I have made no secret of loving the very vast majority of the Granada Sherlock Holmes adaptations, and for me The Speckled Band is one of the better entries of the series. The story itself is one of the best of Sherlock Holmes, at least in my personal view, as it is so thrilling, and Dr Roylott is one of the most memorable "villains" of any Holmes story especially of how he's described, you know straightaway this is not a character you would want to mess with. Adaptation wise, The Speckled Band is excellent, the story is still thrilling and the beginning and ending both have a haunting and compelling atmosphere to them. The Speckled Band also succeeds on its own terms, the production values are as usual very evocative, the music is superb and the script is exceptional in its quality. The acting is fine, David Burke is only decent here as Watson, it's a good enough performance but to start with I felt he could have done a little bit more with the character. However, Jeremy Brett is brilliant giving one of his coolest and more urbane performances of the series particularly in his scene with Roylott and Jeremy Kemp is delightfully eccentric and overbearing. In conclusion, of a fine series The Speckled Band is a standout. 9/10 Bethany Cox
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV Series)
The Speckled Band (1984)
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Service In India
bkoganbing1 November 2009
The Speckled Band is considered one of the best of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I know that if for no other reason that way back in the day when I was in high school it was this short story that was used in one of my English classes as an example of creating an enduring character in literature. In this one the character is the most celebrated detective in the history of fiction.
Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke as Watson get involved in the murder of Denise Armon when they're hired by her twin sister Rosalyn Landor who feels quite certain she's next. She lives with her stepfather Jeremy Kemp who is a doctor and who served in the Indian army as did Dr. Watson back in the day.
In this particular short story Arthur Conan Doyle does give you a nice group of suspects though he does lean in his writing towards the culprit. The dying words of Armon are the title of this mystery and once Holmes figures it out, he'll also know how the homicide was committed and inevitably who the perpetrator is.
Forensics is always important in Sherlock Holmes stories and probably more so in The Speckled Band than others. If you choose to view this episode, you'll see what I mean.
Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke as Watson get involved in the murder of Denise Armon when they're hired by her twin sister Rosalyn Landor who feels quite certain she's next. She lives with her stepfather Jeremy Kemp who is a doctor and who served in the Indian army as did Dr. Watson back in the day.
In this particular short story Arthur Conan Doyle does give you a nice group of suspects though he does lean in his writing towards the culprit. The dying words of Armon are the title of this mystery and once Holmes figures it out, he'll also know how the homicide was committed and inevitably who the perpetrator is.
Forensics is always important in Sherlock Holmes stories and probably more so in The Speckled Band than others. If you choose to view this episode, you'll see what I mean.
A real belter of an episode
trimmerb123428 October 2008
This was certainly one the better episodes; containing a beautiful and modest damsel in direst need of male protection from an extraordinary eccentric overbearing brutal villain who is faced up to by Holmes (Jeremy Brett) at his coolest and most urbane. The damsel is, by a mere hair, saved and the villain receives not a hair less than his just desserts. A thrilling, chilling full-blooded and most satisfying rendering of Conan Doyle's story.
But of all the Watsons there have been, from the elderly duffer and comic buffoon (Nigel Bruce in the 1940s' film versions) to younger and smarter ones, I can never reconcile myself to David Burke. A respected actor but as Watson he always gives - or perhaps was asked to give - too broad a performance with an absolute absence of nuance, rather as if in a boistrous stage farce. Holmes was of course a consummate judge of character and that, we must presume, included the person he wished to have as his close companion both at times of highest challenge and at times when he was at his lowest ebb. Holmes was an obsessive and a loner who struggled with his demons. So outstanding were his intellectual powers that he had no need of lesser brains - there were very few indeed he considered his equal - Moriarty, "The Woman" and perhaps in a different way, his brother Mycroft. Foreign royalty, the Prime Minister came to him on questions of ultimate importance. Holmes is under no misapprehension about his own abilities. That is the point of Holmes - at what he does he is the best. David Burke's quirky Watson sometimes tries to outguess Holmes. I do think that Holmes would have found such a Watson both extremely irritating and a liability. Edward Hardwicke in contrast is all those things that Holmes needed: completely predictable, utterly dedicated and loyal, never ever challenging but tactfully doing the decent thing when Holmes' manners and sensitivity to others feelings were lacking. It is in fact a portrayal of a successful marriage where one is brilliant, difficult, histrionic and uncompromising and the other is quiet supportive and understanding. It is the only kind of relationship Holmes would have needed or wanted.
