Kieran McMullen

Okay, first let me say that there is no bigger Charlton Heston fan than me, myself and I. After all he was the hero of the third best movie ever made – 55 Days at Peking. (Casablanca being second and The Horse Soldiers being the number one of all time.) And who doesn’t love Moses and Ben Hur? But the Crucifer of Blood with Heston as Holmes and Richard Johnson as Watson, well, while Johnson is a fairly convincing Watson, Heston just doesn’t play well as the Great Detective.

The Crucifer of Blood was originally a stage play adaptation of The Sign of Four, so don’t expect it to be true to the original story line. It was then transferred to a made for TV movie. While most of the story plays out in the general line of the original, it does have a surprise ending. A peculiar twist which you’ll probably guess before the story is over but I won’t give away. As I said, Heston is just not convincing as Holmes, though he performed in the stage play on the left coast prior to making the film in order to perfect the part. The Broadway production of the play garnered 4 Tony Awards. The play also did well in London. It is really interesting to note that Jeremy Brett played Watson in the Los Angeles production opposite Heston just a few years before coming the Holmes.

Richard Johnson plays Watson well but the age difference between him and Irene St. Clair (the Mary Morstan character played by Susannah Harker) is so great that Watson comes off more as a foolish old man than a prospective lover. All in all Johnson does a commendable job as Watson and, except for the love interest, is quite believable. The film is worth watching at least once. One has to wonder what Brett and Burke could have done with it!

Richard Johnson is obviously a very talented and gifted actor. He was born in London in 1927 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first professional stage performance was with John Gielgud’s company. He served in the British Navy in WWII and first performed in film in 1951 in the movie Never So Few. Prior to his appearance with Heston in Crucifer, the two stared in the 1966 Khartoum (another great flick and Johnson is tremendous!). Before Connery was chosen for James Bond the part was offered to Johnson, who turned it down. Johnson balanced films and theater for his entire career and has had an extensive TV career. He has worked as an actor, writer, and producer. Best of all he was another fine Watson.

“The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother” is kind of a two for the price of one. Why? Well it’s the only movie I know of off-hand that has two Watsons! It is another favorite movie of mine. How can you get a better team than Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, and Dom DeLuise? Slapstick, subtlety, good story line and impeccable timing, what a great group! Wilder is Sigerson Holmes (Sherlock’s younger brother) and Feldman is Orville Sacker (obvious take off on Ormond Sacker) and so becomes Wilder’s Watson. Sherlock Holmes is played by Douglas Wilmer, who is familiar in the role from his 1964 TV series and Dr. Watson is played by Thorley Walters who also played Watson in three other films and was a Hammer Studios regular.  This is definitely not a serious drama but a great farce. Madeline Kahn is amazing as Sigerson’s client and was one of the
best comic actresses of all time, second probably only to Gracie Allan. The plot line is the return of a stolen document to the British Government. The real story is the budding love affair between Sigerson and Jenny (Kahn)and Sigerson’s fight to come out from under the shadow of his famous brother. If you’ve got a sense of humor about the great detective this is a must see.

Marty Feldman is probably one of the most identifiable of all actors. The twisted nose (from boxing in his youth) and his “pop eyes” (a result of a combination of a thyroid condition and a traffic accident) made his features truly unique. He was born in London on 8 July 1933 and grew up in the East End. His parents were immigrants from Kiev. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 and hoped to become a jazz trumpeter. However, he became known as “the worst trumpeter in the world”. He held quite a variety of jobs in his early days including tipster at a greyhound track and and assistant to an Indian fakir in a sideshow. He was much more a writer than an actor or trumpeter and enjoyed writing poetry. He wrote comedy shows for the BBC, both for TV and radio and really did it all: writer, director, and actor. Besides being in the movies he had his own TV show in the 1960s. He was married to his wife Lauretta on 14 January 1959 until his death on 2 December 1982. His death was both unfortunate and odd. Feldman was a four pack a day smoker and drank gallons of coffee but he died from a heart attack brought on by food poisoning from eating shellfish while filming “Yellowbeard” in Mexico. Truly odd was that  the day he died was the day they were to film his final scene for the movie…the death scene of his character. Feldman won two BAFTA awards for his TV show Marty and a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor for “Silent Movie” in 1977.

