Head-to-Head Sherlock Holmes Part 3 (Robert Stephens v.s. Nicol Williamson v.s. Jeremy Brett v.s. Nicholas Rowe); and Final Ranking of all the Sherlocks

Robert Stephens played Sherlock Holmes in 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' (1970)

I'm a massive Billy Wilder fan; 'Stalag 17' is one of my favourite films of all-time, and I also love 'The Apartment', 'Sunset Boulevard', and 'Double Indemnity' a great deal, and really like 'The Lost Weekend' and 'Ace in the Hole'. Having said that I do think he's a director who works best when he has a direct, concise little plot to develop his style and storytelling genius around. 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' is simply too scattershot to really flourish; it's not a complete failure, but I have to say the overall effect of this 'deconstructive' Holmes tale is rather muted as I never really got a sense of what kind of story it was trying to tell. It's sort of a comedy but not really funny, there's mystery but quite frankly it's not all that interesting, and above all Wilder's greatest strength, characterization, is nullified by the paper-thin supporting characters, some like the grave-digger and kooky lady in a wheelchair are funny to watch but unlike say the barracks men in 'Stalag 17', they never feel like anything more than just scenery fodder.

I've been a bit negative thus far about the film but I must state, it's not without merit as I feel Wilder does a good enough job of evoking this very particular setting and tone for Holmes. On the minus side for the actors, Wilder seems to have the style and directorial approach domineer over the acting this time round, which presents a limitation for Robert Stephens as Holmes. I hate to use the cliche of the scenery dominating the actors and making them little more than tools for the director's vision, but such is the truth here. Stephens mostly just has to maintain a very consistent characterisation of Holmes as a suave smartass, which is fine since he's convincing enough in this act, the problem is there's nowhere else to go really with the character. There's definitely potential there for more, but mostly he just stays fairly constant. There's a scene in particular, where he's breaking down the mystery of the Loch Ness/mechanical monster, where I felt in particular that Stephens was pretty good in showing the intellectual fervour of Holmes, but quite frankly could've brought a little bit more energy to make it more entertaining.He's a fairly human Holmes which is realistcally played with a touch of melancholy to his portrayal, but not much else beyond that.

All in all it's a decent performance but nothing exceptional, and I must say that though I did admire much of the cinematography, flair and style of the film, one aspect severely lacking was in the characterization of Holmes. He and Colin Blakely as Holmes have some good scenes together where they establish the potential for some cracking chemistry, but unfortunately the film itself is never quite assured enough to state what it really wants from the interplay between the two, making the relationship and indeed, Stephens' performance, a missed opportunity, if not without merit.

Robert Stephens in 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' (1970): 3/5

Nicol Williamson played Sherlock Holmes in 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' (1976)

I actually rather 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' for what it was, an odd little film which pits Holmes against less a mystery than his own personal demons and delusions. It's a bit dated and some of the Freudian stuff's a bit on the nose but it's certainly an interesting flick.

Nicol Williamson is an actor I'm afraid I'm not much familiar with, but based on a lot of praise he's garnered over the ages it seems he was the master of neuroses, the perfect Hamlet according to many critics. I mention that because having seen this film I can certainly see, without even having seen his version of the Prince of Denmark myself, where this perfection would've stemmed from. Williamson from the outset is pitch perfect in his creation of Holmes' growing madness. As with Hamlet it's left somewhat ambiguous as to whether it's entirely genuine or somewhat feigned but Williamson strikes the perfect balance between the two. Indeed I could very well see this performance as being sort of a precursor to Cumberbatch's modern portrayal of Sherlock as a sociopathic, somewhat mad anti-hero, Williamson's depiction of Holmes' frentic madness a sight to behold and no doubt an influence on Cumberbatch's mannerisms and tics to an extent.

With Robert Duvall's Watson (a good performance) there's not much chemistry but it works for the dysfunctional relationship between the two. With Freud (an interesting performance by Alan Arkin) there's more of a sense of interplay, perhaps a bit jarring in tone due to Arkin's comic bent to the performance, but it does work due to Williamson's consistent characterization. The scene where he goes to confront Freud over what's bothering him is particularly good as Williamson presents Holmes as frankly rather rude and ill-mannered, but with reason behind it all due to his overwhelming mental illness. Most interesting of all though is his relationship with Moriarty (an excellent, mysterious Laurence Olivier). Though the film I don't think fully realises the potential I feel Williamson makes incredibly good use of this aspect of performance to convey not only Holmes' determination, but also his darker sides enshoruded by the past.

