- Murder by Decree
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Murder by Decree
Original film posterDirected by Bob Clark Produced by Bob Clark
René DupontWritten by John Hopkins
Elwyn Jones (book)
John Lloyd (book)Starring Christopher Plummer
James Mason
David Hemmings
Susan ClarkMusic by Paul Zaza
Carl ZittrerCinematography Reginald H. Morris Distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures Release date(s) Canada February 1, 1979
USA February 9, 1979Running time 124 minutes Country UK
CanadaLanguage English
(romagnolo)A still from Murder by Decree showing the Goulston Street graffito containing the word Juwes, which is portrayed erroneously as a Masonic term.Murder by Decree (1979) is an Anglo-Canadian thriller film involving Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in the case of the serial murderer Jack the Ripper. As Holmes investigates London's most infamous case, he finds that the Ripper has friends in high places.
The film's story of the plot behind the murders is taken from the book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution by Stephen Knight. The original script contained the names of the historical suspects, Sir William Gull, 1st Baronet and John Netley. In the actual film, they are referred to as Thomas Spivy (Gull) and William Slade (Netley). This plot device was later used in other Jack The Ripper-themed movies.
Contents
Production
The movie was directed by Bob Clark. It stars Christopher Plummer and James Mason as Holmes and Watson, respectively, and presents a largely different version of Holmes from the Rathbone days, with the aesthete still prevailing, yet tinged with a humanity and emotional empathy. James Mason's Dr. Watson is also a departure. Although he may appear at first to resemble the bumbling Nigel Bruce version of the character, he soon shows his level head and scientific and medical training to be valuable assets. The supporting cast includes Donald Sutherland, Susan Clark, John Gielgud, David Hemmings and Geneviève Bujold. Frank Finlay plays Inspector Lestrade, a part he had previously portrayed in the similar 1965 film A Study in Terror. Plummer had earlier portrayed Holmes in 1977's Silver Blaze.
Reception
The film was nominated for 8 Genie Awards in 1980, of which it won 5, including Best Achievement in Direction (Bob Clark), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Geneviève Bujold) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Christopher Plummer).
Vincent Canby, writing in the NY Times in February 1979, liked the film very much;
The film, directed by Bob Clark, based on an original screenplay by John Hopkins, makes use not only of the theory that Jack the Ripper was actually the Duke of Clarence, son of Queen Victoria, but also of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who are apparently in the public domain, or at least available for assignments outside the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.With Christopher Plummer as a charming, cultivated Holmes, a fellow who reveals himself to be a man of unexpected social and political conscience, and with James Mason as an especially fond and steadfast Watson, "Murder by Decree" is a good deal of uncomplicated fun, not in a class with Nicholas Meyer's "The Seven Percent Solution," but certainly miles ahead of many other current movies that masquerade as popular entertainment.
Mr. Hopkins's screenplay is funny without being condescending, more aware of history, perhaps, than Conan Doyle's mysteries ever were, but always appreciative of the strengths of the original characters and of the etiquette observed in the course of every hunt.[1]Cast
- Christopher Plummer (Sherlock Holmes)
- James Mason (Dr. John Watson)
- David Hemmings (Inspector Foxborough)
- Susan Clark (Mary Kelly)
- Frank Finlay (Inspector Lestrade)
- Anthony Quayle (Sir Charles Warren)
- Donald Sutherland (Robert Lees)
- Geneviève Bujold (Annie Crook)
- John Gielgud (Prime Minister)
See also
- A Study in Terror
- Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson
- The Last Sherlock Holmes Story
References
- ^ Vincent Canby (February 9, 1979). "Murder By Decree (1979)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A00EEDF1331E432A2575AC0A9649C946890D6CF. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
External links
- Murder By Decree at the Internet Movie Database
- Murder by Decree at AllRovi
- Christopher Plummer and Murder By Decree
- Stephen Knight obituary
Films directed by Bob Clark 1960s The Emperor's New Clothes (1966) · She-Man (1967)1970s Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) · Deathdream (1972) · Black Christmas (1974) · Breaking Point (1976) · Murder by Decree (1979)1980s Tribute (1980) · Porky's (1982) · Porky's II: The Next Day (1983) · A Christmas Story (1983) · Rhinestone (1984) · Turk 182 (1985) · From the Hip (1987)1990s Loose Cannons (1990) · It Runs in the Family (1994) · I'll Remember April (1999) · Baby Geniuses (1999)2000s Screen adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories Silent films - Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)
- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom (1905)
- Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes (1910)
- A Study in Scarlet (1914)
- Sherlock Holmes (1916)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1921)
- Sherlock Holmes (1922)
- The Sign of Four (1923)
Wontner series - The Sleeping Cardinal (1931)
- The Missing Rembrandt (1932)
- The Sign of Four (1932)
- The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935)
- Silver Blaze (1937)
Rathbone-Bruce
series- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
- Voice of Terror (1942)
- Secret Weapon (1943)
- Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
- The Spider Woman (1944)
- The Scarlet Claw (1944)
- The Pearl of Death (1944)
- House of Fear (1945)
- The Woman in Green (1945)
- Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
- Terror by Night (1946)
- Dressed to Kill (1946)
Igor Maslennikov
series- Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1980)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1981)
- The Treasures of Agra (1983)
- The Twentieth Century Approaches (1986)
By actor - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
- The Masks of Death (1984)
- Silver Blaze (1977)
- Murder by Decree (1979)
- The Sign of Four (1983)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000)
- The Sign of Four (2001)
- The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002)
- The Royal Scandal (2003)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- A Game of Shadows (2011)
Other films - The Speckled Band (1931)
- Sherlock Holmes (1932)
- A Study in Scarlet (1933)
- A Study in Terror (1965)
- The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
- Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
- The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
- Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987)
- Sherlock Holmes Returns (1993)
- Sherlock: Case of Evil (2002)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (2007)
- Sherlock Holmes (2010)
- Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010)
Comedies
and parodies- The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937)
- They Might Be Giants (1971)
- The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
- The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
- The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
- Without a Clue (1988)
- A Samba for Sherlock (2001)
Television series - Sherlock Holmes (1954)
- Sherlock Holmes (1965–1968)
- Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982)
- The Baker Street Boys (1983)
- Sherlock Hound (1984–1985)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994)
- Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999–2001)
- Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000)
- Sherlock (2010)
Categories:- 1978 films
- English-language films
- Jack the Ripper in fiction
- Sherlock Holmes films
- British films
- Victorian era films
- Films set in 1888
- Films set in London
- Films directed by Bob Clark
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