Over the past few weeks I have been watching the 1950s French-made SHERLOCK HOLMES TV series. It was originally made for distribution in the Unites States and has recently become available to watch on YouTube.
The series starred Ronald Howard (the son of Leslie Howard and cousin of Alan Howard) as Sherlock Holmes ...
... and Howard Marion-Crawford as Dr John Watson. (He was billed a H Marion-Crawford, probably to avoid confusing viewers with too many Howards!)
Other actors who regularly appeared were Archie Duncan (who played Inspector Lestrade and several other roles), ...
... Richard Larke (who was billed as Kenneth Richards and who played Sergeant Wilkins), and Belgian actor Eugene Deckers (who played seven different characters).
The series producer was Sheldon Reynolds and the associate producer was Nicole Milinare (later the Duchess of Bedford), who was one of the first women to become the producer of a television series. It was mainly filmed in France at Epinay-sur-Seine by Guild Films and one of the directors was Steve Previn, the brother of the composer and conductor André Previn.
There were thirty-nine episodes and quite a few had story lines that were identifiable as being based on some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Although Ronald Howard’s portrayal of Holmes might not have been as good as Jeremy Brett’s (in my opinion THE definitive TV Sherlock Holmes), I prefer it to Basil Rathbone’s and Douglas Wilmer’s portrayals. As for Howard Marion-Crawford’s Dr Watson … well, his portrayal compliments Howard’s Holmes, and his Watson is a robust, reasonably intelligent, man-of-action … which strikes me as being true to Conan Doyle’s vision of the character.
This series doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has a humorous element which makes the episodes easy watching.
The titles of episodes in the series are:
- The Case of the Cunningham Heritage
- The Case of Lady Beryl
- The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun
- The Case of the Texas Cowgirl
- The Case of the Belligerent Ghost
- The Case of the Shy Ballerina
- The Case of the Winthrop Legend
- The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff
- The Case of Harry Crocker
- The Mother Hubbard Case
- The Red-Headed League
- The Case of the Shoeless Engineer
- The Case of the Split Ticket
- The Case of the French Interpreter
- The Case of the Singing Violin
- The Case of the Greystone Inscription
- The Case of the Laughing Mummy
- The Case of the Thistle Killer
- The Case of the Vanished Detective
- The Case of the Careless Suffragette
- The Case of the Reluctant Carpenter
- The Case of the Deadly Prophecy
- The Case of the Christmas Pudding
- The Case of the Night Train Riddle
- The Case of the Violent Suitor
- The Case of the Baker Street Nursemaids
- The Case of the Perfect Husband
- The Case of the Jolly Hangman
- The Case of the Imposter Mystery
- The Case of the Eiffel Tower
- The Case of the Exhumed Client
- The Case of the Impromptu Performance
- The Case of the Baker Street Bachelors
- The Case of the Royal Murder
- The Case of the Haunted Gainsborough
- The Case of the Neurotic Detective
- The Case of the Unlucky Gambler
- The Case of the Diamond Tooth
- The Case of the Tyrant's Daughter
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I must try to resist the temptation to watch this instead of working on my pieces today for the next Compendium! Thanks for the recommendation. Glad you enjoyed them. I agree that the Jeremy Brett series is the definitive Holmes, just as David Suchet is the definitive Poirot. Best wishes, Arthur
ReplyDeleteArthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteI’m sure that indulging in the odd episode will inspire you to complete your contribution to the next Compendium!
I suspect that we are not alone in thinking that Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Holmes will be the definitive version, just as David Suchet has made Hercule Poirot his own.
All the best,
Bob
I ran across this series a few years ago when it was among the offerings on Hulu (since withdrawn)--and was highly pleased to find that it is now on Youtube. Any episode with Eugene Deckers is a cut above (what a versatile actor). Unfortunately, there are now colorized versions starting to creep in: hopefully, they won't squeeze out the originals (I just don't get it).
ReplyDeleteEd M,
DeleteGlad to you have also found this series on YouTube.
Eugene Deckers was a very remarkable actor, and his rendition of a London accent is far, far better than most I have heard … especially Dick Van Dyke’s ‘Cockney’ accent! (I was born in central London and I am a Cockney … and sound nothing like that!)
All the best,
Bob
I dare say that Jeremy Brett is THE definitive Holmes, stage, tv or film.
ReplyDeleteNickN,
DeleteYou’ll get no argument from me on this matter! I totally agree; he IS the definitive Sherlock Holmes!
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteLike you, I reckon Jeremy Brett as THE definitive Sherlock Holmes, although Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller are pretty bally good!
Thinking of a French production of Sherlock Holmes, I am reminded of British renditions of 'Maigret'. Although the 60s production was shown on NZTV, I never watched it. But I found Rowan Atkinson in the role in the 2016-7 series quite enthralling. Pity they didn't make more of those stories.
