Sherlock Holmes: The Archive Collection
by Various
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Arthur Wontner, Boris Karloff, Eille Norwood, John LongdenDirector: Various
Brand: Music Video Dist
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 360 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-10-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Synergy Ent
Movie Reviews of Sherlock Holmes: The Archive Collection
Movie Review: Mostly Neat Stuff
Summary: 5 Stars
In the beginning there was Eille Norwood. who begat Arthur Wontner, who begat Basil Rathbone, who begat Jeremy Brett. These are the 4 British actors actors who personified Sherlock Holmes in the twentieth century.
From 1921 to 1923 Eille Norwood appeared in 47 short silent films. We are given "The Man With the Twisted Lip". It would be nice if some company would give us more, maybe a multi-DVD set, but don't hold your breath. [P.S. Does anyone know how to pronounce his first name? I've heard "Isle", "I-Lee", "Eel", "Ee-Lee", "El" and even "Ellie"].
Actually, the Norwood is not the earliest film in this collection. From the prehistoric period we are given "The Copper Beeches" (1912), one of 8 films starring French (!) actor Georges Treville. They were filmed in England, and "The Copper Beeches" makes good use of exterior photography. Georges Treville is forgettable, but this may be my favorite film of the bunch. The acting style is pure Victorian melodrama. The acting in the Norwood film from only 9 years later is much more realistic and "modern". Also, I have a major crush on the actress who plays Alice Rucastle. Do you think there's too much of a an age difference? - I'm 61 and she's 120.
Arthur Wontner appeared in five feature-length films from 1931 to 1937. The last three ("The Sign of Four", "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes", and "Murder at the Baskervilles") are available cheaply on Alpha Video. The first two films were believed to have been lost until a single print of the first one, "Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour", was discovered about about 25 years ago. Here it is. Unfortunately, the second film, "The Missing Rembrandt" still is missing.
There are also three early Television shows starring Alan Napier (1949), John Longden (1951) and Boris Karloff (1955). Alan Napier is best remembered as Alfred the butler on the Batman TV show starring Adam West. John Longden appeared in several early Hitchcock films. I assume you've heard of Boris Karloff. He plays "Mr. Mycroft" in an adaptation of H.F. Heard's novel "A Taste for Honey". "Mr. Mycroft" is an alias that Sherlock used during his retirement to the Sussex Downs where he devoted his energies to bee-keeping. There is also a 1954 TV appearance by Basil Rathbone, but this is a ringer - he plays a British officer in World War II on "Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars".
The collection is padded out with five parodies and cartoons from 1930-52. Apparently our ancestors were easily amused. [One curiosity - the 1933 parody "Lost in Limehouse" stars Olaf Hytten as Sheerluck Jones. Hytten was an extra /character actor who appeared in 293 films between 1921 and 1955, including 6 of Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films (he usually played the butler). This is his only starring role.]
A strange collection, but I enjoyed it.
Summary of Sherlock Holmes: The Archive Collection
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