The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume III
21st December, No Comments
By The Good Doctor
Volume III of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes brings us another mixture of stories from the Canon (The Man with the Twisted Lip and The Speckled Band) and pastiches including stories that I mentioned but never published (The Tankerville Club and The Camberwell Poisoners) and some completely new stories all from the prolific Anthony Boucher and Denis Green. The recordings are, as usual, complete with the war-time announcements, original narrations and radio commercials. The quality on some of them is not perfect (they are the same transcriptions that appeared on the original cassette versions) but this should not mar your enjoyment.
Again we have twelve broadcasts with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as me (never quite as bumbling as he was in the films) except for one story where Eric Snowden took Bruce’s place as he was ill. The details on the packaging lack the actual broadcast dates but I will fill those in for you.
Disc 1 – Introduced by Ben Wright
The Murder in the Casbah (based on a reference in SCAN and broadcast December 3rd 1945)
The Tankerville Club (based on a reference in FIVE and broadcast April 22nd 1946)
Disk 2 – Introduced by Harry Bartell
The Strange Case of the Murderer in Wax (based on a reference in SECO and broadcast January 7th 1946)
The Man with the Twisted Lip (broadcast May 6th 1946)
Disc 3 – Introduced by BenWright
The Guileless Gypsy (based on a reference in REDC and broadcast February 11th 1946)
The Camberwell Poisoners (based on a reference in FIVE although the disc and the box carry the title incorrectly as ‘The Camberville Poisoners’, and broadcast February 18th 1946)
Disc 4 – Introduced by Harry Bartell
The Terrifying Cats (based on a reference in BLAC and broadcast February 25th 1946. In this episode my part is taken by Eric Snowden as Nigel Bruce was ill. Snowden was later to play me in a later series with Ben Wright as Holmes). These facts are not disclosed on the CD or the box!
The Submarine Caves (based on a reference in BRUV and broadcast March 4th 1946)
Disc 5 – Introduced by Peggy Webber
The Living Doll (based on a reference in COPP and broadcast March 11th 1946)
The Disappearing Scientists (based on a reference in REIG and broadcast April 8th 1946)
Disc 6 -
The Adventure of the Speckled Band (broadcast November 11th 1945)
The Purloined Ruby (based on a reference in SECO and broadcast May 7th 1945)
I am still listening to these recordings and some of the extras are quite fascinating, including an interview with a certain Irene Norton nee Adler! I will provide more details as they come to light.
Posted in Basil Rathbone, Radio, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Uncategorized
Holmes Christmas List 2010
31st October, 1 Comment
By The Good Doctor
As happened last year, with the case of the Blue Carbuncle just chronologically around the corner again and people beginning to think about gifts, Holmes has compiled his Christmas list.
He did not get everything that was on last year’s list but this year’s list is completely new. I have provided links to amazon.co.uk and amazon.com where possible.
1. Top of the list this year is the DVD of the BBC Sherlockwith a contemporary take on the classic stories set in present-day London. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as me, his loyal friend. We couldn’t be more different, but Sherlock’s inspired leaps of intellect coupled with my pragmatism forges an unbreakable alliance.
Across three, 90-minute, thrilling, scary, action-packed and highly entertaining television movies, Sherlock and I navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers to get at the truth. Holmes has come out of the fog. With sparkling scripts and unforgettable performances from the two leads, this is Sherlock for a new generation. The DVD contains all 3 episodes and the original Pilot.
Amazon UK: Sherlock [DVD] and Sherlock [Blu-ray] , Amazon USA: Sherlock [DVD] and Sherlock [Blu-ray]
2. Linked to the BBC Sherlock is this neat, compact magnifying glass that every modern Sherlock needs. Watch Sherlock in A Study In Pink to see how he uses it. All you now need is the scarf, the coat and his endearing manner with all those about him and you’re set to go sleuthing this Christmas!
Amazon UK: Eschenbach Magnifying Glass
3. The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries, which I mentioned in Part 2 of Holmes on British Radio , has just been released. These are four new Holmes stories with a railway theme written by John Taylor who wrote The Undiscovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. These new stories are ”An Inscrutable Masquerade”, “The Conundrum of Coach 13″, “The Trinity Vicarage Larceny” and “The 10.59 Assassin”.