But of all the Watsons there have been, from the elderly duffer and comic buffoon (Nigel Bruce in the 1940s' film versions) to younger and smarter ones, I can never reconcile myself to David Burke. A respected actor but as Watson he always gives - or perhaps was asked to give - too broad a performance with an absolute absence of nuance, rather as if in a boistrous stage farce. Holmes was of course a consummate judge of character and that, we must presume, included the person he wished to have as his close companion both at times of highest challenge and at times when he was at his lowest ebb. Holmes was an obsessive and a loner who struggled with his demons. So outstanding were his intellectual powers that he had no need of lesser brains - there were very few indeed he considered his equal - Moriarty, "The Woman" and perhaps in a different way, his brother Mycroft. Foreign royalty, the Prime Minister came to him on questions of ultimate importance. Holmes is under no misapprehension about his own abilities. That is the point of Holmes - at what he does he is the best. David Burke's quirky Watson sometimes tries to outguess Holmes. I do think that Holmes would have found such a Watson both extremely irritating and a liability. Edward Hardwicke in contrast is all those things that Holmes needed: completely predictable, utterly dedicated and loyal, never ever challenging but tactfully doing the decent thing when Holmes' manners and sensitivity to others feelings were lacking. It is in fact a portrayal of a successful marriage where one is brilliant, difficult, histrionic and uncompromising and the other is quiet supportive and understanding. It is the only kind of relationship Holmes would have needed or wanted.
It doesn't get much better then this
Sleepin_Dragon28 August 2016
The Speckled Band is without doubt one of the standout episodes from the fantastic Granada series. It's difficult watching this episode not to get drawn into the plot, which has to be one of the best Conan Doyle wrote, which of us doesn't possess a phobia or at least an unease when it comes to snakes. I won't go into the specifics of the death, just in case, but it must be one of the most cruel, horrific deaths that Conan Doyle wrote, it really is the stuff of nightmares.
As always we are treated to some fantastic production values, everything is very slick, impeccable period detail, some lovely costumes, it really is a pleasure to watch. The debate will forever continue over Hardwicke vs Burke, personally I've always been impartial, what I would say is the Brett/Burke combination is at its high point here, the characters are so easy with one another, the relationship strong and the results fantastic.
The episode was expertly cast, Jeremy Kemp was perfectly cast as Dr Grimesby Roylott, his appearance somehow fitted the character, as did the velvet voiced Rosalyn Landor who beautifully portrayed Helen Stoner.
I cannot pick up on a single fault with this episode, it's one of a handful of episodes I gladly score a 10/10
As always we are treated to some fantastic production values, everything is very slick, impeccable period detail, some lovely costumes, it really is a pleasure to watch. The debate will forever continue over Hardwicke vs Burke, personally I've always been impartial, what I would say is the Brett/Burke combination is at its high point here, the characters are so easy with one another, the relationship strong and the results fantastic.
The episode was expertly cast, Jeremy Kemp was perfectly cast as Dr Grimesby Roylott, his appearance somehow fitted the character, as did the velvet voiced Rosalyn Landor who beautifully portrayed Helen Stoner.
