Product Details

• Actors: Matt Frewer, Kenneth Welsh, Sophie Lorain, Marcel Jeannin, Michel Perron
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hallmark
• VHS Release Date: August 21, 2001
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005LQ23
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,619 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If only Sherlock Holmes had been played by a different actor..., January 2, 2006

By 

L Gontzes (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sign of Four [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sir Arthur Conan Boyle's The Sign of Four is a great novel, though this televised version was a bit of a disappointment.
In this mystery Sherlock Holmes has his hands full with an unusual assassination (made possible by an exotic poison) and a mysterious disappearance.

The major setbacks (as other reviewers have also pointed out) are:
1) The poor choice of actor for the leading role of Sherlock Holmes in Matt Frewer; obnoxious, conceded, and overall not likeable, his was a terrible performance indeed.
2) The ending which seems to be the result of someone's improvisation, and which deviates from the writer's original.

In short, it's an interesting plot, a great setting, and a mediocre cast.
Though far from being a masterpiece, by no means is it a bad movie, as it will provide for an evening's entertainment.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noteworthy adaptation, August 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sign of Four [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The newest incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of Four" is by far the best one to date. Although it deterrs a little from the original work, doing so only helps to improve it. The new ending is especially noteworthy. As for the actors, Kenneth Walsh is a formidable Watson. Some viewers might think that him just a tad too old, but his performance makes up for it. As for the 'controversial' casting of Matt Frewer, I feel that the harsh criticism I have heard from other avid Holmes fans regarding his interpretation is unnecessary. Though it's true that he is not English in nationality, I feel that he makes up for it as best he can. His accent at times was laid on a little too thick, however, and he was given at times to somewhat cartoonish voice fluctuations, but he definitely looks the part and is obviously warming up to the role. Sherlock Holmes is one of literature's most beloved creations, and as a result the actors who play him are faced with an enormous task. I think Frewer comes out just fine.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Awful Acting and Change Done to the Climax Ruins Everything, March 6, 2004

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sign of Four [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The second installment of Sherlock Holmes series of "Hallmark Entertaiment" is worse than its preceding one, "The Hound of Baskervilles," or "the canine mystery" as this irritating Holmes of this series might quip. The Max ... no, Matt Frewer Holmes interpretation still looks unconvincing besides Jeremy Brett (though I do not say the latter is perfect), and in this film you are in for another atrocious deed done to the beloved original.

That is the script, which starts promisingly. As you know, the story of the mysterious "Four Signs" originates in India, and the film starts there (no, not that real India, but in the soundstage) where a rich Indian merchant's tresure is violently stolen. Now, years later, a certain lady Miss Morstan visits Sherlock Holmes to consult about the enigmatic message and pearls sent to her from an anonimous source. So far, the film is faithful in contents and in spirit.

However, in the second half of the film, it commits an unforgiveable crime. The famous hair-raising chase scenes on the Themes which tesitifies the genius of Conan Doyle is replaced by a silly conclusion culled directly from the B Western movies. Add to that, the fate of Miss Morstan is also changed, as if the company wanted to torment poor Dr. Watson forever.

Only Kenneth Walsh's Watson looks like real, which qualifies the two stars I give here. When Miss Morstan, who should be a Victorian lady in distress, speaks like a modern American woman in the 20th century, you have nothing to recommend. And you see the exaggerated mannerism of the sleuth, which makes the entire film even worse. Stick to Jeremy Brett or Basil Rathbone.