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[profh0011]

One thing I love to do sometimes is watch a film with NO idea what it's about before I start watching.

"ALIBI" (1929) is a pre-code crime pic which shows the cops to be AS BAD as the crooks!  There's no way this could have been made after 1935.  I was only familiar with 2 actors in it, Chester Morris (who later starred in the BOSTON BLACKIE film series) and Regis Toomey (who played Det. Bernie Ochs in "THE BIG SLEEP" and was later a regular on one season of RICHARD DIAMOND with David Jansen.

This had nothing whatsoever to do, of course, with "ALIBI" (1931), the LOST film that was Hercule Poirot's 1st appearance onscreen...   




One of my favorite bits in "THE BIG SLEEP" (1946) is when Bernie invites his old pal Phiil down to the docks to see a limo they just pulled out of the river.  As they walk away, Bernie casually says...

"This doesn't look like how YOU'd handle it, Phil."

As he's about to say something else, Phil suddenly realizes what Bernie just implied...

"Now WAIT a minute!  I didn't do this!"

Bernie, already knowing this, smiles.

"WHAT were you gonna say, Phil?"



I always prefer when a P.I. has a FRIEND on the force he can deal with, instead of some A**H*** he has to argue with and be constantly accused of doing bad things by.

This is also why I like Pat Chambers on both MIKE HAMMER tv series-- particularly the one in the Darren McGavin series (which I never saw until last year, and am currently totally hooked on).  Depending on the case and the circumstances, Pat may occasionally give Mike a bit of a hard time, but usually knows his old friend is on the up-and-up.

It was genuinely hilarious how in the movie "I, THE JURY" (1953), Pat (Preston Foster) deliberately goes out of his way to set Mike up to track down certain people, because he knows Mike is NOT hampered by official bureacracy the way he is.

[profh0011]

I thought I'd post this radio show here while I still had the bookmark handy...

THE SPECKLED BAND starring Cedric Hardwicke (1945)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDItX2l35js

[profh0011]

I was doing some research on what's available out there the other day.  Part of it was enlightening, part was frustrating.

For example... there's a quartet of silents that are availble on at least 3 different packages...

THE COPPER BEECHES  (1912 / Georges Treville)
THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP  (1921 / Eille Norwood)
THE DYING DETECTIVE  (1921 / Eille Norwood)
THE DEVIL'S FOOT  (1921) / Eille Norwood)

Now get this.  Grapevine Video has these 4 as 1 package.  Period.

Synergy Entertainment has a pair of 3-disc box sets listed as "SHERLOCK HOLMES ARCHIVE COLLECTION", which contain a number of raritities, comedies, a cartoon, a musical, a puppet show, a short film with chimpanzees (!!!!!), but also for no damn reason, one of the Rathbone films.  This also has these 4 silents, split up over the 2 volumes (when by rights, all 4 should have been in 1 of the volumes).

The Video Celler has a single disc that has these 4-- PLUS 1 MORE...
THE MUSGRAVE TREASURE (1912 / Georges Treville)

This annoys me.  I'd already decided to get the 2 Synergy volumes, for all the misc. stuff, some of which is really quite fun.  There's no point getting the Grapevine package.  But the Video Cellar package, has ONE film on it NO other package I've found yet has.  But this means paying (possibly) $20 for ONE silent film.  Oy.  Makes me wonder, was "THE MUSGRAVE TREASURE" found recently, since the other 2 packages were released?  I can't imagine any other reason for this happening...

Further... Georges Treville did 8 silents, and it looks like only 2 of them are not "LOST".




MEANWHILE... Eille Norwood did 45 shorts and 2 features.  A total of 47 HOLMES films!!  Astonishing.

At the moment, only 3 are commercially available (as detailed above).  HOWEVER... it seems Andrew Lloyd Webber currently holds the rights to ALL of his films... but for the last 10 years, has done NOTHING with them.  Fans are hoping he will.. as it would be a major hole filled if that many "missing" Holmes films suddenly were available on the market.

And apparently, Norwood's "THE SIGN OF FOUR" was recently screened at some prestigious film festival.  But it hasn't been released on DVD or anything.



In addition to all this... an outfit named Flicker Alley is currently selling TWO "BluRay/DVD dual format" packages, containing RECENTLY-found and restored silents: 

SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1916 / William Gilette)
DER HUND VON BASKERVILLE  (1929 / Carlyle Blackwell Sr.)