Thorley Walters was born in Devonshire on 6 July 1913, a decade before Marty Feldman. Walters is one of those Shakespearean actors that made a the transition to movies with what appeared to be exceptional ease. His first film was in 1935, “The Love Test” and from there on he seems never to have been out of work except for a short hiatus during the war years. While he played bumbling characters (much like Nigel Bruce) he was best known for his comedy roles such as Carlton Brown of the FO and the St. Trinian’s series of comedies. He was also a regular in
the horror film industry of Hammer Studios in all the usual Frankenstein Monster, Dracula and Phantom of the Opera movies. But fortunately for us he
also played our favorite character, Watson. In all he appeared as Watson four times: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1966), The Best House in London (1969), The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975) and Silver Blaze (1977). Walters died in 1991 having played hundreds of parts.

Hubert Willis and Eille Norwood in the Blue Carbuncle

We’ve all heard the name of the famous silent film star Eille Norwood who played Holmes in the early 1920’s (both on film and stage) but little is actually on record about his co-star Hubert Willis who played Dr. Watson. It’s truly tragic that so little information is available for the man who played Watson in more films than any other actor. Hubert Willis
played Watson in 45 two reel shorts and one 6 reel feature film, “The Hound of the Baskerville’s”.  The shorts were spread out over a three year period of 1921 to 23 and grouped in sets of fifteen. 1921 was “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, 1922 was “The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, and 1923 was “The Last adventures of Sherlock Holmes”.  1921 was also the year of the Hound. The last film by the Stoll studios (an English company) in the series was “The Sign of Four” but for some reason Arthur Cullin replaced Willis as Watson.

Fortunately many of the Norwood – Willis movies are still available to this day. Yesterday I found 16 of the short films available on Amazon.com, though they used stills from the Jeremy Brett series as pictorial placeholders. The copies I have watched are not bad considering their age though some of the title slides are a little difficult to read. The acting by both Norwood (who, by the way, was born Anthony Brett, hmmm) and Willis is exceptional. Neither seem to overplay the parts or have that characteristic overdramatic, physical movement so common in early silent to try and show emotion. In fact their acting is interesting to watch when compared to some of the other characters. I have to try not to laugh when watching “The Man with the Twisted Lip”, as Mrs. St. Claire throws herself about the room.

Disappearence of Lady Carfax. Willis is second from right.

Willis does a sterling job as Watson. He shows interest in his compatriot and certain deference but he is the affable, intelligent man of medicine. A bit dull perhaps, none-the-less a perfect foil.

Trying to get biographical information on Mr. Willis has been challenging to say the least. He was born in Reading, England the same year as George Custer was eliminated by the Sioux, 1876. He debuted in film in 1913 and in fact the second movie he appeared in was “The House of Templey” which was a rewrite of the Arthur Conan Doyle story “Rodney Stone”. Allegedly Doyle was in on the production. Willis seemed to have steady work in the movies until 1923 when his credits vanish. This is where it gets strange, a number of references (including IMDb) show Willis living to the age of 107 and dying in 1984. BFI, however, shows him dying in 1933. As of this writing I have not been able to find an obituary to confirm or deny either date.

David Burke is the best of all the Dr. Watsons. Yes, personal opinion, for what it’s worth. Edward Hardwicke did a very fine job but Burke had the benefit of starting the Granada TV series and setting the standard. He also had the benefit of being in the series before it got a little strange toward the end. ( I know, lots of reasons for that, but it did.) Burke was in the first 13 episodes in 1984-85 and in some of the best stories (Scandal in Bohemia, Final Problem, Naval treaty,..etc.). Burke brought an intelligent interpretation, showing that combination of fascination with and disbelief of the great detective. He was energetic and not to be put off by Holmes’ attitude or strange behavior. In addition, Brett and Burke fit together. They made you believe they were great friends. It is said that Burke (a fine Shakespearian actor) would carry a copy of the canon around the set and make sure that the cast and crew kept to the spirit of the work. When action was called for he was always in the front. The Solitary Cyclist was one of my favorite stories and the encounter between Holmes and Watson after Watson’s initial failure is played so well. Yes, Watson, you did do that badly!