I cannot pick up on a single fault with this episode, it's one of a handful of episodes I gladly score a 10/10
Watch Out When Someone Says "Pull This"
Hitchcoc5 February 2014
This is the first Sherlock Holmes story I ever read (I guess, I was about ten). As strange as it is, it has a tremendous place in my heart. The Jeremy Brett/David Burke version is the best I've seen. It does justice to the canon. This is the story of two sisters who have an inheritance and who live with their father, a violent, explosive man. One of the sisters succumbs to some weird attack. It is our hero's task to figure out what is going on. These young women have been living in the oddest situation. For example, their beds are fastened to the floor, immovable. Strange sounds are heard in the night. Wild animals pervade the property around the house. The motivations are not that unusual as we watch things unfold, but the methods are really bizarre. I think it's the circus like atmosphere of this poor young woman's world that is the attraction. As a previous commentator, I also enjoyed the evil father's confrontation with Holmes, who is really unflappable, no matter what. Conan-Doyle frequently took liberties with the natural reality (despite being a medical man himself) and often assumed his readers would take things at face value. I know I did. This is a really fun story with sad implications and heartbreak. Sometimes we forget how the first girl died and what a loss this was for her surviving sibling. Watch this, ignore your scientific hesitation, and just enjoy it.
Spellbinding viewing
blucat-9724118 May 2021
It does not get better than this dark tale of sinister designs & plans, with Jeremy Kemp 1st rate as Dr Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran, as formidable an opponent as Holmes is sharp, succinct, graceful & mellow..
One of the best episodes, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, is attentive, precise & tender towards Miss Stoner who presents him with one of his most fascinating, deadly & outrageous cases..10/10.
"When a doctor goes bad he is the first of criminals...."
theowinthrop1 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Certainly an intriguing comment for Holmes to say to Watson in "The Adventure of The Speckled Band" - unfortunately when he does illustrate it he mentions Dr. William Palmer and Dr. Edward William Pritchard, both quite notorious poisoners but more like third rate doctors, and tells Watson they were at the head of their profession. Hardly.
Ms Julia Stonor comes into Holmes' rooms at 221B Baker Street, telling Holmes of her fears. A few years earlier her sister Helen died under peculiar circumstances: Helen and Julia lived with their mother's second husband Dr. Grimsby Roylott (of Stokes Moran), a moody man who they can get along with. Roylott has a bad temper, and once threw a tradesman to the ground when he annoyed him. Roylott lives on an income that is based on his being in charge of the girls' trusts funds. Helen though met a young man, and they announced their engagement. Roylott was silent at this news. Then, a couple of weeks later Julia heard some whistling noises during the night, and then heard her sister screaming. She and her step father found Helen in her bed dying, her last words, "The speckled band!". At the time a gypsy camp was near the house, and Julia thought this was what the reference was too - but she saw no trace of any gypsy in the room.
Why has Julia Stonor come? Well she too wants to marry and has just gotten engaged. So she has announced it too. Now that gypsy group is back, and she is worried about her sharing her sister's fate.
Holmes agrees to take the case, and Julia (relieved) leaves. A couple of minutes later her step-father pops up, brandishing a riding crop and warning Holmes to keep his meddling out of his family affairs. "I'm not a man to be trifled with", Roylott tells him. He then takes the poker from the fireplace and bends it in his bare hands. Then he leaves.
Holmes looks carelessly after Grimesby Roylott leaves and mentions casually to Watson he is not to be trifled with either. And Conan Doyle has Holmes straighten out the poker with his bare hands.
"The Speckled Band" was the second of the short stories that Conan Doyle wrote in THE STRAND MAGAZINE in 1891-92 that were collected in his book THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (still one of the two best collections of the shorter stories). It is also one of the most frequently anthologized tales by Conan Doyle, and a clever one (despite some vagueness about the weapon used). To us it is fairly simple to see who is the villain and what is the killer. Conan Doyle used the same trick in two other stories in THE ADVENTURES series, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" and "A Case of Identity", so that one ends up suspicious of all step-fathers. But that was a common thread in Victorian fiction. Step-parents, after all, had little real affection for the children of dead predecessors or divorced predecessors. One fascinating but rare exception is the step-father step-daughter relationship in Henry James' contemporary novel WHAT MAISIE KNEW, but that has a built-in tragedy at the end of its own.
