Billy Wilder's take on the Sherlock Holmes legend seems to be more for his fans, rather than Holmes's fans. Right away, it becomes apparent that the private joke in this movie is going to be that Holmes was gay. Robert Stephens portrays the effeminate fop to perfection (and increasing annoyance). The ballet sequence in particular, carries this implication to embarrassing and unnecessary extremes.
Still...once "the game is afoot" the film does become mildly interesting, if a bit silly at times. Nice scenery and music, and good performances throughout. The last scenes redeem the rest of the film in their haunting quality, and leave the audience with just the right bittersweet feelings of nostalgia for the past, and the knowledge of the violence to come in the next century.
The DVD version shows that the final cut was about right. The extra scenes seemed mostly silly and unnecessary. ""Much ado about nothing" as it were...
I forgot to mention earlier: I purchased an Angel brand record some years ago: Rosza conducts Rozsa. It included a suite of his score for this film. The extensive notes included with the record claimed that Billy Wilder's inspiration for this film all came from hearing Miklos Rozsa's violin concerto, and wanting to build a scenario around it! (Sort of a "chicken before the egg" kind of thing!)
August 2007. Another look at this film, is more forgiving this time. The eccentricities of Sherlock Homes, as portrayed by Robert Stephens, seem less extreme now. Maybe it's a film made by older people, for older people, that's why it has always had limited appeal. Ending is still very touching, and Genevieve Page is beautiful in her part.
August 2017, Update. Viewing it again 10 years later reveals a well crafted, well acted film that simply goes over the head of younger audiences. It works for older audiences only which is why it bombed.Not what movie going audiences wanted in 1970. Too sophisticated, subtle, and nuanced for the inexperienced. Takes time and age to appreciate it. How they ever thought it could be a 3 hour epic is beyond me. Lovely film, doomed from the start, but excellent in retrospect. Similar to what happened to Hitchcock's "Topaz" a year earlier. Well crafted film that went nowhere at the box office either. The "old guard directors" were trying hard but failing and slowly fading away. They left some nice work behind for us to see and appreciate today ! Thanks Guys !
Still...once "the game is afoot" the film does become mildly interesting, if a bit silly at times. Nice scenery and music, and good performances throughout. The last scenes redeem the rest of the film in their haunting quality, and leave the audience with just the right bittersweet feelings of nostalgia for the past, and the knowledge of the violence to come in the next century.
The DVD version shows that the final cut was about right. The extra scenes seemed mostly silly and unnecessary. ""Much ado about nothing" as it were...
I forgot to mention earlier: I purchased an Angel brand record some years ago: Rosza conducts Rozsa. It included a suite of his score for this film. The extensive notes included with the record claimed that Billy Wilder's inspiration for this film all came from hearing Miklos Rozsa's violin concerto, and wanting to build a scenario around it! (Sort of a "chicken before the egg" kind of thing!)
August 2007. Another look at this film, is more forgiving this time. The eccentricities of Sherlock Homes, as portrayed by Robert Stephens, seem less extreme now. Maybe it's a film made by older people, for older people, that's why it has always had limited appeal. Ending is still very touching, and Genevieve Page is beautiful in her part.
August 2017, Update. Viewing it again 10 years later reveals a well crafted, well acted film that simply goes over the head of younger audiences. It works for older audiences only which is why it bombed.Not what movie going audiences wanted in 1970. Too sophisticated, subtle, and nuanced for the inexperienced. Takes time and age to appreciate it. How they ever thought it could be a 3 hour epic is beyond me. Lovely film, doomed from the start, but excellent in retrospect. Similar to what happened to Hitchcock's "Topaz" a year earlier. Well crafted film that went nowhere at the box office either. The "old guard directors" were trying hard but failing and slowly fading away. They left some nice work behind for us to see and appreciate today ! Thanks Guys !