The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

Summary

“The answer is yes… you’re being presumptuous.”

Sherlock Holmes has been and will remain one of the great archetypal characters in literature. The consulting detective from 221B Baker St. has inspired the imagination of countless writers since his creation in 1887. It is no surprise that some of the earliest serialized films would rely on the character and also should come as no surprise that so many talented filmmakers have attempted to bring the character to the screen. The legacy of Sherlock stretches from the films starring John Barrymore, to Basil Rathbone, to the more recent films from director Guy Ritchie. Last night, I sat down to watch Billy Wilder’s film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. The film is not an adaptation of a famous case of Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but instead an original story by Wilder and his screenwriting companion I.A.L. Diamond. The film stars Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely as Holmes and Watson. I found that the film captured the characters well, while also inserting some clever conjecture into the plot that sets it slightly apart from some of the other Holmes tales.

As the film begins, a case of files is opened fifty years after the death of Dr. Watson. Inside is a story that he had chosen not to tell while anyone was still living. The film flashes back.  At 221B Baker St., Sherlock Holmes is growing bored due to a lack of cases. He spends his time studying different types of cigarette ash and occasionally taking some cocaine to help relieve his overactive mind. This is something that Watson takes issue with. The men are invited via mail to go to the opera to see a Russian ballet perform Swan Lake. After the performance, Holmes is invited backstage to meet the lead ballerina in the performance, Madame Petrova. Her interpreter offers Holmes an authentic Stradivarius violin if Holmes will help the retiring ballerina have a child. Holmes informs the interpreter of an issue. Holmes has been living as a bachelor for five years in a home with Watson… happily. This comes as news to them, and also comes as news to Watson when he hears it through the grapevine. Watson considers himself to be a lover of women. When Watson confronts Holmes at the house on Baker, Holmes explains that he had used this explanation to let the ballerina down gently. Whether or not Holmes is actually homosexual is left up in the air at this point. A carriage arrives at the door of Holmes’ house and a woman is brought in. The carriage driver claims that she was in the River Thames drowning when he rescued her. The woman suffers from amnesia. When she wakes in the night she refers to her husband by name. From this information, Holmes is able to assemble who she is – Gabrielle Valadon (Genevieve Page.) As her memory returns, she enlists Holmes to help her find her engineer husband. Along the way, they run abreast of Holme’s brother Mycroft (Christopher Lee,) who is working for the Diogenes Club (which just might be an early form of the British Secret Service.)

Billy Wilder is certainly one of the best filmmakers from the twentieth century. The ingenious writer/director had a real talent for bringing the best out of his actors and highlighting the humanity of his characters. The brilliance of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is in how delicately the film handles the situation of Sherlock’s sexuality. This is certainly a question that will be asked by most readers as they work their way through Holmes’ case files, in the same way that one might question the relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg in Moby Dick. It is not for certain that these relationships are more than platonic, but it is certainly up for debate amongst the readers. Considering that the film came out in 1970, the approach taken by the film represented a brave point of view onscreen. That is not the only brilliant aspect of the script, but it is one of the things that makes the film memorable. The script’s path towards its conclusion is well-written although some plot points may feel a little bit more telegraphed than Doyle may have done if he had written the piece. I personally had no issue with some of the more obvious plot twists in the film, because the conclusion is handled very well. Fans of Holmes should find a lot to like about both the writing and the direction of the film.

The actors are very well cast. Robert Stephens is exceptional as Holmes. His performance ranks with some of the best to ever play the sleuth. Colin Blakely is also very fun to watch as Watson. His Watson is a perfect second fiddle to the brilliant and beguiling Holmes. Genevieve Page is a good addition to the film in the role of Gabrielle. She brings a quiet confidence to the part. The best addition to the film is the great Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes. Lee is always a treat onscreen and he is perfect in this role. If they had done an offshoot of films starring Lee as Mycroft, I would have happily watched all of them.

The film is well shot. Cinematographer Christopher Challis shot the film in Panavision with DeLuxe Color utilizing wide angle lenses on location in Scotland and at Pinewood Studios in London. Unfortunately, the transfer on this release is in pretty rough shape. My guess is that this transfer was provided by MGM and that no additional cleanup could be performed at the time. If Kino ever decides to clean this up with a new transfer (preferably in 4K,) I will be the first in line to buy it. 

Overall, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a great addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon. Fans of the consulting detective should definitely check out the film.

Video:

Kino Lorber have provided the film in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1 in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC codec. This transfer is not altogether bad, but it does suffer from a lot of issues regarding the print. There are scratches and blemishes alongside issues involving discoloration and reel changes. It is pretty safe to say that this was not cleaned up once it was scanned. Fans of the film will be happy to have it on Blu-ray, but they need to keep their expectations fairly reserved. The film uses a good amount of soft focus and fog, so it is a little bit hard to judge fine detail. Fine detail is not as big an issue as the numerous print issues. We can only hope that one day we will get to see a better presentation of the film, but as it stands this is the best option,

Audio:

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is presented with a DTS-HD MA 2.0 sound mix that puts the mono track on both sides of the speaker. Audio fidelity is pretty good and clarity is not an issue. There is some hiss present, but I can’t imagine anybody being upset with how the film sounds.

Supplements:

• Christopher Lee: Mr. Holmes, Mr. Wilder – the great thespian discusses his admiration for Billy Wilder as his favorite director he worked with and also discusses the character of Holmes whom he played three times on film.
• Interview with editor Ernest Walter
• Deleted Scenes – this feature shows nearly an hour worth a material from the script which was excited to jettison the film.
• Deleted Epilogue Scene – this is an audio-only look at the original ending for the film
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video: 3/5

Audio: 4/5

Supplements: 3/5

Overall: 4/5

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a fantastic take on the beloved character from Billy Wilder and co-screenwriter I.A.L Diamond. The film bravely asks the viewers to consider the sexuality of Holmes while also setting up an interesting new adventure for Holmes and Watson. The film is frequently funny and clever. It boasts some excellent performances. Fans of the great detective will definitely enjoy the film. The Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber is the only game in town and certainly worth picking up, but the video transfer comes from a pretty beat up print. I still would advise picking the movie up even with the issues mentioned!