Since the story is so well known I won't give away the conclusion. I will say it is interesting that this repeat of the Jeremy Brett episode of his splendid series of Holmes' stories is shown the same night as MURDERS AT THE ZOO (on another channel) which hinges on a similar plot idea. Brett is finely languid and then active as the great detective, abetted by David Burke (his first Watson on the series). As Roylott, Jeremy Kemp gives a threatening bully performance that is hard to beat. It was Kemp's second entry into the world of Sherlockian Villainy - he was the anti-Semitic Austrian-Hungarian nobleman against Nicol Williamson's Holmes and Alan Arkins' Sigmund Freud in THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION.
Conan Doyle liked the story, and would write a full-length play THE SPECKLED BAND in 1910, which was a theatrical success. He would rename his villain Dr. Rylott. And Lynn Harding, the old Victorian actor and melodrama star - Tod Slaughter's rival, would repeat his original performance as Rylott in the 1936 film version of the play and story opposite Arthur Wontner as Holmes.
Ms Julia Stonor comes into Holmes' rooms at 221B Baker Street, telling Holmes of her fears. A few years earlier her sister Helen died under peculiar circumstances: Helen and Julia lived with their mother's second husband Dr. Grimsby Roylott (of Stokes Moran), a moody man who they can get along with. Roylott has a bad temper, and once threw a tradesman to the ground when he annoyed him. Roylott lives on an income that is based on his being in charge of the girls' trusts funds. Helen though met a young man, and they announced their engagement. Roylott was silent at this news. Then, a couple of weeks later Julia heard some whistling noises during the night, and then heard her sister screaming. She and her step father found Helen in her bed dying, her last words, "The speckled band!". At the time a gypsy camp was near the house, and Julia thought this was what the reference was too - but she saw no trace of any gypsy in the room.
Why has Julia Stonor come? Well she too wants to marry and has just gotten engaged. So she has announced it too. Now that gypsy group is back, and she is worried about her sharing her sister's fate.
Holmes agrees to take the case, and Julia (relieved) leaves. A couple of minutes later her step-father pops up, brandishing a riding crop and warning Holmes to keep his meddling out of his family affairs. "I'm not a man to be trifled with", Roylott tells him. He then takes the poker from the fireplace and bends it in his bare hands. Then he leaves.
Holmes looks carelessly after Grimesby Roylott leaves and mentions casually to Watson he is not to be trifled with either. And Conan Doyle has Holmes straighten out the poker with his bare hands.
"The Speckled Band" was the second of the short stories that Conan Doyle wrote in THE STRAND MAGAZINE in 1891-92 that were collected in his book THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (still one of the two best collections of the shorter stories). It is also one of the most frequently anthologized tales by Conan Doyle, and a clever one (despite some vagueness about the weapon used). To us it is fairly simple to see who is the villain and what is the killer. Conan Doyle used the same trick in two other stories in THE ADVENTURES series, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" and "A Case of Identity", so that one ends up suspicious of all step-fathers. But that was a common thread in Victorian fiction. Step-parents, after all, had little real affection for the children of dead predecessors or divorced predecessors. One fascinating but rare exception is the step-father step-daughter relationship in Henry James' contemporary novel WHAT MAISIE KNEW, but that has a built-in tragedy at the end of its own.
Since the story is so well known I won't give away the conclusion. I will say it is interesting that this repeat of the Jeremy Brett episode of his splendid series of Holmes' stories is shown the same night as MURDERS AT THE ZOO (on another channel) which hinges on a similar plot idea. Brett is finely languid and then active as the great detective, abetted by David Burke (his first Watson on the series). As Roylott, Jeremy Kemp gives a threatening bully performance that is hard to beat. It was Kemp's second entry into the world of Sherlockian Villainy - he was the anti-Semitic Austrian-Hungarian nobleman against Nicol Williamson's Holmes and Alan Arkins' Sigmund Freud in THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION.