According to Taylor, in a drawer in my desk, I have a locked cedarwood chest containing notes referring to some of Holmes’ cases that, for one reason or another, never saw the light of day. Now, for the first time, I have decided to reveal the truth to the world. In these four thrilling stories, Holmes experiments with the science of ballistics, locates some missing gold bullion, investigates the theft of a large amount of money and solves the baffling mystery of the Stovey murder.
If all that wasn’t enough then the stories are read by the newest Sherlock – Benedict Cumberbatch. Just one question then. Why is Sherlock (Cumberbatch) reading these stories rather than me (Martin Freeman)?
Amazon UK: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries, Amazon USA: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries (sorry but not available in the USA in time for Christmas but you could try The Unopened Casebook of Sherlock Holmes instead).
4. I have already reviewed this digitally-restored collection of the 14 films with Basil Rathbone as Holmes.
The multi-million pound restoration is discussed in a 5 minute featurette with Robert Gitt, Head Preservation Officer at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Along with the beautifully restored films are audio commentaries by Sherlock Holmes Expert David Stuart Davies (author of numerous books on Holmes and Rathbone) on The Scarlet Claw, The Woman In Green, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death and The Hound of the Baskervilles. There is also an audio commentary by another Holmes Expert Richard Valley (acclaimed author and publisher of Scarlet Street Mystery Magazine who in Amazon’s review is said to be currently penning a book on Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes although he sadly died in 2007) on The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes.
Richard Valley has also provided production notes and the films are accompanied by photo galleries, movie posters and theatrical trailers.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes – The Definitive Collection, Amazon USA: The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (different packaging in the USA)
5. Again I have already reviewed Sherlock Holmes for Dummies and despite its American bias and a couple of errors (my wife becoming Mary Marston instead of Morstan and mistaking the blue plaque above the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street for a legitimate historical plaque) it is still a handy guide to the stories, Britain as it was at that time, the characters in the stories, our portrayals in films, on television and on the stage, etc.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (paperback), Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (Kindle edition), Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (paperback), Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (Kindle edition)
6. Continuing with the guides, I have now reviewed Close to Holmes – Alistair Duncan’s popular guide to Holmes and Conan Doyle’s London.
I have already reviewed his two other books, Eliminate the Impossible and The Norwood Author.
Close to Holmes is a handy guide that will just about fit in your pocket as you explore London as it is today and how it looked in the late nineteenth century to us and to my literary agent Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Alistair Duncan’s research is carefully done, as usual, and he treats us to pictures of many of the locations as they were and as they are now.
Amazon UK: Close to Holmes (paperback), Close to Holmes (Kindle edition), Amazon USA: Close to Holmes (paperback), Close to Holmes (Kindle edition)
7. The second edition of Christopher Redmond’s Sherlock Holmes Handbook sums up this Canadian scholar’s lifetime expertise about Holmes. The first edition appeared in 1993 and this new edition catches up on new films and books and the advent of the Internet.
It is still one of my favourite guides providing a summary of each story in the Canon, the characters in the stories, the cases I chose not to publish, our rooms at 221B, Holmes’s methods and so on. In the section on Crime and Punishment, as well as a summary of British law (and law enforcement) as it was then, there is a summary of other detectives’ work before, during and after Holmes’ career.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes Handbook, Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes Handbook
8. The exhaustively annotated, ten-volume edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Edgar Award winner Leslie S. Klinger ends with The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes.
As is well known, Holmes’ adventures have inspired a vast body of literature. Since the 1920s these “writings about The Writings” have contributed fascinating new insights into the stories, enhancing the pleasure of reading them.
This final volume of The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library covers more “adventures” of Sherlock Holmes than those that are contained in the sixty tales. This deposit of extra-Canonical material is known by Sherlockian scholars as The Apocrypha.
Amazon UK: This volume is not yet listed by amazon.co.uk, Amazon USA: The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes
9. Until Benedict Cumberbatch came along most people hailed Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Holmes as the best ever.
Bending the Willow, David Stuart Davies wonderful tribute to Jeremy who said that he wanted his interpretation of Holmes to “bend the willow, but not break it.”
Apparently a second edition of this fascinating and perceptive study is available but I have not yet seen it. The second hand copies listed on Amazon are quite expensive so it may be worth contacting the publishers direct.