I am finding these days there are far too many 'cop' shows on TV. No wonder soapy dramas like Yellowstone or Landman are so popular...
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYou’ll get no argument from me! Jeremy Brett IS Sherlock Holmes, although Benedict Cumberbach runs him a close second, and Martin Freeman’s depiction of Dr John Watson does feel very true to the original character (i.e. a grounded man-of-action with a deep moral sense of duty).
I also love Maigret, and until I saw Rowan Atkinson’s depiction, I would have said the Rupert Davies WAS Maigret. The former’s depiction might not have had the physical traits as described in the books, but he got the character right. Like you, I wish that they had made more episodes.
Luckily, we have some excellent police/murder mystery shows in the UK. My favourites have been LINE OF DUTY and BLUE LIGHTS. The latter is about uniformed. members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and is outstanding as it does not shy away from the fallout of ‘The Troubles’. If you have not already seen it, watch it on BBC iPlayer. They are showing the first two series prior to the screening of the third series.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
DeleteThe British still do good and gripping cop shows, it's true. Lately I've been watching 'Silent Witness' (sort of a better version (in some respects) of 'CSI'). But I have a special soft spot for 'Death in Paradise' - formulaic, but with charm (and of course, the island of Sainte-Marie is a character in the story).
I was intrigued by 'Professor T', interesting stories with a character-driven arc overall. I am always intrigued by brilliant but fractured characters. Ben Miller seems to have made the trope his own (Inspector Richard Poole, Stewart James...)!
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteSILENT WITNESS is good, and not quite as far fetched as some of the CSI episodes that I have seen. As for PROFESSOR T ... well, even though the stories have been adapted from the Belgian series of the same name, Ben Miller is convincing in the role and has made it his own. (By the way, there is another series that has an autistic main character, in this case a police archivist. It is entitled PATIENCE, and is also based on a Belgian TV series. It is also well worth watching.)
DEATH IN PARADISE (along with its spin offs, BEYOND PARADISE and RETURN TO PARADISE) may be a formulaic but has a certain old-fashioned charm that has its roots firmly in the style of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.)
All the best,
Bob
Looks interesting. My personal favorite was the Grenada series with Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Oddly enough I just purchased the complete series on DVD.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI am sure that you will enjoy many enjoyable hours watching the DVD’s. I agree that Jeremy Brett’s depiction of Holmes is the definitive depiction of the character. Superb!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob, that's interesting, will take a look at the French Sherlock. You may be interested to know that the BFI have a program of restoration ongoing for the 1920s silent series of Sherlock Holmes films, which starred one Eille Norwood as the great detective. I was fortunate enough to see three of them at a special showing last year in the London Film Festival, at Alexandra Palace Theatre and with orchestral accompaniment and specially-commissioned scores - and rather good they were, too! See this link: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/silent-sherlock-three-classic-cases-arthur-conan-doyles-mysteries-come-life-alexandra-palace
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if the restored films are being made available on-line (there is a 'BFI Player' service) or on DVD/Blu-Ray, but it may be worth looking into that if you are interested..
David in Suffolk,
DeleteAs an avid Skerlockian, I am very interested in seeing any film versions of the stories, however old they may be! I must admit that I’d not realised that any of these early silent films still existed, but I’ll certainly look out for them if I can.
All the best,
Bob
That's a good find Bob (thirty nine episodes, wow!). Not one that I was aware of, so thanks for the giving us all the tip.
ReplyDeleteI have a heap of old docos, shows and fil-ums that I have downloaded from archive.org (principally), but also yootoobe. I watch (more listen to) them while I paint and or construct. The full series of "Victory at Sea" was one of my most recent viewings and also two excellent Japanese films "Admiral Yamamoto" (1968) and "The Imperial Navy" (1981). The latter two featured marvellous use of models of aircraft and ships as well as studio versions.
While primarily history/military related for me, it is not always, so I'll check out Sherlock and likely add it to my list.
Thanks again and best wishes, James
James Fisher (James),
DeleteI discovered the joys of YouTube whilst I was confined to bed for such a long time last year. I like the old films, the odd historical and military documentaries, and the recorded books and BBC plays. They are great for listening in bed or whilst painting figures etc.
All the best,
Bob
I have been enjoying the free BBC Sounds podcast of Hugh Bonneville reading the short stories, doing all the voices himself. It makes sense to do so as in a way Watson is retelling the stories.
ReplyDeleteBBC Sounds / BBC4 Extra also has a Whodunnit selection including Sherlock Holmes readings or dramatised versions. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0k9tzr0
Mark, Man of TIN,
DeleteThanks for the pointer towards BBC Sounds and BBC4 Extra. It sounds very interesting.
My main radio listening tends to be confined to cricket commentaries on BBC5 Sport Extra and our local community radio, Maritime Radio which is an excellent source for local news, events, and traffic reports.
All the best,
Bob