Conan Doyle liked the story, and would write a full-length play THE SPECKLED BAND in 1910, which was a theatrical success. He would rename his villain Dr. Rylott. And Lynn Harding, the old Victorian actor and melodrama star - Tod Slaughter's rival, would repeat his original performance as Rylott in the 1936 film version of the play and story opposite Arthur Wontner as Holmes.
One of the better all-around mysteries.
kfo949414 October 2013
In one of the best Holmes short stories, this TV episode hold true to most of the writing as Holmes and Dr Watson find a sinister scheme that could save the life of their beautiful woman client. But they will need to act fast because time is of the essence in this wonderful episode.
The story centers around Julia Stoner who is living with an eccentric step-father, Doctor Roylott, in a manor needing repair outside of London. Just recently Julia's sister had died an unusual death after a few nights of hearing strange whistling noises in her room. Now with repairs being made on the manor, Roylott tells Julia that she will have to move into her sister's old room. The first night in the room she hears the whistling noise that scared her sister. Julia seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes will get to the house and notice things that only he is capable of understanding. Add the background of Dr Roylott while in India and Holmes will know that the beautiful young woman is in extreme danger. All we can do is hope that Holmes, along with Dr Watson, is able to prevent another death.
One of the better stories and one of the better acting episode of the collection. Jeremy Brett is again wonderful as he plays Holmes, with all his facial tics, to near perfection. Entertaining episode to watch.
The story centers around Julia Stoner who is living with an eccentric step-father, Doctor Roylott, in a manor needing repair outside of London. Just recently Julia's sister had died an unusual death after a few nights of hearing strange whistling noises in her room. Now with repairs being made on the manor, Roylott tells Julia that she will have to move into her sister's old room. The first night in the room she hears the whistling noise that scared her sister. Julia seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes will get to the house and notice things that only he is capable of understanding. Add the background of Dr Roylott while in India and Holmes will know that the beautiful young woman is in extreme danger. All we can do is hope that Holmes, along with Dr Watson, is able to prevent another death.
One of the better stories and one of the better acting episode of the collection. Jeremy Brett is again wonderful as he plays Holmes, with all his facial tics, to near perfection. Entertaining episode to watch.
The most chilling Episode
ravimirna27 June 2021
Of all episodes, this is the most terrifying and chilling story. Because an individual's twisted mind and greed goes to the extent he does not hesitate taking the lives of two innocent step daughters. Jeremy Brett is of course excellent in sensing the danger and empthasies the horror faced by Helen Stoner the part excellently played by the young actor Rosalyn Landor. David Burke as Watson in the first season supplements well with Holmes' characterThe ending is rather
horrifying considering 80s.
The curious behavior of the snake in the night.
rmax30482318 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I don't know why I find this one of the more enjoyable cases of Sherlock Holmes. Maybe it's because it's really so simple -- the motives, the characters, the mystery and its solution.
Maybe it's the hilarious way Dr. Grimesby Roylott storms unannounced into 221B Baker Street and threatens and insults Holmes -- "Sherlock Holmes, the Scotland Yard jack-in-office!" Then he bends a steel poker before rushing out. What the hell is a jack-in-office?
Maybe it's the snake -- "a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India." The quirky characteristics of Holmes' character is nothing compared to those of the snake.
First of all, there is no such snake. None called a swamp adder, at any rate.
Second, here is a snake who drinks MILK from a saucer.
Third, the snake is trained to do tricks that none has ever learned before. I mean, think of it. Snakes don't actually DO anything except lay around the house. They don't roll over or sit up and beg. Have you ever known a snake to do anything but act like a brain-damaged piece of garden hose? No. You have not.
Fourth, the snake has learned to return to his home when he hears a whistle. But snakes have spent so many eons underground that they've lost their ears and are deaf.
No -- this is SOME snake, trust me. You wouldn't want to arouse "its snakish nature," as Holmes puts it.
