Product Details

• Actors: Derek Jacobi, Judy Geeson, Jean Marsh, Robin Ellis, John Thaw
• Directors: Graham Evans, Jonathan Alwyn, Reginald Collin, Derek Bennett, Peter Duguid
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: ACORN MEDIA
• DVD Release Date: March 30, 2010
• Run Time: 659 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00331RHDG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,771 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The other detectives of late Victorian England

Crime abounded in late Victorian and Edwardian times--from the streets of London to the country houses of the nobility; from the royal apartments of Vienna to the hotel rooms of quiet Copenhagen. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective took on many of the era’s crooks, killers, blackmailers, and schemers--but so did the fictional sleuths of other celebrated writers of the time.

Great British actors including Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius; Cadfael), Judy Geeson (To Sir, With Love), Jean Marsh (Upstairs, Downstairs), Robin Ellis (Poldark), and John Thaw (Inspector Morse) deliver riveting performances in this classic mystery series. Relying on brain over brawn, their characters outwit, outthink, and outmaneuver the most ruthless of adversaries--and all in ways Sherlock Holmes would have considered much more than elementary.

As seen on public television.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars British Victorian Mystery Holmes-less but Perfect, February 25, 2010

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 2 (DVD)

13 invigoratingly written plots in "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes-Set 2".
Different appealing sleuth characters for each episode averaging 51 minutes. Detailed late-Victorian sets, both indoors and out make this restored TV series worthy of 21st century viewing. Authentic costuming and location detail perfection makes one wish to have lived in the late 1800s. An absence of background music adds to the period authenticity. Top-notch performances of some of the best British actors and actresses of the day.
__Although unrated, this set does have one episode with a bit of nudity.

Bonus: SUBTITLES assist in the occasional strong dialect. Also included are detailed profiles of all the authors making history with these crime investigators of Victorian days. What a bonus for mystery story readers who would like to continue with these great crime solvers. The bonus material lists many of the writers' other written works.

Episode details with no spoilers (sorry for the length but it's a whale of a lot of mystery, good crime mystery):
1...THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY. author/creator Baroness Emma Orezy (Scarlet Pimpernel)
A poison murder on the London tube leaves a reporter, Polly Burton (Judy Green-'To Sir With Love') to find the killer. But at what risk? Polly's police Sgt. beau, Richard (Richard Beckinsale) is also on the case.

2...FIVE HUNDRED CARATS. author/creator George Griffith
A 511 carat diamond in 1890 S. Africa causes problems galore-including murder. Insp. Leo Lipinzki (Barry Keegan) must discover much more than the location of the DeBeers diamond, an impossible heist. Not just WHO? but HOW?

3...CELL 13. author/creator Jacques Futrelle (died on the Titanic)
Professor Augustus Van Dusen (Douglas Wilmer) is locked away in a high-security jail to attempt to prove he can escape within a week. Grangemoor Prison staff & the warden are set on the Professor's failure.

4...THE SECRET OF THE MANIFIQUE. author/creator E. Phillips Oppenheim
Mr. J. T. Laxworthy (Bernard Hepton) hires 2 ex-jailbirds for espionage purposes to take place in Southern France. Laxworthy's proposal to the men is via blackmail. Its off to the Fr. Riviera. What does the French Navy ship 'Manifique' have to do with this caper?

5...THE ABSENT=MINDED COTERIE. author/creator Robert Barr
French Amateur Det. Eugene Valmont (Charles Gray) is up to his neck in counterfeiting and even a more dastardly plot. it may be the foiled end for Valmont. Oh, mon Dieu! Oh, my dear! An 1895 mystery as thick as the London fog. Humor mixed with mystery.

6...THE SENSIBLE ACTION OF LIEUTENANT HOIST. author/creator Baron Palle Rosenkrantz
Lt. Hoist (John Thaw-'Inspector Morse') in this 1905 Copenhagen mystery with a Russian Countess claiming she's targeted for assassination. Hoist is assigned the case which holds much more mystery than revolutionary threats and hoist gets caught in the middle.