The 2nd of these ALSO contains the 1914 HOUND as a bonus!!!

DAMN, I'm looking forward to getting these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And finally (for this post)... 

SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1922 / John Barrymore) is also available.


I was planning to go after some 1930s films next, but it looks like I have older stuff to go after first.

[Captain Audio]

Is "the dying detective" really a Holmes story?
I've watched a film in the series of stories that competed with the Homes stories back in the day where the dying detective is definitely not Holmes and has no connection to any Holmes character.
The detective solves his own murder as he lays dying of a slow acting poison.


Yes, it it, and was done by Jeremy Brett as part of his final series.

HOWEVER!  I just ran across another film with a similar plot:  "D.O.A."



Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.O.A._(1950_film)

Full movie on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bpld0nGL2I

[profh0011]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Dying_Detective

This is, maddeningly, the ONLY Jeremy Brett episode I am MISSING!!!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0646183/


By the way, when you hit "quote", you CAN edit it down so as to not have to include the ENTIRE message, especially if it's a long-winded one like mine (heeheehee).

[Captain Audio]

By the way, when you hit "quote", you CAN edit it down so as to not have to include the ENTIRE message, especially if it's a long-winded one like mine (heeheehee).

I usually do but get lazy sometimes.

I looked through the episode guides for "the Rivals of Sherlock Holmes" but couldn't find the film I mentioned.
Don't remember the exact title. Perhaps it was suggested by the Holmes story, though not even noticeably based on it.
All the action, such as it was, took place in a European hotel room. The bedridden detective with only his brilliant mind and memory worked out exactly what led to his murder before succumbing to the effects of the poison. It looked as if he was going to survive but once he had solved this final case he passed away quietly.

[ComicMike]

I have a list of different SH productions here, unfortunately the list is not very detailed, but I think it still gives a good overview. If necessary, Auntie Google needs to help for more information. 

If I had all of these movies and series, I would be a very happy person. 



