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Welcome! Like the book of the same name, this blog is an eclectic collection of Sherlockian scribblings based on more than a half-century of reading Sherlock Holmes. Please add your own thoughts. You can also follow me on Twitter @DanAndriacco and on my Facebook fan page at Dan Andriacco Mysteries. You might also be interested in my Amazon Author Page. My books are also available at Barnes & Noble and in all main electronic formats including Kindle, Nook, Kobo and iBooks for the iPad.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Film Festival: Sherlock in the Afternoon



Twenty-eight years and counting!


That's how long the Illustrious Clients of Indiana have been presenting their Sherlock Holmes film festival. Ann and I attended the 28th annual edition last Saturday (Aug. 1) at the Hussey-Mayfield Public Library in Zionsville, IN. The venue was perfect, with the library even furnishing the popcorn.


I'm not film reviewer. I don't even see a lot of movies. But here are my quick impressions of a highly entertaining afternoon organized by Steve Doyle and his fellow Clients:


The previews: The day started with trailers for several of the Basil Rathbone - Nigel Bruce films. It was fun to imagine seeing these classics in a movie theater in the 1940s.


"The Case of the Thistle Murders:" This episode from the Ronald (not Ron!)  Howard TV series of the 1940s had a nice plot, but I thought the dialogue limped a bit.


"The Adventure of Boscombe Valley Mystery:" Peter Cushing played Holmes brilliantly in the 1960s-era British TV series, even though he was a bit long in the tooth for the part by then. The script of this episode was largely faithful to the Canon, and the departure from the text at the end may have been an improvement, given the dramatic medium.


Sherlock Holmes Meets Tom & Jerry: Don't laugh. Well, do laugh. Yes, this is a 50-minute cartoon feature in which Holmes and Watson are aided by Hanna-Barbera's Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse. It's full of wonderful "Easter eggs" - inside jokes for Holmes fans. There's a Rathbone Pub, a Bruce Nigel Theatre, and a character named Brett Jeremy. I'd forgotten that cartoons could be so violent!


Young Sherlock Holmes: This 1985 movie featuring Nicholas Rowe holds up well. The mystery/thriller plot is first-rate and the special effects  hold up well (at least to my uncritical eye). The characters are wonderful. I have fond memories of seeing this in the theater 30 years ago with fellow members of the Tankerville Club, our Sherlock society in Cincinnati.


Enduring memories are one of the great things about belonging to a scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars - memories of a film festival, for example.

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