Murder by Decree
      
Director: Bob Clark
Year:  1978
Rating: 8.0

I had been meaning to re-watch this Sherlock Holmes film for a while now and sadly it was the death of Christopher Plummer that finally prompted me to do so. I can't say I was a huge fan of his but I always welcomed his presence in a film. The IQ of the film immediately rose as soon as he entered the frame. He brought class, reserve and smarts to all his performances. In truth his most famous role as Captain Von Trapp for which he is still loved today (and I noticed a meme today of him ripping the Nazi flag) was one of his first in a feature film after years of TV movies and TV shows. After that he was in a lot of good if not great films - rarely the lead but giving great support. And he worked a lot - over 200 credits beginning in the 1950s right up to when he died at 91. A good life, a good career. I always assumed he was English with his always impeccable manners but he was in fact Canadian. I think one of his best most enjoyable performances is in this film. It is also one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes films.



Director Bob Clark, who was later to helm not only Porky's but also Porky's II but also the much loved A Christmas Story, just throws everything into this plot like a Victorian stew. There is Holmes of course and his friend/confidant/right-hand man/sex toy Watson but also the secret society of the Masons, the anarchists, prostitutes, psychics, the Royal family, an insane asylum, London fog, murders and of course Jack the Ripper. I think Holmes and the Ripper have been pitted against one another a few times in books and films. They go together in a marriage like love and hate. Plummer as Holmes gives a terrific performance but in a lot of ways he is not all that Holmesian - he laughs, he teases Watson constantly, his domicile is very neat and tidy and he gets quite emotional at the end. Not Holmesian but very appealing. And he is matched by James Mason's performance as Watson - it is a classic - though again not really the Watson we think of - too old, a bit doddering, easily miffed and feelings hurt - but quite lovable and loyal. His scene with the pea and then the prostitute grabbing him underneath the table are pitch perfect.



I joke when I say sex toy but of course people have debated for years whether Holmes and Watson were more than friends - at least at one point in their relationship - rather silly really - more of a hero worship and a man who likes his ego massaged. But I think this film is aware of that and plays to it a bit. When Holmes has been hurt and is losing consciousness, his last words are "help Watson" and at the end he gives him a very affectionate nudge.  And they also play to one of the many theories about who Jack the Ripper was - a near industry over the years. This takes one of those theories and runs with it. It is a lot of fun with mystery, suspense but also nice dabs of humor along the way. Not to forget the rest of a great cast - David Hemmings from the Yard, Frank Finlay as Lestrade (a role he also played in the 1965 A Study in Terror), Anthony Quale as a bewhiskered malignant government official, Donald Sutherland as the psychic (a bit of a pointless role other than getting Sutherland into the film), John Gielgud as the Prime Minister and Geneviève Bujold.