7...THE SUPERFLUOUS FINGER. author/creator Jacquex Futrelle, same as episode 3
Prof. Van Dusen (Douglas Wilmer) is asked to discover why a Londoner wants her finger cut off. Murder complicates the investigation. Discoveries lead to a loony Baronet uncle, fond of gun use, political crackpot, ex-lawyer...with a history. Van Dusen is the KING of comedy Victorian condescension.

8...ANONYMOUS LETTERS. author/creator Adalbert Goldscheider, pseudonym Baldwin Groller
1900 Vienna. Dagabert Trostler (Ronald Lewis) Pvt Eye, searches for the outrageous vulgar obscene letter writer to Countess Tildi Leys (Carolyn Jones). Daring Victorian intimacy is also written to her 'friend'. Scandalous, absolutely scandalous! Exposing a delicate located birthmark leads to something more sinister. This episode contains some Tildi nudity.

9...THE MOABITE CYPHER. author/creator R. Austin Freeman
Dr. Thorndyke (Barry Ingram), forensic forefather, shows up at an accident scene to proclaim the victim dead--kicked by a London police horse. A package dropped by the victim appears to be a bomb. No, it's a pie. The dead man also has a letter, cipher, written in ancient Hebrew, Moabite As typical of this author, the mystery follows the victims death, and a surprise end.

10..THE SECRET OF THE FOXHUNTER. author/creator William Le Queux
William Drew (Derek Jacobi--"Cadfael"-a wonderful DVD series)enjoys the hunt at an English country estate but not the guests spying on England soil. there is more targeted for a kill than a fox. Or is there a fox in the hen-house?

11..THE LOOTING OF THE SPECIES ROOM. author/creator C. S. Cutcliffe Hyne aka Weatherby Chesney
1910. Heading from NYC, a steam ship purser, Mr. Horrocks (Ronald Frazer) is in charge of securing 1/4 million in gold while the ship races for a record transatlantic crossing in 8 days. Horrocks must guard the species room-the gold location. Mrs. Vanrenen (Jean Marsh-'Upstairs, Downstairs' '9 to 5') and her abundance of luggage is another issue. Asst. Purser Robbins is played by Michael Cashman.

12..THE MYSTERY OF THE AMBER BEADS. author/creator Fergusson Wright Hume (top selling Victorian mystery novelist)
Hagar (Sara Kestelman) rag buyer, London pawnshop inheritor niece gets a pawned necklace with a past. Ex-lawyer tries to claim Hagar's Uncle's estate for himself. Beautiful Gypsy Hagar is involved unwittingly in a murder mystery and more.

13..THE MISSING Q.C.s. author/creator William Arthur Dunkerley
Young Charles Dallas (Robin Ellis-Poldark; a fantastic DVD) looks for 2 missing London colleagues among the Queen's Counsels. It is a mystery as to WHO is on trial. Surgeon & Prof. Dyne (John Phillips) is called as a witness to determine the sanity of the accused. A mysterious triangle in law indeed. Plus a comic/romance of sorts.

British Mystery fans will love it. There is also available "Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 1" and it's just as good as set 2.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Drawer Classic Series That Has It All, April 10, 2010

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 2 (DVD)

