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Released by: Mill Creek Entertainment
Released on: September 11, 2012.
Director: Peter Sasdy/Bill Corcoran
Cast: Christopher Lee, Patrick Macnee, Morgan Fairchild, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jenny Seagrove
Year: 1991/1992
The Movies:
Mill Creek bundles together two made for TV Sherlock Holmes films from the early nineties starring Christopher Lee and Patrick Macnee as Holmes and Watson respectively. Executive Produced by none other than Harry Alan Towers both movies were written by Bob Shayne who was quite prolific in the eighties having written for series like Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, Whiz Kids and Magnum P.I.!
Sherlock Holmes & The Leading Lady (1991):
Set in the London of 1910, the story begins when Mycroft Holmes (Jerome Willis) makes a request of his brother Sherlock that he help him out. It seems that some plans for an electro-magnetic bomb detonator have been developed by a scientist located Vienna and he would like to get them, as would loads of other groups, the most problematic being some Serbian militia types could use it to do away with Emperor Franz-Josef. Sherlock agrees and with his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson, at his side the pair set forth on their trip to recover the stolen plans.
Upon their arrival, the two men once again meet up with an American woman named Irene Adler (Morgan Fairchild), a woman (or 'The Woman' if you're up on your Holmes lore) who was once a popular an opera singer but who took some time off. As she's about to relaunch her career, Holmes and Watson travel about Vienna using different disguises to try and track down the inventor of the device in hopes of getting to it before other nefarious types are able to and the pair encounter various characters, including Elliott Ness (Tom Lahm)!
Directed by Peter Sasdy, who man will recognize as the man who directed Twins Of Evil for Hammer Films, Sherlock Holmes & The Leading Lady is far from the best adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation but it is entertaining enough. Lee, here playing an obviously aged Holmes, is fine in the lead and he has decent enough Chemistry with Macnee to carry the picture. Some might take issue with Fairchild as the female lead in the movie but she's not a bad choice to play a sassy American performer as she definitely exudes some legitimately believable confidence. She looks great in the part too.
The picture slows down here and there, not surprising given that it's roughly three hours in length, but overall it moves at a reasonable pace and shows some pretty decent production values in terms of set design and costume. Classic stuff? No, not really but easy to have fun with.
Sherlock Holmes & The Incident At Victoria Hall (1992):
The second feature, made a year later with Bill Corcoran handling directorial duties, begins when good old Mycroft Holmes comes up with another assignment for Sherlock and Watson: escort a valuable diamond that is to be shipped from South Africa to England where it is to be given to King Edward VIII. Of course when Holmes and Watson arrive, the diamond goes missing and a man who was on site during the theft is murdered. From here on out the chase is on as our two heroes wander around interviewing various suspects… made up of pretty much everyone that they come into contact with, including Teddy Roosevelt (Claude Akins)!
This one isn't a good as the first feature, it suffers from some pacing problems and some surprisingly bland cinematography and performances. Lee is once again pretty good in the role but as the plot meanders he isn't given quite as much to do, and he's often times very wholesome in the part (neither of the two films brings Holmes' morphine addiction into play), gladly espousing as to what his observations have deduced to an omnipresent Watson who listens ever so intently.
Claude Akins is amusing in his interestingly cast cameo as Roosevelt and Jenny Seagrove is very pretty, cast here as Lilly Langtree, but they're not given all that much to do. The score switches back and forth from odd electronic keyboard bits to more appropriate classic interludes giving things a slightly disjointed tone at times. The movie isn't a complete disaster - it does have some nice location work and the costumes are as good here as they are in the 1991 picture. The story does have a few good red herrings that will keep you interested but the problem here lies with the consistency, of which there isn't enough.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both of these made for TV movies are presented fullframe, as they would have originally been shown when first broadcast in the early nineties. Taken from tape sources, the image is soft throughout but far from unwatchable. Colors look decent and there aren't any serious compression issues. Not a transfer that's likely to win any awards, this basically looks like a good quality VHS tape.
The only audio options on the disc are Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks in English, there are no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Clarity is fine, the dialogue is well balanced and easy to understand and the levels are all good. Quality is about on par with the video - it won't blow you away, but it'll do.
There are no extras outside of static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Two passable Sherlock Holmes stories are made watchable simply because Christopher Lee and Patrick Macnee get loads of screen time in them. If you're a fan of either of these two great actors there's enough here to make these worth a look. Are they the best Holmes films ever made? No, but they pass the time in a breezy, entertaining and inoffensive way.
