Sherlock Holmes' greatest case
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Sherlock Holmes' greatest case |
| Original title | A Study in Terror |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1965 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | James Hill |
| script |
Derek Ford Donald Ford |
| production |
Herman Cohen Sam Waynberg Henry E. Lester |
| music | John Scott |
| camera | Desmond Dickinson |
| cut | Henry Richardson |
| occupation | |
| |
A Study in Terror is a crime film from the year 1965 and combines elements of the historic criminal case of Jack the Ripper with Arthur Conan Doyle's world-famous novel detective Sherlock Holmes .
action
In late 19th century London, five prostitutes are brutally murdered. The previously undetected perpetrator apparently has medical knowledge and sends letters to Scotland Yard , mocking the inability of the investigating officers and announcing further murders.
The great private detective Sherlock Holmes becomes interested in the Jack the Ripper case when an unknown person gives him a box with surgical instruments that is missing the large amputation knife. On the box itself you can see the family crest of the Lords of Carfax.
When he visits the old Lord of Carfax, he learns from him that this surgeon kit belongs to his older son Michael Osborn, who went into hiding a few years ago and was disinherited by his father. His younger brother Robert also explains why this break occurred. Michael fell in love with a prostitute named Angela and married her against the family's wishes.
During their investigation into the slums of Whitechapel, Holmes and his loyal companion, Dr. Watson on the former professor of the missing Michael, Dr. Murray, who runs a clinic for the needy here and also works as a coroner. This reveals to Holmes that Michael was once his most capable student, but that Angela had thrown him into misery. She was known throughout the neighborhood for her angelic beauty, but she was sinister in character. She cheated on him with the bar owner Max Steiner, who in the course of a fight out of jealousy beat him to a mental cripple. A bottle of acid spilled into Angela's face and irrevocably destroyed her charm. Since then, Michael has been leading a shadowy existence in forensic medicine as the feeble-minded assistant to Dr. Murray, Angela has disappeared since then.
Finally, Holmes can track her down and learns from her that things were different at the time. Michael Osborn was morbidly jealous and had therefore disfigured her with acid. This in turn resulted in Max, who was and still is in love with Angela, literally knocking his mind out of his body. It was she who sent the surgeon box to Holmes to attract attention. Later that night, Jack the Ripper enters her bedroom and tries to kill her. However, Holmes has set a trap for this, intervenes at the last moment and reveals Michael's brother Robert Osborn as the ripper.
There is a great fight between Sherlock Holmes and the notorious woman killer. A kerosene lamp breaks and a fire breaks out. Holmes and Angela can just escape, but Robert Osborn dies in the flames.
The next morning, at breakfast, Holmes clears up the stunned Dr. Watson on the motives and connections behind the series of murders. Mental illness runs in the family of the noble Osborns, Lords of Carfax, and it took little more than a chain of unfortunate events to drive Robert insane. As there are: The more than improper marriage of his older brother, whether earned or not, the blows that made Michael a pitiful spiritual wreck. Above all, however, the incredible social scandal that would have arisen if anything of this family tragedy had leaked to the public.
So Robert, who was secretly studying medicine because he was not officially allowed to work due to his noble status, looked for Angela and Max to get revenge and to silence them. During his search, he relentlessly let loose his pent-up hatred of prostitutes.
Holmes was able to expose the murderer, but decided not to reveal the real name in order to preserve the reputation of the Lords of Carfax.
Reviews
For the lexicon of international film , Sherlock Holmes' biggest case was a "detective film with some thickly applied scary effects". "Only the color dramaturgy" is "remarkable". Cinema drew the conclusion: "Exciting perpetrator riddle in the mist."
"Well thought-out and distanced English crime film, set in London's East End around 1880. Exciting entertainment for crime fans over the age of 18," said the Protestant film observer .
DVD release
- Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case / July 21, 2005 / MC One DVD
Others
- The idea of having Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper clash was taken up again in 1979 for the film Sherlock Holmes: Murder on the Thames (original title: Murder by decree ), where the actor Frank Finlay slips back into the role of Inspector Lestrade .
Web links
- A Study in Terror in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sherlock Holmes' greatest case. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ Protestant film observer . Review No. 37/1966.