Movie Review: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

Synopsis: Long after his death, Dr. Watson's secret memoirs are revealed, discussing mysteries he chose to keep a secret while he and Sherlock Holmes were still alive. The biggest of these mysteries is Holmes' sexuality.

Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Genevieve Paige, Christopher Lee and Tamara Toumanova.


Review: I came across this movie a couple weeks ago and, not having seen it yet, decided to add it to my library. I finally had an opportunity to watch it and, unfortunately, didn't enjoy the film nearly as much as I thought I would.

I'll start out by saying I thought Stephens and Blakely made a good Holmes/Watson combo. This is especially true of Stephens, who played Holmes with the same seriousness I would expect him to have, despite the fact this was a comedy film. In fact, I'll even go as far as to say all the characters in this film were well-portrayed.

I think the biggest problem with this movie is the main central theme, whether or not Holmes is gay, is a dated concept that just doesn't play as well today as it probably did in 1970. I'll admit, there were a couple funny moments in the film that were the result of that, especially watching Watson dancing around with those ballerinas while Holmes spread rumors about their relationship but, at the same time, I felt like the movie spent a little too much time on it.

It probably would have helped if the film at least had a decent mystery but that proved not to be the case. Every time it looked like it would finally give Holmes a puzzle to solve, it wound up being spoiled. It was really too bad too, especially since a mystery involving the Loch Ness Monster would have been good.

Another thing I noticed about this film was the writers couldn't seem to decide if it was supposed to be a comedy or something darker. Holmes' drug use, for example, was a fairly depressing subject for a comedy film (though it did stay true to the books). Plus, that ending was a pretty big downer that could have used a lot more effort to lighten things up just a bit. It would have been different had the writers committed and made this a serious film from the start. At least then, I would have expected that.

Final Opinion: I didn't completely hate the movie, but the dated material and lack of a decent mystery resulted in it being a bit of a disappointment for me.

My Grade: C

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah. All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical. Who's in it? The movie stars  Angourie Rice ,  Reneé Rapp ,  Bebe Wood ,  Tim Meadows and Tina Fey . Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with eac
Read more

Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei , Lena Olin and Anthony Head. Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up
Read more

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more