Burke left the cast in ’85 to return to Shakespearian theater and be with his wife (also a fine actress) and their 2 year old son. There just wasn’t time to do both theater and the series. They tell the story that Brett saw him off at the train with tears in his eyes and wondering who could possibly replace him. (Hardwick was an excellent choice.)

David Burke was born in Liverpool, England 25 May 1934 and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is married to Anna Calder-Marshall and their son is also an actor, Tom Burke. While it appears that the stage is his first love, TV has been a mainstay of his career. You may remember him as Stalin in the Reilly, “Ace of Spies” series. He has also appeared in MI-5, Midsomer Murders, Dalziel and Pascoe, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (with his son), Tales of Sherwood Forest and the list goes on. One series I haven’t been able to lay my hands on was back in 1964, The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, where he played a Pvt. Mulvaney. If anyone knows a source please let me know. In 1995 he reprised the role of Dr. Watson in a TV documentary “Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective”. In 2007 he was the presenter in the documentary “The Shackles of Sherlock Holmes”.

“Without A Clue” is one of my favorite movies of all time. Forget the fact that I am a Holmes/Watson fan; it’s just a great movie. Michael Caine is brilliant as Holmes (well, brilliantly dim) and Ben Kingsley is superb as Watson. This is the “real” story of Sherlock Holmes. It turns out that the real sleuth in the team is Watson. The problem is that Watson was looking for an appointment to a conservative medical school staff and when he became involved with a Scotland Yard case attributed the solution to a mythical character, Sherlock Holmes. When people want to meet Sherlock he hires an actor (Michael Caine) to play the part. The phony Sherlock is a little dim, a drinker and a swordsman. There is the inevitable case with Moriarty, stolen Bank of England plates and dozens of great lines.

Holmes: It wasn’t YOU he tried to kill!

Watson: Think man; think…Who was supposed to be in that room?

Holmes: That’s right. YOU were!

Watson: Moriarty knows…I am the only match for his evil genius.

Holmes: You mean he’s not trying to kill me?

Watson: Of course not. He knows you’re an idiot.

Holmes: Oh, thank god!

This kind of banter runs through the entire film. Of course both Caine and Kingsley turn in superb performances and the opening scene is somewhat taken from the canon. There are the occasional scenes of slapstick comedy but they are done in a way that they seem so probable. This is a must see movie for fans of Holmes and Watson. Kingsley plays Watson as a caring, adventurous, aggressive problem solver. Caine and Kingsley play well off each other and there is true charisma. I also have to give kudos to Pat Keen who played one of the best Mrs. Hudson’s ever.

To do justice to Ben Kingsley’s career would take pages, but in short, he is one of the greatest screen actors of our time. He is also one of the greatest stage actors. Born 31 December 1943 in North Yorkshire, England as Krishna Bhanji he became internationally known for his Oscar winning performance as Mohandas Gandhi in the 1982 film. In the 1960s and the 1970s much of his time was spent in Shakespearian theater productions. In addition to an Oscar he has received BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also knighted in 2001 and got a star on the Hollywood walk of fame in 2010. Kingsley has been married four times and has four children.

Some of the other great films he has appeared in include: Murderers Among Us, Bugsy, Schindler’s List, Sweeney Todd, Anne Frank and Prince of Persia. In fact he has 99 movie credits and seven more films in post-production.

Okay, I admit that this movie taught me a new term, “Mock Buster”. Evidently this is where a small budget company churns out a  low budget film using the same name as a current “Block Buster” movie and sucks in the DVD crowd who buy what they think was the “good” movie. This one was released in 2010 right after the Block Buster. Actually, this film (with the exception of Ben Syder as Sherlock) isn’t half bad. Gareth David-Lloyd plays the part of Watson and really is quite good.

