I found this to be a good episode of the 1954-55 "Sherlock Holmes" series with Ronald Howard, and when the series is good it's a very entertaining blend of a solid mystery, enjoyably wacky elements, and humorous but satisfying character moments in a half an hour. One of its strengths is that despite its short running time it can still take the time to luxuriate in well-written character scenes between Holmes and Watson in almost every episode. Here they bicker good-naturedly over Holmes' music and Watson's reading in a way that's fun, builds these versions of Holmes and Watson as believable characters (who Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford suit very well) and relates to the main story of the episode.
The mystery grows out of Watson accidentally taking the wrong coat and hat, then consequently getting implicated in the murder of a amateur composer. It's a very solid mystery story this week which holds up while played equally for laughs. The solution depends mainly on something Holmes observed but we should have, though it also depends partially on graphology, which is a bit less satisfying, though it realistic that the Victorian Holmes should have believed in it. Martine Alexis and Eugene Deckers play a pair of wild, stereotyped, implausibly accented, way over the top, and undeniably fun-to-watch "mad Russians," so consider yourself warned on that score. Suffice it to say that Ms Alexis' performance makes it so that the "shy" ballerina of the title is nowhere to be seen. We close with Holmes promising to devote more time to the study of women. All-in-all a fun half-hour.
The mystery grows out of Watson accidentally taking the wrong coat and hat, then consequently getting implicated in the murder of a amateur composer. It's a very solid mystery story this week which holds up while played equally for laughs. The solution depends mainly on something Holmes observed but we should have, though it also depends partially on graphology, which is a bit less satisfying, though it realistic that the Victorian Holmes should have believed in it. Martine Alexis and Eugene Deckers play a pair of wild, stereotyped, implausibly accented, way over the top, and undeniably fun-to-watch "mad Russians," so consider yourself warned on that score. Suffice it to say that Ms Alexis' performance makes it so that the "shy" ballerina of the title is nowhere to be seen. We close with Holmes promising to devote more time to the study of women. All-in-all a fun half-hour.