SHERLOCK HOLMES LIST


01. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1905) Maurice Costello
02. Sherlock Holmes (1908) Viggo Larsen
03. Den graa dame (1909) Viggo Larsen
04. Arsene Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes (1910) Viggo Larsen
05. Sherlock Holmes contra Professor Moriarty (1911) Viggo Larsen
06. Den stjaalne millionobligation (1911) Alwin Neuss
07. Hotelmysterierne (1911) Einar Zangenberg
08. The $500 Reward (1911) Mack Sennett
09. Flamme d'argent (1912) Georges Treville
10. Le ruban mouchete (1912) Georges Treville
11. Le mystere de Val Boscombe (1912) Georges Treville
12. Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four (1913) Harry Benham
13. A Study in Scarlet (1914) James Bragington
14. Detektiv Braun (1914) Alwin Neuss
15. Der Hund von Baskerville, 1. Teil (1914) Alwin Neuss
16. Der Hund von Baskerville, 2. Teil (1914) Alwin Neuss
17. A Study in Scarlet (1914) Francis Ford
18. Das dunkle Schloss (1915) Eugen Burg
19. Der Hund von Baskerville, 3. Teil (1915) Alwin Neuss
20. Der Hund von Baskerville, 4. Teil (1915) Alwin Neuss
21. The Crogmere Ruby (1915) Hector Dion
22. The Crimson Sabre (1915) Hector Dion
23. The Valley of Fear (1916) H.A. Saintsbury
24. Sherlock Holmes (1916) William Gillette
25. Die Kassette (1917) Hugo Flink
26. Der Erdstrommotor (1917) Hugo Flink
27. Der Schlangenring (1917) Hugo Flink
28. Was er im Spiegel sah (1918) Ferdinand Bonn
29. Der Hund von Baskerville, 5. Teil (1920) Willy Kaiser-Heyl
30. Der Hund von Baskerville, 6. Teil (1920) Willy Kaiser-Heyl
31. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1921) Eille Norwood
32. The Devil's Foot (1921) Eille Norwood
33. The Yellow Face (1921) Eille Norwood
34. The Priory School (1921) Eille Norwood
35. The Red-Haired League (1921) Eille Norwood
36. A Case of Identity (1921) Eille Norwood
37. The Tiger of San Pedro (1921) Eille Norwood
38. The Man with the Twisted Lip (1921) Eille Norwood
39. The Dying Detective (1921) Eille Norwood
40. The Resident Patient (1921) Eille Norwood
41. The Empty House (1921) Eille Norwood
42. The Copper Beeches (1921) Eille Norwood
43. The Beryl Coronet (1921) Eille Norwood
44. The Noble Bachelor (1921) Eille Norwood
45. The Solitary Cyclist (1921) Eille Norwood
46. A Scandal in Bohemia (1921) Eille Norwood
47. The Six Napoleons (1922) Eille Norwood
48. The Musgrave Ritual (1922) Eille Norwood
49. The Greek Interpreter (1922) Eille Norwood
50. The Second Stain (1922) Eille Norwood
51. The Naval Treaty (1922) Eille Norwood
52. The Boscombe Valley Mystery (1922) Eille Norwood
53. The Abbey Grange (1922) Eille Norwood
54. Charles Augustus Milverton (1922) Eille Norwood
55. The Norwood Builder (1922) Eille Norwood
56. Black Peter (1922) Eille Norwood
57. The Reigate Squires (1922) Eille Norwood
58. The Stockbroker's Clerk (1922) Eille Norwood
59. The Golden Pince-Nez (1922) Eille Norwood
60. The Bruce Partington Plans (1922) Eille Norwood
61. The Red Circle (1922) Eille Norwood
62. Sherlock Holmes (1922) John Barrymore
63. The Mystery of the Dancing Men (1923) Eille Norwood
64. The Missing Three Quarter (1923) Eille Norwood
65. The Three Students (1923) Eille Norwood
66. Silver Blaze (1923) Eille Norwood
67. The Mystery of Thor Bridge (1923) Eille Norwood
68. The Blue Carbuncle (1923) Eille Norwood
69. The Gloria Scott (1923) Eille Norwood
70. The Stone of Mazarin (1923) Eille Norwood
71. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (1923) Eille Norwood
72. The Final Problem (1923) Eille Norwood
73. The Final Problem (1923) Eille Norwood
74. The Speckled Band (1923) Eille Norwood
75. The Cardboard Box (1923) Eille Norwood
76. The Crooked Man (1923) Eille Norwood
77. His Last Bow (1923) Eille Norwood
78. The Engineer's Thumb (1923) Eille Norwood
79. The Sign of Four/Das Zeichen der Vier (1923) Eille Norwood
80. Der Hund von Baskerville (1929) Carlyle Blackwell
81. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929) Clive Brook
82. The Sleeping Cardinal (1931) Arthur Wontner
83. The Speckled Band (1931) Raymond Massey
84. Le roi bis (1932) Martin Fric
85. The Missing Rembrandt (1932) Arthur Wontner
86. Lelicek ve sluzbach Sherlocka Holmese (1932) Martin Fric
87. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932) Robert Rendel
88. The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (1932) Arthur Wontner
89. Sherlock Holmes (1932) Clive Brook
90. A Study in Scarlet (1933) Reginald Owen
91. The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) Arthur Wontner
92. The Three Garridebs (1937) (TV) Louis Hector
93. Der Hund von Baskerville (1937) Bruno Goettner / Siegfried Schuerenberg
94. Silver Blaze (1937) Arthur Wontner
95. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (1939) Basil Rathbone
96. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/Die Abenteuer des Sherlock Holmes (1939) Basil Rathbone
97. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror/Stimme des Terrors (1942) Basil Rathbone
98. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon/Die Geheimwaffe (1943) Basil Rathbone
99. Sherlock Holmes in Washington/Verhaengnisvolle Reise (1943) Basil Rathbone
100. Sherlock Holmes Faces Death/Gespenster im Schloss (1943) Basil Rathbone
101. The Spider Woman/Das Spinnennest (1944) Basil Rathbone
102. The Scarlet Claw/Die Kralle (1944) Basil Rathbone
