Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes: Golden Pince-Nez [VHS]

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3 star:		(1)
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One of the strongest of the later episodes in the Granada Sherlock Holmes series, "The Golden Pince-Nez" artfully conveys all the twists and turns of Arthur Conan Doyle's clever story. Jeremy Brett's health problems are evident, but his characterization is as strong as ever. The absence of Edward Hardwicke's Watson is overcome by the clever writing, which highlights the brotherly rivavlry between Sherlock and his lazier, yet smarter brother Mycroft- a nice contrast to the sloppy insertion of the same character in the vastly inferior "Mazarin Stone." In one of his best performances, Charles Gray conveys massive intellect as easily as he conveys massive bulk- which is very easy indeed! The direction and cinematography are both excellent. A fine addition to any Sherlock Holmes library.

In Conan Doyle's original DYING DETECTIVE Sherlock Holmes story, mention is made of a murder of one Victor Savage. The best part about this delightful adaption is that it explains how Holmes got mixed up in the affair of Savage's death. How did he, you ask? You'll have to watch the film to find out!

One of the best of the later Jeremy Brett Holmes films, this one is particularly distinguished by its use of colorful, self-consciously arty cinematography to heighten an eccentric mood; I love it. This one is a visual delight. Brett is fine as always; so is Charles Gray as his sharp brother Mycroft, who comes along to investigate as well. A secretary has been murdered, and a golden pince-nez has been discovered in his hand, plucked from the face of the murderer. The secretery's employer is a bed-ridden, chain-smoking professor who claims to know nothing of the affair. Where the film sticks to the original story by Arthur Conan Doyle it is on solid ground, and some of its departures such as the inclusion of Mycroft work well. However, the scriptwriters have needlessly thrown in a side plot about a woman suffragette, probably just to pad the thing out to an hour. Even so, this bizarre mystery is great fun for Holmes fans. All of the Brett films are notable for their period detail and engagingly neurotic take on its lead character.

+++++

This movie is based on the story "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez" (1904) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 to 1930). In this movie, Dr. Watson is absent and so Sherlock Holmes' (Jeremy Brett) smarter brother Mycroft (Charles Gray) helps with this mystery.

This movie is concerned with the death of an invalid professor's (Frank Finlay) assistant, a man that had no enemies and few vices. There are three essential clues to what happened:

(1) The dying assistant's last words to the professor's maid (who found him) were "Professor, it is she."
(2) The dead assistant had a gold-framed pince-nez (eyeglasses that attach on the bridge of the nose) clutched in his hand. They were later determined to be for a woman and were of a very strong prescription.
(3) The professor smokes Alexandrian tobacco. (Alexander was a czar of Russia.)

The professor sees the assistant's death as a suicide. However, Holmes is not convinced of this.

Brett does a good job of capturing the essence of the famous gumshoe in his performance. Gray does a good job of portraying Holmes' smarter brother. Also, Finlay does an excellent job as the professor.

Finally, the props, cinematography, and background music for this movie are well done.

In conclusion, this is a fun mystery that keeps the viewer guessing!!

(1994; 50 min; British drama; made for TV; full screen; color)

+++++

Granada Televison had a resourceful, but rather annoying habbit of, when Jeremy Brett couldn't take the part of Holmes, or whoever was playing Watson wasn't available, of removing them and bring Sherlock's older and smarter brother, Mycroft, into the case. When THE GOLDEN PINCE-NEZ was being filmed, Edward Hardwicke couldn't be at the studioes to play Watson, so Charles Gray was brought into the show to play Mycroft. A good film, but the loss of Watson makes it a bit less entertaining.