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Murder by Decree
Sherlock Holmes and Saucy Jack
UK / Canada 1979
produced by Bob Clark, René Dupont, Robert A. Goldston, Len Herberman (executive) for Famous Players, Highlight, Saucy Jack, Canadian Film Development Corporation
directed by Bob Clark
starring Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Anthony Quayle, John Gielgud, Frank Finlay, Donald Sutherland, Geneviève Bujold, Chris Wiggins, Tedde Moore, Peter Jonfield, Roy Lanford, Catherine Kessler, Ron Pember, June Brown, Ken Jones, Terry Duggan, Hilary Sesta, Anthony May, Betty Woolfe, Geoffrey Russell, Peggy Ann Clifford, Ann Mitchell, Katherine Stark, Stella Curtney, Judy Wilson, Victor Langley, Pamely Abbott, Robin Marchall, Richard Pescud, Dan Long, Michael Cashman
screenplay by John Hopkins, based on the book The Ripper Files by Elwyn Jones, John Lloyd, characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, music by Paul Zaza, Carl Zittrer
Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer)
review by Dale Pierce
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An all-star cast makes this a classic film, though the story line runs much
like that of From Hell with Johnny Depp, which would come later on. As a fan
of thrillers and horror films, I loved this movie, but as a member of the
masonic lodge, I hated it. The reason is simple. Like in From Hell, this movie
implies a masonic cover up concerning the Duke Of Clarence and a tie-in to the
Jack The Ripper murders. Is it possible there is some truth to this in real
life ? Well, maybe. Is it probable. No, not really.
With that aside, the movie
offers an interesting Ripper theory, mainly centered around the fashion in
which the whores were killed by the infamous murderer.
Sherlock Holmes, played by Christopher Plummer (though he is no Basil
Rathbone, he fits the role capably enough) spots said similarities and
somehow, though not a mason himself, knows all the secrets. As the killings go
on, he dabbles more and more into them until he discovers the connection with
the Duke Of Clarence, the masons and the whores said Duke liked to have romps
with, until he contracts syphillis from them. In this movie, Holmes solves the
mystery, with sufficient coverups making his discovery meaningless in the end.
"Even murder?" he questions when surprised by just how far the crown
will got to protrect its dirty secrets. Yes, I am afraid so, old boy. Even
murder is not out of bounds for those in the ruling class. Cheerio now. Of
course in real life, the notorious Ripper was never caught, though this movie
offers a bittersweet ending to the case.
When this movie first came out, unlike with From Hell, masons in several
cities protested outside the theatres where it was being shown. This of
course, only helped gain more recognition for the movie. By the time From Hell
came about, most members of the lodge young enough to remember both movies (I
do recall both, but was not a member of the masons until 1987) seemed to
shrug and say "well, here we go again."
As there are similarities between the two films, replacing Plummer for Depp
and the name of Holmes for the real-life inspector on the case, there
are also some direct differences which make both movies worth a look. Murder
By Decree, however, is not overly graphic as is From Hell, or especially the
more dreaded Jack The Ripper by Jess Franco or the Showtime tv movie titled
Ripper, released in the early 1990s.
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review © by Dale Pierce
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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