103. The Pearl of Death/Die Perle der Borgia (1944) Basil Rathbone
104. The House of Fear/Das Haus des Schreckens (1945) Basil Rathbone
105. The Woman in Green Die Frau in Gruen (1945) Basil Rathbone
106. Pursuit to Algiers/Gefaehrliche Mission (1945) Basil Rathbone
107. Terror by Night/Juwelenraub (1946) Basil Rathbone
108. Dressed to Kill/Jagd auf Spieldosen (1946) Basil Rathbone
109. Arsenio Lupin (1947) Jose Baviera
110. The Adventure of the Speckled Band (1949) Alan Napier
111. Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Disappeared (1951) (TV) John Longden
112. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1951) (TV) Andrew Osborn
113. Der Hund von Baskerville (1955) (TV) Wolf Ackva
114. Sherlock Holmes ja kaljupaeisten kerho (1957) (TV) Jalmari Rinne
115. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (1959) Peter Cushing
116. Sherlock Holmes und das Hasband des Todes (1962) Christopher Lee
117. A Study in Terror/Sherlock Holmes groesster Fall (1965) John Neville
118. The Double-Barrelled Detective Story (1965) Jerome Raphael
119. Une aventure de Sherlock Holmes (1967) (TV) Jacques Francois
120. L'ultimo dei Baskerville (1968) (TV) Nando Gazzolo
121. La valle della paura (1968) (TV) Nando Gazzolo
122. The Best House in London (1969) Peter Jeffrey
123. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes/Das Privatleben des Sherlock Holmes
        (1970) Robert Stephens
124. Touha Sherlocka Holmese (1971) Radovan Lukavsky
125. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (1972) (TV) Stewart Granger
126. Das Zeichen der Vier (1974) (TV) Rolf Becker
127. Sherlock Holmes cleverer Bruder (1975) Douglas Wilmer
128. Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976) (TV) Roger Moore
129. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution/Kein Koks fuer Sherlock Holmes (1976) Nicol Williamson
130. Silver Blaze (1977) (TV) Christopher Plummer
131. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (1978) Peter Cook
132. Sherlok Kholms i doktor Vatson: Krovavaya nadpis (1979) (TV) Vasili Livanov
133. Goluboy karbunkul (1979) (TV) Algimantas Masiulis
134. Sherlok Kholms i doktor Vatson: Znakomstvo (1979) (TV) Vasili Livanov
135. Murder by Decree/Mord an der Themse (1979) Christopher Plummer
136. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Okhota na tigra (1980)
        (TV) Vasili Livanov
137. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Korol shantazha (1980)
        (TV) Vasili Livanov
138. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Smertelnaya skhvatka
        (1980) (TV) Vasili Livanov
139. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona (1980) (TV)
        Vasili Livanov
140. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sobaka Baskerviley/
        Der Hund von Baskerville (1981) (TV) Vasili Livanov
141. Sherlock Holmes (1981) (TV) Frank Langella
142. Sherlock Holmes (1982) (TV) Paul Guers
143. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sokrovishcha Agry (1983)
        (TV) Vasili Livanov
144. The Sign of Four/Im Zeichen der Vier (1983) (TV) Ian Richardson
145. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) (TV) Ian Richardson
146. The Case of Marcel Duchamp (1984) Guy Rolfe
147. Seung lung chut hoi (1984) Fat Chung
148. The Masks of Death (1984) (TV) Peter
149. Young Sherlock Holmes/Das Geheimnis des verborgenen Tempels (1985) Nicholas Rowe
150. Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Dvadtsatyy vek
        nachinaetsya (1986) (TV) Vasili Livanov
151. The Return of Sherlock Holmes/Eine Pfeife in Amerika (1987) (TV) Michael Pennington
152. The Sign of Four/Im Zeichen der Vier (1987) (TV) Jeremy Brett
153. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (1988) (TV) Jeremy Brett
154. Without a Clue/Genie und Schnauze (1988) Michael Caine
155. Testimony/Die Zeugenaussage (1988) Rodney Litchfield
156. Hands of a Murderer/Sherlock Holmes muss sterben (1990) (TV) Edward Woodward
157. Sherlock Holmes en Caracas (1991) Juan Manuel Montesinos
158. The Crucifer of Blood (1991) (TV) Charlton Heston
159. Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991) (TV) Christopher Lee
160. Incident at Victoria Falls (1992) (TV) Christopher Lee
161. The Hound of London (1993) (TV) Patrick Macnee
162. Sherlock Holmes Returns/Die Rueckkehr des Sherlock Holmes (1993) (TV) Anthony Higgins
163. Fu er mo si yu zhong guo nu xia (1994) Fan Ai Li
164. Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Temporal Nexus (1996) (TV) Patrick Macnee
165. J'en suis! (1997) Rheal Guevremont
166. The Hound of the Baskervilles/Der Hund von Baskerville (2000) Matt Frewer
167. The Royal Scandal/(2001) (TV) Matt Frewer
168. The Sign of Four (2001) (TV) Matt Frewer
169. Sherlock Holmes a Trouville (2001) Herve Ganem
170. O Xango de Baker Street (2001) Joaquim de Almeida
171. The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire/Der Vampir von Whitechapel (2002) (TV) Matt Frewer
172. The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) (TV) Richard Roxburgh 
173. Sherlock (2002) (TV) James D'Arcy
174. Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking/Seidenstrumpfmoerder (2004) Rupert Everett
175. Baker Street Irregulars (2007) (TV) Jonathan
176. I Am Bob (2007) Humphrey Ker
177. Sherlock Holmes (2009, 2011) Robert Downey Jr.
178. Sherlock Holmes (2010) Ben Syder