I've always like Jeremy Kemp too, and he's fine here as the villain. What a versatile actor he is. Watch him as an aristocratic German flier in "The Blue Max" -- all restraint and reserve. Or in that spoof of Nazi movies where his role is comedic.
Rosalyn Landor is the lady in distress and she's very comely and vulnerable. I like that in a woman. Any normal snake would enjoy even the prospect of biting her, as would any normal man.
This ranks high among the fifty-some stories that Conan-Doyle penned.
Maybe it's the hilarious way Dr. Grimesby Roylott storms unannounced into 221B Baker Street and threatens and insults Holmes -- "Sherlock Holmes, the Scotland Yard jack-in-office!" Then he bends a steel poker before rushing out. What the hell is a jack-in-office?
Maybe it's the snake -- "a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India." The quirky characteristics of Holmes' character is nothing compared to those of the snake.
First of all, there is no such snake. None called a swamp adder, at any rate.
Second, here is a snake who drinks MILK from a saucer.
Third, the snake is trained to do tricks that none has ever learned before. I mean, think of it. Snakes don't actually DO anything except lay around the house. They don't roll over or sit up and beg. Have you ever known a snake to do anything but act like a brain-damaged piece of garden hose? No. You have not.
Fourth, the snake has learned to return to his home when he hears a whistle. But snakes have spent so many eons underground that they've lost their ears and are deaf.
No -- this is SOME snake, trust me. You wouldn't want to arouse "its snakish nature," as Holmes puts it.
I've always like Jeremy Kemp too, and he's fine here as the villain. What a versatile actor he is. Watch him as an aristocratic German flier in "The Blue Max" -- all restraint and reserve. Or in that spoof of Nazi movies where his role is comedic.
Rosalyn Landor is the lady in distress and she's very comely and vulnerable. I like that in a woman. Any normal snake would enjoy even the prospect of biting her, as would any normal man.
This ranks high among the fifty-some stories that Conan-Doyle penned.
"These people are my guests, but you are tresspassing."
suicidea15 January 2021
The late Jeremy Kemp, whom I first saw as a kid in the hilarious Top Secret! but who was later etched in my memory with his performance in The Blockhouse (1973) has always been one of those actors that I keep an eye out for: if I notice him in a movie, I stop whatever I'm doing, sit down and watch it.
In this episode, he makes his presence felt as the fearsome uncle of two sisters, one of whom has died under suspicious circumstances, and the other is in fear of her life. After she visits Sherlock to ask for help, he furiously rushes into that famous apartment in 221B, and makes quite an impressive threat. Which drives Holmes to pursue the case even more keenly, of course.
Not the best episode, but quite creepy in some scenes, and a nice addition to the overall series.
In this episode, he makes his presence felt as the fearsome uncle of two sisters, one of whom has died under suspicious circumstances, and the other is in fear of her life. After she visits Sherlock to ask for help, he furiously rushes into that famous apartment in 221B, and makes quite an impressive threat. Which drives Holmes to pursue the case even more keenly, of course.
Not the best episode, but quite creepy in some scenes, and a nice addition to the overall series.
The Speckled Band
Prismark1028 January 2019
I read The Speckled Band at school and it was probably the first Sherlock Holmes story that I had read. I did think the adaptation although trying to do something different, had a murder plan that falls apart easily for being nonsense. A whistle and a saucer of milk indeed. Of course the source material is at fault.
Helen Stoner is the young lady in distress who turns to Sherlock Holmes. Her stepfather Dr Grimesby Roylott is a bit of a brute. He is a man who spent years in the army in India. He then married Helen's wealthy mother who later died. A few years earlier, her older sister Julia also died unexpectedly. At the time Julia was expecting to get married.
Now Helen is expecting to get married soon. After Helen's leaves Sherlock. Dr Roylott turns up and makes a show of strength.
Sherlock immediately senses that Helen is in grave danger. When he sees the room that she is expected to move into, he realises what will happen next.
