In Murder By Decree fiction's most famous detective goes to work on the most famous real life case of his era, that of the infamous Whitechapel Murders, committed by the man that was dubbed Jack the Ripper. What Sherlock Holmes does to solve the case and where the ultimate responsibility for these murders lies is the basis for Murder By Decree.
Christopher Plummer and James Mason play Holmes and Doctor Watson and it's of some interest with the notoriety these killings of women of the lower classes that Scotland Yard has not called in Holmes for a consultation. But involved he gets anyway and Inspector Lestrade is happy to have him for once even though God and Arthur Conan Doyle know exactly how many times Lestrade was proved wrong by Holmes. Lestrade is played by Frank Finlay and a couple of higher ups, Anthony Quayle and David Hemmings aren't real happy Holmes is around. Especially Hemmings who really has his own agenda working.
What Holmes does find out shakes the very foundation of British society and what he finds out you'll have to see the film for.
One of the Ripper's victims is Susan Clark and the reason for her demise is to be found in the why and wherefore of the incarceration in a mental institution of Genevieve Bujold. Both women deliver outstanding performances in an otherwise mostly male film.
You think Sherlock Holmes and usually what comes to mind is a very calculating and observant individual, but something of a cold fish. He has his passions, but it usually is for justice in the abstract. It's certainly is the way he was played by that most famous of Sherlock Holmeses, Basil Rathbone. But Christopher Plummer cares very deeply for the Ripper's victims as real women and real people. His scenes with both Clark and Bujold are the most moving in the film.
The biggest criticism of the Rathbone Holmes series that I've ever run across the way Doctor Watson was downgraded gradually until he was just a buffoon that Holmes kept around for laughs. That is most certainly not the way James Mason plays him. Mason offers Plummer some wise counsel and a strong friend to lean on when the pressure gets turned on.
Plummer is also a man of action the way Rathbone never was. His final battle with the Ripper is quite something. You couldn't imagine Basil Rathbone in such a struggle.
The last 15 to 20 minutes of the film is mostly concerned with a final scene with John Gielgud playing British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury where Holmes lays his evidence and accusations to the parties involved. Gielgud makes a fine Lord Salisbury, pretty much as I've conceived him as a personality.
The identity of the Ripper has been speculated on for years and Murder By Death offers a view that does take in some of that speculation. But you don't have to be an expert on British history to thoroughly enjoy this fine film.
Christopher Plummer and James Mason play Holmes and Doctor Watson and it's of some interest with the notoriety these killings of women of the lower classes that Scotland Yard has not called in Holmes for a consultation. But involved he gets anyway and Inspector Lestrade is happy to have him for once even though God and Arthur Conan Doyle know exactly how many times Lestrade was proved wrong by Holmes. Lestrade is played by Frank Finlay and a couple of higher ups, Anthony Quayle and David Hemmings aren't real happy Holmes is around. Especially Hemmings who really has his own agenda working.
What Holmes does find out shakes the very foundation of British society and what he finds out you'll have to see the film for.
One of the Ripper's victims is Susan Clark and the reason for her demise is to be found in the why and wherefore of the incarceration in a mental institution of Genevieve Bujold. Both women deliver outstanding performances in an otherwise mostly male film.
You think Sherlock Holmes and usually what comes to mind is a very calculating and observant individual, but something of a cold fish. He has his passions, but it usually is for justice in the abstract. It's certainly is the way he was played by that most famous of Sherlock Holmeses, Basil Rathbone. But Christopher Plummer cares very deeply for the Ripper's victims as real women and real people. His scenes with both Clark and Bujold are the most moving in the film.
The biggest criticism of the Rathbone Holmes series that I've ever run across the way Doctor Watson was downgraded gradually until he was just a buffoon that Holmes kept around for laughs. That is most certainly not the way James Mason plays him. Mason offers Plummer some wise counsel and a strong friend to lean on when the pressure gets turned on.
Plummer is also a man of action the way Rathbone never was. His final battle with the Ripper is quite something. You couldn't imagine Basil Rathbone in such a struggle.
The last 15 to 20 minutes of the film is mostly concerned with a final scene with John Gielgud playing British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury where Holmes lays his evidence and accusations to the parties involved. Gielgud makes a fine Lord Salisbury, pretty much as I've conceived him as a personality.
The identity of the Ripper has been speculated on for years and Murder By Death offers a view that does take in some of that speculation. But you don't have to be an expert on British history to thoroughly enjoy this fine film.