TV-Shows

01. Your Show Time: The Adventure of the Speckled Band (Alan Napier
      as Sherlock Holmes, Ep.10, 1949)
02. Sherlock Holmes (Alan Wheatley as Sherlock Holmes, 6n, 1951)
03. Suspense: The Adventure of the Black Baronet (Basil Rathbone as
      Sherlock Holmes, Season 5 - Ep. 3, 1953)
04. Die Galerie der grossen Detektive - Sherlock Holmes liegt im Sterben
      (Ernst Fritz Fuerbringer as Sherlock Holmes, 1, 1954)
05. Sherlock Holmes (Ronald Howard as Sherlock Holmes, 39n, 1954-1955)
06. Detective: The Speckled Band (Douglas Wilmer, Season 1 - Ep. 8, 1964)
07. Sherlock Holmes (Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes, 13n, 1964-1965)
08. Sherlock Holmes (Erich Schellow as Sherlock Holmes, 6n, 1967-1968)
09. Sherlock Holmes (Nando Gazzolo as Sherlock Holmes, 6n, 1968)
10. Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing  as Sherlock Holmes, 16n, 1968)
11. Arsene Lupin (Henri Virlojeux as Sherlock Holmes, 4n, 1971/1973)
12. Les grands detectives: Le signe des quatre (Rolf Becker as Sherlock Holmes, 1975)
13. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (Geoffrey Whitehead as Sherlock Holmes, 24n, 1980)
14. Fantasy Island: The Case Against Mr. Roarke/Save Sherlock Holmes
      (Peter Lawford as Sherlock Holmes, 1982) TV
15. The Hound of the Baskervilles (Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes, 4n, 1982)
16. Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (Guy Henry as Sherlock Holmes, 8n, 1982)
17. The Baker Street Boys (Roger Moore as Sherlock Holmes, 2n, 1983)
18. Remington Steele:- Elementary Steele (Peter Evans as Sherlock Holmes, 1984) TV
19. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett as Sherlock
      Holmes, 13n, 1984-1985)
20. The Return of Sherlock Holmes/Die Wiederkehr von Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy
      Brett as Sherlock Holmes, 11n, 1986-1988)
21. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Alfred Hitchcock zeigt: My Dear Watson (Brian Bedford
      as Sherlock Holmes, 1989) TV
22. Father Dowling Mysteries/Ein gesegnetes Team: The Consulting Detective
      Mystery (Rupert Frazer as Sherlock Holmes, 1991) TV
23. ITV Telethon:  Telethon '92 (Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes 1992) TV
24. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, 9n, 1992-1993)
25. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, 6n,1994)
26. Le retour d'Arsene Lupin:  Herlock Sholmes s'en mele
      (Jossif Surchadzhiev as Herlock Sholmes, 1995) TV
27. Funcion de noche: Oscar y Sherlock (Francisco J. Basilio as Sherlock Holmes, 1996) TV
28. Sherlock  (Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, 13n, 2010-2012)
29. Elementary (Johnny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes, since 2012)


P.S.

A friend of mine met SH in person in London a few years ago. 

[The Australian Panther]

Prof, I posted a link to the John Barrymore Holmes back on April 1[ and not as an April Food Joke!
Here tis!
Sherlock Holmes 1922 silent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt_tFWp3bmg

John Barrymore - also great cinema organ accompaniment.

Good Print too!