"The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Set 2" is the second installment in a classic television series of British mysteries that was produced by Thames Television, premiered on the ITV Network in the United Kingdom in 1973, and was seen on public television in the United States in the 1970s. It is released in a four volume boxed set, consisting of thirteen episodes, and runs approximately 659 minutes in total. It comes with bonus features on the rival detectives and their creators, and. thank you, Acorn Media Group, subtitles. The first series, also 13 episodes, aired in 1971, and won a BAFTA for best design: it has already been released in DVD format.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods, there was plenty of poverty, social unrest, and crime in the world, in Europe, and in England. There were also the riveting detective stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring Sherlock Holmes, and his sturdy assistant, Watson. And there was no shortage of would-be rivals to Doyle, including, and represented here, the female-oriented Hungarian Baroness Orczy, who would create the Scarlet Pimpernel. The rivals presented their own detectives, stationing them in the streets of London or English country houses, the royal apartments in Vienna, or a Copenhagen hotel, as they too, relying on their finely-tuned brains, solved crimes. These stories have been adapted in a highly-literate manner, and have been filmed, apparently no expense spared, by Thames. The location photography is excellent; costumes and vehicles are period-appropriate, and extras appear to have been hired in droves. The supporting actors are uniformly strong, the best the U.K. had to offer at the time, and the featured stars were icons of the period. They include Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius; The Cadfael Collection); Judy Geeson (To Sir, With Love); Jean Marsh (Upstairs, Downstairs - Collector's Edition Megaset (The Complete Series plus Thomas and Sarah)); Robin Ellis (Poldark, Series 1); John Thaw (Inspector Morse - Complete Collection); Bernard Hepton (Emma (A&E, 1997)), and Michael Gough(Batman & Robin [Blu-ray]). The episodes are:

1. The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway. Baroness Orczy's story, starring Judy Geeson as Polly Burton, a plucky young would-be investigative reporter who puts her life on the line to solve the mysterious murder of a young woman.
2. Five Hundred Carats. A huge DeBeers diamond creates turmoil and mayhem in the small mining town of Kimberly, South Africa. Insp. Lipinzki is on the case.
3. Cell 13. Prof. Van Dusen wagers he can escape from the new prison, "escape-proof" Grangemoor.
4. The Secret of the Magnifique. The mysterious Mr. Laxworthy (Bernard Hepton) hires two ex-cons to pull a job in the elegant surrounds of the French Riviera.
5. The Absent-Minded Coterie. Amateur French detective Eugene Valmont, played by Charles Gray (The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit) begins by investigating a counterfeiting operation, and trips over another matter entirely. Lots of London fog in this one.
6. The Sensible Action of Lieutenant Holst. Set in Copenhagen, stars John Thaw as the lieutenant, struggling to make sense of a quarrel between Russian émigrés. Also stars esteemed Welsh actor Philip Madoc (A Mind to Kill: The Complete First Series).
7. The Superfluous Finger. Prof. Van Dusen again; he's called in by a friend, a Harley Street surgeon, when a woman demands an unnecessary amputation. The case takes him to an English country house, home of a mad aristocrat.
8. Anonymous Letters. Recently married Habsburg countess hires dashing private detective Dagobert Trostler to investigate obscene letters she and her friend have been receiving.
9. The Moabite Cypher. Dr. John Thorndyke investigates an anarchist plot against a Russian grand duke visiting London. A key document is written in an ancient language.
10. The Secret Life of the Fox Hunter. William Drew of the Foreign Office (Derek Jacobi) plays spy in an English country house.
11. The Looting of the Specie Room. The theft of gold bullion on a luxury passenger ship setting sail from New York for a record-breaking transatlantic crossing requires some detective work from ship's purser Mr. Horrocks. Stars Jean Marsh.
12. The Mystery of the Amber Beads. The strangulation of a rich widow, the attempted pawning of her amber beads: a gypsy girl, Hagar, the pawnbroker, figures it out. Lots of East End scenery.
13. The Missing Q.C.'s. Two queen's counsels, one for prosecution, one for defense, disappear during a London murder trial at the famed Old Bailey. Junior defense barrister Charles Dallas's search for them takes him to another country house.

At a very minimum, each episode offers insight into the period's popular culture, intellectual preoccupations, and social problems.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT, October 9, 2010

By 

katie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 2 (DVD)

This was awesome! I really enjoyed this series though I liked some characters more then others. While it is a little old it is well done, I particularly like the firts episode and the next one with Max Carrados; a blind but very observant detective.