Jeremy Kemp gives a powerful performance as a man not to be messed with with a cunning plan in murder. Director John Bruce used the end credits to show how the death was planned.
Helen Stoner is the young lady in distress who turns to Sherlock Holmes. Her stepfather Dr Grimesby Roylott is a bit of a brute. He is a man who spent years in the army in India. He then married Helen's wealthy mother who later died. A few years earlier, her older sister Julia also died unexpectedly. At the time Julia was expecting to get married.
Now Helen is expecting to get married soon. After Helen's leaves Sherlock. Dr Roylott turns up and makes a show of strength.
Sherlock immediately senses that Helen is in grave danger. When he sees the room that she is expected to move into, he realises what will happen next.
Jeremy Kemp gives a powerful performance as a man not to be messed with with a cunning plan in murder. Director John Bruce used the end credits to show how the death was planned.
Various "Jeremies" excel in this early Grenada TV Sherlock Holmes episode.
standardmetal21 August 2017
I first came upon the Holmes story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" in high school, as well as having Conan Doyle's historical novel "The White Company", which I've mercifully forgotten completely, as required reading.
I saw this episode when it was recently telecast on the City University Station (CUNY) in their summer Holmes series mostly from the Grenada versions.
The rather familiar early episode both in the Conan Doyle canon and in the Grenada Brett series almost looks that you have to be a Jeremy-something to work on this series as in the listing below of the dramatizer as well as the villain: dramatized by Jeremy Paul, Dr. Grimesby Roylott: Jeremy Kemp with the main actresses: Helen Stoner: Rosalyn Landor and Julia Stoner: Denise Armon
A quite straightforward approach here with Watson being played by David Burke. Perhaps it's because I was more familiar with Edward Hardwicke's Watson, that I much preferred him over Burke and I rather miss him here. But all of the acting was excellent especially by the two Jeremies and Ms. Landor. Rosalie Williams, as usual, played Mrs.Hudson, the landlady.
The suspense is nicely sustained to the end even if you are familiar with the story and I highly recommend this version.
I saw this episode when it was recently telecast on the City University Station (CUNY) in their summer Holmes series mostly from the Grenada versions.
The rather familiar early episode both in the Conan Doyle canon and in the Grenada Brett series almost looks that you have to be a Jeremy-something to work on this series as in the listing below of the dramatizer as well as the villain: dramatized by Jeremy Paul, Dr. Grimesby Roylott: Jeremy Kemp with the main actresses: Helen Stoner: Rosalyn Landor and Julia Stoner: Denise Armon
A quite straightforward approach here with Watson being played by David Burke. Perhaps it's because I was more familiar with Edward Hardwicke's Watson, that I much preferred him over Burke and I rather miss him here. But all of the acting was excellent especially by the two Jeremies and Ms. Landor. Rosalie Williams, as usual, played Mrs.Hudson, the landlady.
The suspense is nicely sustained to the end even if you are familiar with the story and I highly recommend this version.
Excellent mystery
grantss21 November 2022
Sherlock Holmes is contacted by Helen Stoner who lives in fear of her life. She lives with her step father, a rather irascible and cankerous man. Her sister died shortly before she was due to be married and now Ms Stoner is staying in her sister's room, the room her sister was in the night she died. Some strange things are afoot.
An excellent Sherlock Holmes mystery. Follows the usual formula: Holmes approached by person who feels they are in danger or that a murder has been committed, Holmes' interest is piqued, investigation follows.
Despite following this pattern it is very interesting and while the perpetrator is a fairly likely suspect, the motive is less clear and the means certainly not obvious.
An excellent Sherlock Holmes mystery. Follows the usual formula: Holmes approached by person who feels they are in danger or that a murder has been committed, Holmes' interest is piqued, investigation follows.
Despite following this pattern it is very interesting and while the perpetrator is a fairly likely suspect, the motive is less clear and the means certainly not obvious.
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