ComicKraut,
Great work! A great Resource!

Cheers!
 

[ComicMike]

I'm glad to help, but the list isn't really from me , I've compiled it piece by piece over the years from the Internet, from general public sources.

Thank you for the link to the 1922 film with John Barrymore.

[Andrew999]

Amazing what you learn.

So the guy who played Sherlock most often in the movies was Eille Norwood:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eille_Norwood

Who'd have thunk it?

There are quite a few of his movies available on Youtube - just search for him by name:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtsSS6Fxjlg

[Andrew999]

Not the same by any means but this fan film production of Dying Detective is quite fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDoxZD6E_88

[profh0011]

I think it was the Nitrateville.com message board where I found the list of Eille Norwood films, and the info that, of all people, Andrew Lloyd Webber had acquired the rights to the entire series, but for over a decade, had SAT on them and not done anything to have them issued on DVD.  What a box set or 3 that would make!

Not mentioned there (but I found this elsewhere DECADES ago:

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1921 / 15 shorts)
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1922 / 15 shorts)
THE LAST ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1923 / 15 shorts)

This, in addition to 2 feature films, all with Eille Norwood (47 in all).



That may be the same site that discussed how a rivalry between 2 studios resulted in most of Norwood's films NEVER having been released in the USA back in the 20s.

Reportedly, MOST of them are intact, and prints reside at the BFI (British Film Institute), yet, as far as I know, only 3 of the shorts are currently available on DVD-- from several different companies.  (I've got 1, and will have the other 2 very soon.)

[SuperScrounge]

The detective solves his own murder as he lays dying of a slow acting poison.

While not a detective the protagonist of the noir film D.O.A. decides to spend his last hours finding out who poisoned him. I recommend the original film, I'm not sure if I saw the remake or not.

[crashryan]

This is precisely what irks me about copyright restrictions. These films are a century old and anyone with even slightest claim to being a "creator" is long dead, yet some rich bozo is able to prevent the other 8 billion people in the world from seeing them without his say-so. Ridiculous.

[The Australian Panther]

the noir film D.O.A.

Bought this on a cheap DVD copy years ago. Excellent.
Edmond O'Brien and the young and gorgeous Pamela Britton in one of her few leading roles.
Some of you may remember her as the next-door neighbour in 'My Favourite Martian'.
Obviously when I was very young and very hormonal, she made an impression on me in that show! She still had it.
This print is excellent.
D.O.A. - Dead on Arrival - 1949. [My birth year - and a great year it seems to have been too.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbJ4BKhsCrM

[profh0011]

This is precisely what irks me about copyright restrictions. These films are a century old and anyone with even slightest claim to being a "creator" is long dead, yet some rich bozo is able to prevent the other 8 billion people in the world from seeing them without his say-so. Ridiculous.

While "Public Domain" can mean quality HELL for fans-- like how the Arthur Wontner or Basil Rathbone films are available in COUNTLESS horrible packages-- I'd think the upside should be, when somebody like MPI puts out something like their 14-film SHERLOCK HOLMES box set, with all 12 Universal Films RESTORED over a 10-year-process-- they should advetise that thing to the hilt, and basically drive all the other inferior crap into oblivion.




By the way, if anyone knows or hears about any SUPERIOR Arthur Wontner HOLMES packages, please let me know.  I really like those 4 films, but from what I've read, all the current versions out there are of relatively-similar POOR quality. 

I did read where someone said some TV stations in England actually do have FAR-BETTER prints than anything anybody has bothered to put out on DVD.  Criminal!

Makes me think some enterprising soul with the right equipment, could, in theory, RECORD them off the air, and run off DVDs that would be BETTER than those currently being sold.   

[The Australian Panther]

Makes me think some enterprising soul with the right equipment, could, in theory, RECORD them off the air, and run off DVDs that would be BETTER than those currently being sold.

A 'Holy Grail' would be if someone back in the day actually did privately record TV shows that currently don't t exist because they were written over. And these then came to light. Like some of the early BBC shows.
I remember back in the day my boss had gear to record shows he was interested in, and that was the mid-to-late 70's.

Cheers!

[profh0011]

I started recording shows off the air in November 1979, some time before video stores were even a thing.

For most of this time, the "crown jewels" of my collection were "THE NEW AVENGERS", which was only ever shown here on The CBS Late Movie, 3 times, and only the 2nd time, mostly intact.



