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Two men (Ed Belange, Kelly Dale) have apparently shot each other in a
theatre, but for publicity reasons, the theatre's manager Campbell (Drew
Kemp) hires Sherlock Holmes (Patrick Macnee), the legendary investigator
who's definitely past his prime though, is more than ever a slave of
cocaine and is plagued by fits of paranoia. Of course, he knows hiring him
is only a publicity stunt, but he gladly accepts anyways, because the
leading lady of the play the theatre is currently performing is his old
love/foe Irene Adler (Carolyn Wilkinson). Once at the theatre, Holmes
soon finds out that the men who have died in the theatre have not shot
each other but were murdered, he finds evidence that someone did some
target practice on one of the theatre's seats, and he is actually shot at.
Ultimately he finds out that the seat that was used for target practice is
reserved for the King of Bohemia (Ropb Vanderbrink), whom Irene Adler had
an affair with years ago (and whom she apparently was to unknowingly lure
to the theatre), and he finds out the lead actor, Sterling (Craig
Bowlsby), is Bohemian and would profit from the death of the King - and
there is a scene in the play where he actually shoots into the audience,
so he would have the perfect excuse for accidently shooting the
King. However, it soon turns out the real brains behind the whole plan is
not Sterling himself, but his co-star/director ... who now turns out to be
none other than Holmes's arch enemy Moriarty (Jack Macreath). The whole
thing ends in a (not very cinematic) game of chess and a fencing duel at
the end of which Irene Adler stabs Sterling dead to save Holmes. Moriarty
though escapes. John Scott-Paget plays Dr. Watson, Colin Skinner can be
seen as Inspector Lestrade. By many Sherlock Holmes-fans,
this film is considered as the worst Sherlock Holmes-adaptation
yet - which is slightly unfair, because at least Patrick Macnee makes a
good Holmes. Sure, he doesn't look the part, but he nails the character of
the detective who's past his prime, plagued by paranoia, but still
brilliant if he has to be. But while Macnee is great, the rest of the cast
is decidedly sub-par, and they are not helped by rather tired writing, a
stagey directorial effort (after all, this film is based on a stageplay),
and a very low budget (restricting the film to only two sets). One wishes
Macnee would have had a better vehicle for his turn as Holmes, but he does
make the film worthwhile at least. By the way, before Patrick
Macnee was promoted to Holmes, he played Watson three times, to Roger
Moore in 1976's Sherlock
Holmes in New York, and to Christopher Lee in Sherlock
Holmes and the Leading Lady from 1991 and Incident
at Victoria Falls from 1992. Interestingly, he had run-ins with
Irene Adler in both Sherlock
Holmes in New York and Sherlock
Holmes and the Leading Lady. Macnee is not the first or only
actor to have been promoted from Watson to Holmes, I can think of Reginald
Owen, who was Watson on 1932's Sherlock
Holmes and Holmes in 1933's A
Study in Scarlet. There might have been others, too.
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