Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett As Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

~ David Stuart Davies (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Calabash Pr (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553100352
• ISBN-13: 978-1553100355
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,271,402 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Behind-the-Scenes Book, April 11, 2004

By	"abfabber" (IL, USA) - See all my reviews

If you're a fan of both Jeremy Brett and Granada's Sherlock Holmes series, then this book is a must-read.

As the author stresses, this book is not a biography. Only about a page is spared to very briefly give on overview of Jeremy Brett's life before he became the definitive Holmes.

The book is a WONDERFUL behind-the-scenes look at the Granada Holmes production. It talks about each of the 40+ productions and gives interesting tidbits about what went on during the filming of certain episodes. If you like learning about those type of things, this book will certainly hold your interest.

One of the best things about the book is that the author himself had met and interviewed Jeremy Brett several times. This allows for many long direct quotes from Brett himself.

Thankfully, Jeremy Brett turned out to be a nice person in real life, seems to have gotten along well with co-stars, and cared greatly about his role of Holmes. Unfortunately, as Jeremy Brett became more ill with heart failure and manic depression, things with the Granada productions began to sour. This book does a good job of discussing those years in Brett's life.

Overall, it is a caring tribute to a genius of an actor, the Granada series, and provides a lot of interesting tidbits.

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Listen to the thoughts of those who were there, May 6, 2005

By	trismi (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

For anyone who appreciates Jeremy Brett, free from sensationalism and determined by fact and friendship, this book is for you. The pages document what life was like during production of the Granada series, and first hand situations are recounted by those who worked side by side with Mr. Jeremy Brett to help create a masterpiece for television.

Especially satisfying to read are the accounts of Edward Hardwicke, who provides anecdotes and thoughts for every chapter. A real cameraderie existed off camera between these two men, enhancing their performance for the world to see.

Mr. David Stuart Davies presents us with a simplified version of the fluctuating madness of Jeremy Brett's affliction, and the reader cannot help but hold up their hands and applaud the strength and courage of this dearly missed actor.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful tribute to Jeremy Brett., January 29, 2006

By	Stephen Triesch (Shoreline/Seattle USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For many of us, the late Jeremy Brett supplanted Basil Rathbone as the definitive Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Rathbone faithfully represented - in a somewhat Jack Webb/Joe Friday manner - Holmes as the master detective, Brett added nuances to the character that were both faithful to the original yet bold and contemporary. That he did this while struggling with manic-depression and degenerative heart disease is a tribute both to his skill as an actor and to his courage as a human being.

Is love possible from a distance, without ever having actually known or met the object of one's love? The worlds of literature and film answer "yes" to this question, and many of us do indeed love both Sherlock Holmes and Jeremy Brett, along with Dr. Watson and his eminent portrayers, David Burke and Edward Hardwicke. David Stuart Davies' tribute to Brett, Burke, Hardwicke and all those associated with the Granada TV series is truly a labor of love.

Based on personal interviews with Brett and many others associated with the series, this book gives insight into Jeremy Brett the actor and the man, as well as his co-stars and supporting actors. There is much substance here, as well as the delightful "trivia" of how and why things were done or not done, and of the contributions of the actors to various nuances of the stories. This book is thus - for me - the Bible of the Granada Holmes series.

But it is not an uncritical, fawning tribute. Errors are acknowledged and lamented, as in the less-than-sterling version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," or the questionable decision to film the later episodes when Brett's health was in serious decline.

But if you are a fan of Brett's Sherlock Holmes, this book is a must, even if somewhat pricey and hard to find. It is rapidly becoming a collector's item, and get it while you can.