Finances kept me from buying DVDs for a long time, but now that I am, the entire run of "THE AVENGERS" is definitely on my "upgrade" list, as the 3 different eras, divided by CBS, PBS and A&E, were all BUTCHERED in very different ways.

PBS ran the Diana Rigg & Linda Thorsons in the late 80s...and every single episode were fuzzy as hell, suggesting they were all illegal bootleg copies.  (When the DVDs came out in the early 2000s, Patrick Macnee suggested as much-- he said "all" previous commerially-available copies were bootlegs.)

[The Australian Panther]

Just found this item

Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991) [1/2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl6esIzJLJk 

Christopher Lee, Patrick Macnee, Morgan Fairchild 

Then there was Sherlock Holmes the Musical.
Individual songs here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimAjsqVcu8&list=PLP6rUs1dyhLz2TmpcV1hgaXHuYOX7bnqv
Very Gilbert and Sullivan

Not sure if this is the same production - haven't listened to it yet. Download link
Sherlock Holmes musical starring Fritz Weaver and Inga Swenson, and an obscure horn-based prog/psych band
Various Artists - Baker Street OCR (1965) https://www16.zippyshare.com/v/5Zud8h5u/file.html
   

Cheers!

[The Australian Panther]

Yet more Sherlock Holmes movies

[Post modified]

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking [2004] by Simon Cellan Jones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSzByrsibIs&list=PLXo9EuZ6PqmXDCn0CL5d7MjhlRxTNT85G&index=17

Sherlock Holmes | Full Adventure Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK5uHzOQkIc

This thing is a TV movie. Not wonderful. Its just called 'Sherlock Holmes' If you like corny B-grade movies you might like this. Sherlock Holmes + Dinosaurs [Spoiler] 
Ben Syder [who he?] as Sherlock Holmes; Gareth David-Lloyd [from Torchwood] as Dr. John Watson
The portrayal of Watson is stronger than that of Holmes. The scene where Sherlock upstages Watson at an autopsy made me want to punch him out. Came across as arrogant rather than clever. 

The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeJWsOqvuhs&list=PLXo9EuZ6PqmXDCn0CL5d7MjhlRxTNT85G&index=3

Matt Frewer as Sherlock Holmes, Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson.
Both of these have been acting for years, but no stand-out roles.
Sherlock Holmes and Vampires.
Too much dialogue for mine.

Not on Youtube but I will track it down;-
Sherlock Holmes Incident at Victoria Falls (1992)
Sherlock in Africa Christopher Lee as Sherlock and Patrick McNee as Watson.
2 part TV production I think.

Cheers!
   

[Captain Audio]

Yet more Sherlock Holmes movies

[Post modified]


Sherlock Holmes | Full Adventure Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK5uHzOQkIc

This thing is a TV movie. Not wonderful. Its just called 'Sherlock Holmes' If you like corny B-grade movies you might like this. Sherlock Holmes + Dinosaurs [Spoiler] 
Ben Syder [who he?] as Sherlock Holmes; Gareth David-Lloyd [from Torchwood] as Dr. John Watson
The portrayal of Watson is stronger than that of Holmes. The scene where Sherlock upstages Watson at an autopsy made me want to punch him out. Came across as arrogant rather than clever. 

Saw some of this film years ago when Superteam productions was still active. It was basically an INDY production. I'm surprised it made it to TV.
Only really bad thing about it is the sound track. The back ground music is far too loud throughout and at times makes understanding the dialogue impossible. The low tone of the Sherlock actor's voice along with too much background noise made his lines pretty much indecipherable .
All the elements of the film separately were just fine, but they were not well integrated.
The actor who played Mycroft also played Malcom Reed, the weapons officer of the ship in the TV series "Star Trek Enterprise".

[The Australian Panther]

  Matt Frewer as Sherlock Holmes, Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson.
Both of these have been acting for years, but no stand-out roles.
Sherlock Holmes and Vampires.

Well, I'm going to have to eat crow. Posted before I actually watched the film.
Frewer and Welshdo an excellent job as Holmes and Watson, but the plot is one that could have taken half an hour and therefore the movie is too drawn out. Pity.   

[profh0011]

Last night's film: "SHERLOCK HOLMES" (1916), starring William Gillette, adapting his own stage play, which had been running since 1899 and by which point he'd done over 1300 performances of. He's the one who established Holmes wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a curved "meerchaum" pipe.