I don't think 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution', so to speak, milks its material for all its worth. However, Williamson turns in a very good performance, especially the character creation of Holmes' deluded state of mind, and though the film isn't perfect he very nearly is.

Nicol Williamson in 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' (1976): 4/5

Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes in 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' (1984-1985), 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes' (1986-1988), 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes' (1991-1993) and 'The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes' (1994)

I cannot commentate on Brett's performance (s) as of yet simply because I have not had the time to go about watching all his performances. Hence I will leave my thoughts on him to a separate, future review. Though it may be inadequate thus far I have seen many clips and excerpts of his performance online, and I must say that though I can't say I've seen enough to put him on the rankings, I can certainly see why he is many peoples' favourite Holmes.

Nicholas Rowe played Sherlock Holmes in 'Young Sherlock Holmes' (1985)

'Young Sherlock Holmes' is a quite endearing little film about the sleuth's schoolboy exploits at boarding school. Far from a masterpiece, yes, but there are some pretty good if a bit dated special effects, the story itself is compelling enough and that ending in particular is very moving, if a bit out of place with the rest of the film.

Playing a young Sherlock Holmes, Rowe does benefit a bit from already having the look of a young genius nailed down to a tee, with a bit of difference from other portrayals via that youthful mischeveousness and emotional impulsiveness he brings to the role, which makes sense since this Holmes has not firmly asserted himself as the world's greatest consulting detective yet, and still retains the right amount of boyishness to his portrayal. It's no great challenge I suppose but Rowe does well enough in making Holmes a realistic teenager but not a particularly normal one, the eccentricities are there definitely, but they seem more of an act than anything, and Rowe is much more downplayed in showing them than per the usual portrayal, which is the right way.

Another interesting aspect of this performance is his relationship with Elizabeth Hardy (a very good Sophie Ward) and Watson (a quite endearing little Alan Cox). With Elizabeth, his love interest, it's interesting to see a warmer portrayal of Holmes who's actually capable of being quite a sweet boyfriend. Rowe doesn't overplay the romance but rather, he and Ward generate a very low-key chemistry that's more friendly than overly passionate, and never distracts from the main story at hand. With Watson there's a little less of that usual sardonic berating by Holmes and instead a more kinder form of friendship, Watson being the timid retiring sort and Holmes as, effectively, his big brother figure. Rowe similarly has a low-key sort of affection for Cox's Watson but differentiating it a bit by showing a bit more protectiveness of him, laying the seeds for his development of their chemsitry together that works quite well.

Lots of the film consists of just one fun little chase after another, and they all really depend more on Barry Levinson's direction than Rowe really, but that's fine as it's all pretty effective. Rowe is consistently effective as Holmes throughout the film till his final scene with SPOILERS Elizabeth dying in his arms. He's actually very moving, low-key yes but quite heartbreaking, in expressing not only the loss of love but a complete shutting off of any future personal connections. He's a 3.5 for most of his performance, a strong one at that, but that scene really does make me consider bumping him up to a 4 for the near future. For the timebeing though,

Nicholas Rowe in 'Yong Sherlock Holmes' (1985): 3.5/5
http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsS/16477-15269.gif
http://filmfanatic.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Seven-Percent-Williamson.png
http://i61.tinypic.com/167p4xd.jpg
http://de.web.img3.acsta.net/medias/nmedia/18/66/82/31/18957632.jpg

FINAL RANKING OF ALL THE SHERLOCK HOLMES PORTRAYALS (bar Brett):

9. Robert Stephens in 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' (1970): 3/5

8. Robert Downey Jr. in 'Sherlock Holmes' (2009) and 'A Game of Shadows' (2011): 3.5/5

7. Nicholas Rowe in 'Young Sherlock Holmes' (1985): 3.5/5 (verging on a 4)

6. Peter Cushing in 'Hound of the Baskervilles' (1959): 4/5

5. Nicol Williamson in 'The Seven Per Cent Solution': 4/5

4. Ian Richardson in 'The Sign of Four' (1983): 4/5

3. Basil Rathbone in 'Hound of the Baskervilles' (1939): 5/5

2. Benedict Cumberbatch in 'Sherlock' (2010 - ): 5/5

1. Ian McKellen in 'Mr Holmes' (2015): 5/5