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The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It
Sherlock Holmes oder Der sonderbare Fall vom Ende der Zivilisation wie sie uns bekannt ist
UK 1977
produced by Humphreys Barclay, Kenneth Harper (executive) for London Weekend Television, ITV
directed by Joseph McGrath
starring John Cleese, Arthur Lowe, Connie Booth, Stratford Johns, Denholm Elliott, Gyearbuor Asante, Nick Tate, Edmund Pegge, Josephine Tewson, Burt Kwouk, Ron Moody, Holly Palance, Joss Ackland, Val Pringle, Bill Mitchell, Christopher Malcolm, Derek Griffiths, Billy Hamon, Robert Kingdom, Maria Charles, Delaney O'Connor, Moira Foot, Dudley Jones, Luie Caballero, Kenneth Benda, Charlotte Alexandra, Maurice Kaufmann, Mike O'Malley, Paul Chapman
original idea by Jack Hobbs, Joseph McGrath, screenplay by Jack Hobbs, Joseph McGrath, John Cleese, based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, music by Ivor Slaney
Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes (John Cleese), Moriarty, Hercule Poirot (cameo), Columbo (cameo), Sam Spade (cameo), McCloud (cameo)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Modern day London: A villain threatens to end society as we know it, if
... well, if he's not stopped. So he has a sniper placed across the street
from an international security conference who picks out and shoots dead
the conference members one by one. And since the villain is called
Moriarty, Arthur Sherlock Holmes (John Cleese), last descendant of
Sherlock Holmes, and Dr Watson (Arthur Lowe), also a descendant, are
brought in to handle the case ... not so much because they live up to
their ancestors' names but because - well, you know, Moriarty vs Holmes
... Of course, nobody knows what this Moriarty looks like, all Holmes
knows is he has a high pitched laugh ... so he gathers all master
detectives - Hercule Poirot (Dudley Jones), James
Bond's M (Kenneth Benda), Hawaii 5-0's Steve McGarrett
(Maurice Kaufman), Columbo (Luie Caballero), Sam Spade (Mike O'Malley) and
McCloud (Paul Chapman) - for a conference at a posh hotel ... where the
baddie dressed as Watson kills them one by one - which was actually
Sherlock Holmes' plan, because he wanted to get rid of competition.
Actually, he knew who was Moriarty all along - his landlady Ms Hudson
(Connie Booth). And since he knew, he had Watson substitute the bullets in
her gun for blanks. Just one thing though - Watson is not as reliable as
he used to be these days, so he might have forgotten to substitute the
bullets ... and yes, civilization as we know it really ended in 1977 I
suppose. John Cleese's second attempt at a Sherlock Holmes
parody (after Comedy
Playhouse - Elementary My Dear Watson) is pretty much as
successless as his first one, maybe more so. The main problem with The
Strange Case of the End Of Civilization as We Know It is that it never
seems to really find its story, suffers from a weak structure, and is
cluttered with a few too many weak jokes. And the usually dependable John
Cleese definitely had one of his worse days when making this one. Apart
from a few inspired jokes, the only thing that's really funny about this
made-for-TV movie is Arthur Lowe, who might look nothing like
Watson, but he hams up the role the way Nigel Bruce played it to the hilt,
to hilarious results. Still, as a whole the film does not live up to its
expectations - which is a pity.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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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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