This was considered lost for generations, until that negative was found, mis-filed, in France. It was restored and put out by an outfit called Flicker Alley. The box has 3 discs: a Blu-Ray, a DVD, and a 3rd one with multiple extras, including 3 silent shorts that I think should have been part of that "Archive" pair of boxes I got earlier.

I don't yet have a BluRay player (been planning to get one for months now), so as yet I can't say what the difference is. But the regular DVD, the film looks to me to be the sharpest, cleanest silent I've ever seen. The daytime tints border on almost making it a color film. And I agree with many of the IMDB reviewers who say the acting is far more natural than one might expect from a silent film this old. Plus, the directing may be unique for a film from this era. I've never seen slow fades from long shots to close-ups or back again in any other silent.

It must have been a bizarre thing, to take a live stage play and translate it into a silent film. It'll be interesting to compare this with the tape I have of Frank Langella's version of the play, done around 1980. That was actually done as a play, on stage, simply recording the live performance in front of an audience with a video camera. I'm of the belief that there should be at least one such recording made of every play, for posterity's sake. I wish I could see Julie Andrews in "MY FAIR LADY". It's criminal she wasn't cast in the movie version.

The story includes elements of "A Scandal In Bohemia" (a royal person trying to retrieve letters from an ill-advised romance), "The Final Problem" (Moriarty contrives to get Holmes alone to confront him), "The Retired Colorman" (NOT one reviewer mentioned this, it's where the gas-chamber scene came from, I only know if it because Douglas Wilmer did that story in 1965) and "A Study In Scarlet" (Holmes captures someone posing as a cabbie by asking them in to pick up a valise).

Funny enough, parts of this are very familiar to me, as I believe they were used in the first Arthur Wontner film from 1931, "THE SLEEPING CARDINAL" alias "SHERLOCK HOLMES' FATAL HOUR". In both, Moriarty assumes a disguise, and comes to Holmes' office to kill him in person. Also, Moriarty's underground lair is nearly identical.

The play was filmed again only 6 years later, in 1922, with John Barrymore. I have that on order right now. It'll be interesting to see, even though apparently everyone feels it's a disappointment compared to the Gillette version.

[profh0011]

Tuesday night, I watched the 2nd disc of extras.  First up was a half-hour feature where one of the restoration team talked about the involved process of assembling and cleaning up the film, adding the proper tints in, and translating the French version BACK into its original English. So much of what they did is similar to what I've been doing with old (and foreign) comics the last few years, I couldn't help but be fascinated.

One of the extras was a 1912 short "A Canine Sherlock Holmes", in which a detective sends his dog out to do his work for him.  This is extremely delightful and fun to watch.

Another extra is a short French film in which a man dreams of being a policeman, which features BIZARRE visual tricks the likes of which I've only ever seen in a MUTT & JEFF cartoon-- but, this is live action!  Jaw-dropping.

Seems to me both of these should have been on those "Archive" box sets.


I've already ordered the next 2 silent packages I need, and should be picking the next one up tomorrow.


Incidentally... I just found out today that Doyle's "The Retired Colorman" was published in 1926, which means, unless it was written but held back for MANY years, it couldn't have been the inspiration for the "gas chamber" sequence in the Gillette stage play.  Which makes me wonder if that part of the play might have instead inspired Doyle when he wrote his short story?

It's been stongly suggested over the years that Agatha Christie's "TEN LITTLE INDIANS" may have been partly inspired by the original Holmes film, "A STUDY IN SCARLET" (1932), which came out several years before Christie wrote her novel.

[profh0011]

I decided to take someone's advice, and contact the British Film Institute via their web site:


I've recently read that "most" of the 47 SHERLOCK HOLMES starring Eille Norwood (45 shorts & 2 features) are known to be intact and held at the BFI.  My suggestion is that you please consider putting these out on DVDs.  There were 3 sets of shorts (15 each), so one could conceivably put them out as 4 or 5 DVD boxes, or even one "complete" set (as complete as currently exists).

I've recently seen 3 of them that are currently commercially available, and the quality was such that it only makes me want to see more. I'm certain there would be a market for this, especially if the discs were available as all-region (the USA is a huge market).




Hey, you never know what ONE letter might stir up!