THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
UK, 1970, 124 minutes, Colour.
Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Genevieve Page, Irene Handel, Christopher Lee, Clive Revill, Stanley Holloway, Tamara Toumanova.
Directed by Billy Wilder.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is useful for film discussion purposes, not so much because it raises wide human issues - it does not - but because it is fine entertainment and is a 1960's attempt to recapture the content and style of a type of art of the turn of the century and embody it in the contemporary cinema medium. It succeeds and audiences can make quick and easy comparisons with so many short stories readily available. The questions which follow are only general, but if the film is screened and stories read, many points of comparison can be made, even to Holmes' oddity, his drug taking, introspective vanity, shunning of women, snobbery, etc.
For those interested in Holmes' character and exploits, the following stories are recommended, they have bearing on the film: A Scandal in Bohemia (the first short story) is similar to the present film. It shows Holmes beaten by a lady and his admiration for her.
The Bruce Partington Plans deals with the plans for a submarine. In this case Mycroft asks for Sherlock Holmes' help. The Greek Interpreter introduces Mycroft and the Diogenes Club. Gloria Scott is a flashback to Holmes' very first case.
However, most stories correspond to the mood and style of the film. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a comedy as well as drama. (Wilder and Diamond have collaborated on the hilarious Some Like it Hot, Irma La Douce and The Fortune Cookie.) For good measure, it throws in an odd story about Holmes and an aged Russian ballerina to deal with questions about Holmes as a bachelor. (Watson is never so merry with the ladies in the books as he is here.) But the main plot is a clever story of a Belgian scientist's wife, midgets, a file of Trappist Monks, the Loch Ness monster and Queen Victoria.
1. What did you enjoy most about the film - the mysterious plot, the unusual incidents, the wit and polish of the dialogue, the characterisation?
2. What kind of character was Sherlock Holmes? Was he inordinately proud and vain? Was he too introspective in personality as well as in his detection methods?
3. What of Dr Watson, his admiration for Holmes, his slowness of wit?
4. Why was Sherlock Holmes deceived by the German spy?
5. If you have read any Sherlock Holmes' stories compare the portrayals by Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely with the literary characters. How close are the portrayals?
6. Why do you think Sherlock Holmes' stories have been popular for so long? Considering that Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond invented the material for this film, how well do you think they have recaptured the spirit of the original and how plausible have they made their case that the stories they tell are authentic?
