

The film was full of very notable actors, but unfortunately they were not used to the best of their abilities.

The wonderful Christopher Plummer played an at times overly jocular Holmes who would just as quickly become too introspective and melancholy. I think Plummer had  the ability and the presence to make a great Holmes. His looks were good, as was his stature, but he was asked to play a rather to emotional Holmes.
As he was probably directed to do, he unfortunately only had one set of clothes to wear in just about the entire movie and if the film had been made as the Hound it would have been OK. But set in London, the iverness and deerstalker were well out of place. Probably done out of the need to convince the viewers that it was a Sherlock Holmes film.

Plummer's Holmes, when lost in thought, seemed more to be thinking how dismal things seemed, rather than concentrating on the case.
When Sherlock was needed, at the end of the film, to deliver his case before the high authorities his character no longer had the presence to seem commanding or compelling.

Now, James Mason is one of my favorite actors of the period, and I expected him to make a great Watson.
If we were to just go by appearances for an older Watson, he really did fit the bill.
But in many ways the Dr. Watson he was asked to play almost out 'Nigeled', Nigel Bruce's Watson.
He often seemed slow witted and bored and mismatched for the great detective, seeming to be uninterested in the cases and reluctant to have to follow Holmes again.
One reviewer praised his performance for, at first seeming to be slow and dim witted but coming through in the end. Well, we expect that from Watson, and Nigel Bruce's Watson did very much the same thing. (He showed no reluctance to pursue Seldon in HOUN). Although Bruce's performance is often criticized, his Watson was also never a coward. If anything Mason's Watson may have been even more expressionless than Bruce's.

Donald Sutherland for the most part played a lethargic mystic who's involvement in the story was very unnecessary, delivering his lines as if about to fall asleep.

Susan Clark was unnecessary, and her part was also over acted. (My goodness woman! Tell Holmes what he wants to know.)  (The scenes where her character was murdered were appalling, not because of the graphic nature of the crime, but the cinematography.)

The lovely Genevieve Bujold was underused and her part was also over acted. (no wonder Plummer wanted to strangle someone at the end of it.)

David Hemming probably gave the best performance as Insp. Foxborough.

The film had a very overly dramatic feel of an early BBC production, with out needing to be. (Look at the scene where Plummer and Clark are chased through the alley by a coach that is only a few dozen feet away, all the while going full out to catch Plummer and Clark, yet takes ages to do so. And we can't forget when a coach was called a hansom.)

The gathering of clues and deductions where almost nonexistent and how Holmes got from 'A' to 'Z' was never clearly outlined.

Mostly we were just given the stereotypical caricatures of Holmes and Watson with no Canonical substance.
Where I can see myself watching Seven Percent Solution and Private Life of Sherlock Holmes again, I can not say that for Murder by Decree.

I don't think Plummer or Mason where necessarily miscast as much as misdirected.

And, of course, this is just my opinion and just for fun and to keep us 'Playing the Game'.

What do you think?

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes - #30 - The Watson's - Ian Fleming

Continuing with our Watson's as if they had not been Watson's to find a Sherlockian connection.

This week, Ian Fleming. No, not that one, the other one.

Ian Fleming - (1888-1969)

was in 1935's The Riverside Murder

which also featured Basil Sydney - (1894 - 1968 )

who participate in 1945's Caesar and Cleopatra 

of which Stewart Granger (1913-1993) also took part

and if you remember, he played Sherlock Holmes in 1972's Hound of the Baskervilles

So, there you have it, there you are.

Elementary Season 2 - Episode 9 - "On the Line" - the best one yet.

A young woman commits suicide to frame the person she believes kidnapped and killed her sister.
Holmes and Watson are convinced she is correct, but butt heads with the police, which makes it difficult to prove their case and catch the killer, who seems to be one step ahead of the pair of detectives.

For me, this was one of the tightest stories in the series yet.
It had a good story line, good acting, convincing plot and good ending.
The Canonical references were not over done, and in some way, worked with the story.
Miller was much more in character as Holmes, and Liu's Watson, although still involved, played more the way we expect our Watson to be.

I really liked the show.

Miller's Holmes was more restrained than we have seen for a few weeks, keeping the idiosyncrasies more Holmes like. Nothing went to over board this week. No jealous fits, no overly weird habits, no sibling rivalry.

Liu's Watson played the spark more than the illumination, which is, to me, much more acceptable.

I liked the confrontation between Watson and Holmes over his treatment of the cops he has to work with.
Instead of the drugs being the crutch that Holmes must overcome, in this episode it was his treatment of others. And just like Watson in the Canon, she is unwilling to give up on Holmes overcoming this addiction also.  We see in this episode Watson believing he can change and not be so abrasive.

Aidan Quinn had more to do this week as Gregson.

Troy Garity as Lucas Bundsch did a stellar job playing the emotionally contained psychopath

I thought the show moved along well with some very good twists.
It was also good to see Holmes wrestle with his need to solve the case and his willingness to frame the murderer.

Miller's Holmes' still had some quirks, but they were held in restraint. I think they found a real good balance in this one.

The few Canonical references I caught;
- Of course THOR
- The hidden room, NORW
- Not working well with the local police
- knowledge of chemicals
- doesn't want to clutter is mind with anything that does not pertain to his craft

I have to give it

because I thought it the first really good episode of this season.

Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes - #29 - The Watson's - Robert Duvall

I came to Robert Duvall as Watson and the film The Seven Percent Solution pretty late in my Sherlockain discoveries. For many years I didn't like the fact that it seened to be playing up on Sherlock's drug habit.
But I was lucky enough to attend Gillette to Brett III with Nicholas Meyer attending, and a showing of his film, and fell in love with it. And Robert Duvall did an outstanding job.

So, again, to celebrate the Watson's, we are doing Robert Duvall this week. We are, again, going to see if we can make a connection from the actor to Holmes along a path that does not include his roll as Watson.

Robert Duvall as had such a prolific career that I think there would be several paths to Holmes for him.
So I started in his early career.

Robert Duvall (seen here as Watson) - (1931)

took part in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird 

which also featured Frank Overton (1918-1967)

who also took part in 1964's Fail Safe 

which featured a young Larry Hagman (1931-2012)

who played Sherlock Holmes in 1976's The Return of the World's Greatest Detective

So there you have it, there you are.