Amazon UK: Bending the Willow, Amazon USA: Bending the Willow
10. Finally the Sherlock Holmes film. This was originally top of the list but I am now undecided about this as my initial enthusiasm for it has dissipated in the wake of the BBC Sherlock. I now wonder if anyone will really be able to capture what Holmes and I were up to in Victorian times. Some of the liberties taken with the Canon now begin to jar - such as Holmes appearing never to have met my future wife when in reality we both met her at the same time in 221B at the start of The Sign of The Four. Still, it is a very enjoyable film and the new one in production has Leslie Klinger advising them and with the addition of Stephen Fry as Mycroft this should help to ensure greater fidelity.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes [DVD], Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray], Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes [DVD], Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray]
This was, as I predicted, a bumper year of Holmes books and other paraphernalia following the Sherlock Holmes film and Sherlock TV series and with follow-ups to both in production yet another bumper year may be soon upon us.
Posted in Basil Rathbone, Benedict Cumberbatch, Books, Films, Sherlock, Television
The Definitive Sherlock Holmes
30th August, 1 Comment
By The Good Doctor
With all the current debate about who is the definitive Holmes (Rathbone, Brett or Cumberbatch?), I thought it was worth reviewing Basil Rathbone’s fourteen films as the Great Detective which have been carefully restored in The Definitive Collection.
These films updated elements of the Canon to the early part of the 20th century (except for the first two which remain in the Victorian era and were the first films to portray us in Victorian times) in a similar way to the 21st century updating that has taken place in the BBC Sherlock series.
The fourteen films (in order of release) are:
- The Hound of the Baskervilles, based on the story of the same name. As this was Rathbone’s first film as Holmes, and he wasn’t as well known as Richard Greene (who played Sir Hennry Baskerville), he only achieved second billing! In The Definitive Collection, this film also has an added commentary version by David Stuart Davies providing lots of useful background to the film, the script, the actors, the scenery, the clothes, the music (or lack of it!) and to Rathbone’s portrayal.
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was supposedly based on the stage play by William Gillette but little of the original plot remains apart from the conflict between Holmes and Moriarty. This film also has a version with a commentary by Richard Valley (wrongly credited to David Stuart Davies on the DVD packaging).
- Sherlock Holmes and The Voice of Terror is based on His Last Bow.
- Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon is inspired, rather than based on, The Dancing Men.
- Sherlock Holmes in Washington
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death is based on The Musgrave Ritual and there is a version with audio commentary by David Stuart Davies (the packaging this time saying it is by Richard Valley). This film brings back the familiar dark mystery for Holmes to solve.
- The Spider Woman starts with the demise of Sherlock Holmes (similar to The Final Problem) and is followed by his surprise return (as in The Empty House). The following story is then based on elements from The Sign of Four and The Devil’s Foot. The theatrical trailer is included on the DVD.
- The Pearl of Death is based on The Six Napoleons. Again the theatrical trailer is included.
- The Scarlet Claw uses the device of a killer using a supernatural entity to cover up his crimes borrowed from The Hound of the Baskervilles. This has an audio commentary by David Stuart Davies and the theatrical trailer is included.
- The House of Fear is based on The Five Orange Pips. The theatrical trailer is included.
- Pursuit to Algiers. This is based on the affair concerning the steamship Friesland that I mentioned in The Norwood Builder.
- The Woman in Green is an adaptation of The Empty House but also includes elements from A Case of Identity and The Final Problem plus the first appearance of the Persian Slipper first mentioned in the Musgrave Ritual. This film has a version with an audio commentary by David Stuart Davies.
- Terror by Night is loosely based on The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax and the Blue Carbuncle. This includes the theatrical trailer.
- Dressed to Kill. This was known as Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code in the UK. The theatrical trailer is included.
As well as the extras mentioned above The Definitive Collection also carries a “featurette” about the painstaking restoration of these films and how some missing elements were carefully replaced. Each film is accompanied by production notes by Sherlock Holmes devotee Richard Valley (who sadly died in 2007) and a photograph gallery.
Those who are critical of Nigel Bruce’s portrayal of me in these films should not forget that up until this point, Watson had either not appeared alongside Holmes or had been relegated to a minor role. Nigel Bruce ensured that from then on, Holmes would have his Watson and that it would always be a two-handed performance as it had mostly been in real life!
Posted in Basil Rathbone, Films