The basic plot of the story is that London is being attacked by what turn out to be mechanical monsters controlled by… We’ll leave that out and you can watch the flick. Off course Sherlock saves the day but Watson saves the Queen. The story, sets, costuming and special effects are really quite good. Syder is horrible as Holmes and really takes away from the film.
David-Lloyd plays an astute, intelligent fellow if a little lacking in physical ability. You would want this Watson on your side in a tough spot. The ending of the film is also very interesting. So if you can tolerate a Holmes of about 5’6” with a horrible accent you may enjoy the film.

Gareth David-Lloyd was born in Bettws, Newport, South Wales, UK on 28 March 1981. While still a teenager he joined the Gwent
Young People’s Theatre and did exceptionally well. Here he certainly advanced rapidly in developing his skills. He continued his training while at Coleg Gwent by working in local productions in Newport and Cardiff. He then went to
the National Youth Theatre and then to Reading and the Rep College. His stage credits include: Macbeth, Dr Faustus. Marat/Sade, Three Women and a Piano Tuner and Twelfth Night. His earliest TV appearance appears to be in 2003 on a show called Absolute Power and then Casualty. Three or four more appearances on other shows were followed by a permanent spot on Torchwood where he became a kind of science fiction cult hero. He currently has a TV movie  and a screen film in post-production. He really did a good job as Watson.

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

One of the best ensemble casts of the 1950s in television has got to have been those who assembled in France for the production of “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. Ronald Howard (no, not Opie!) was a fabulous Sherlock. He was likeable, intelligent, approachable and as soon as he finished his task for the client his mind was somewhere else. He was much more human than Brett or Rathbone ever played the character. Lestrade was played by Archie Duncan (he filled in as other characters during the series) and Richard Larke played Sergeant Wilkins. In all, there were 39 episodes of the half hour show. Needless to say, the mysteries were not in depth but they were entertaining.

The part of our special friend Watson was played by Howard Marion Crawford. He was usually billed as H. Marion Crawford. Crawford and Howard played exceedingly well together and there is a chemistry there that isn’t rivaled by Bruce and Rathbone. Crawford plays Watson as intelligent, action oriented, fun loving and willing to take a risk. He’s also a social butterfly when it comes to the women. The first meeting of Holmes and Watson takes place in the first episode “The Case of the Cunningham Heritage”. The meeting is lifted almost straight out of Doyle; the rest of the story is not. In fact, little of the canon is used in the 39 stories but each episode is very true to the spirit of the characters. My personal favorite is “The Case of Harry Crocker” with Eugene Deckers playing the title character. Deckers would play various parts in 7 episodes and I don’t believe that any actor who stepped on the set was used less than twice.

The sets had that late Victorian look but one could tell that production costs were kept low. Still, Crawford made an exceptional Watson; one that you could believe was a principled, honest fellow.

H. Marion Crawford’s background was almost more American and Italian than English. He was born 17 January 1914 and died 24 November 1969 at the early age of 55. His family had emigrated to the colonies in the 17^th century and included governors of the State of Rhode Island, General Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox of the Carolinas – remember the Disney TV show with Leslie Neilson playing the lead?), Thomas Gibson Crawford the sculptor who made the bronze statue “Armed Freedom” which sits on top of the US capital, F. Marion Crawford, the novelist and General Hiram Berdan, inventor and father of the American sniper units of the Civil War (Berdan’s  1^st and 2^nd NY Regiments of Sharpshooter).

Howard’s being born in England was almost an accident as his mother and father were married in Singapore. His father, Harold was working as a manager of a rubber plantation and his mother was performing in a traveling musical theatre review when they met. Howard was little more than a year old when his father was killed in a training accident in France where he was a Lieutenant in the Irish Guards. Howard would attend Clifton College and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During his career he had much more success as a radio actor than any other field. He appeared in about 50 films plus television. He served in the Irish Guard in WWII but was, like Watson, discharged after injuring his leg. He then enlisted in the RAF and became a bomber navigator. After the war he went back to acting and in 1948 played Sherlock Holmes in a radio production with a gentleman named Finley Currie playing Watson. The Sherlock Holmes series was possibly the high point of his career. He was also featured in 5 Fu Manchu movies and appeared in such classics as: The Longest Day, Lawrence of Arabia, The Charge of the Light Brigade and North West Frontier (where he worked again with Eugene Deckers).