Sherlock Holmes in the 20th century

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Movie
German title Sherlock Holmes in the 20th century
Original title Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона: XX век начинается ( Prikljutschenija scherloka holmsa i doktora watsonajona: dwadzaty wek natschinajetsya )
Country of production Soviet Union
original language Russian
Publishing year 1986
length approx. 149 minutes
Rod
Director Igor Maslennikov
script Igor Maslennikov
music Vladimir Dashkevich
camera Yuri Weksler
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
The Treasure of Agra

Sherlock Holmes in the 20th Century ( Russian "Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона: XX век начинается" ) is the fifth and final film in the television series " The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson ”based on Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about Sherlock Holmes .

The two-parter is based on four short stories about Sherlock Holmes: "The Engineer's Thumb", "The Second Stain", "The Bruce Partington Plans" and "His Farewell Performance". Furthermore, episodes and motifs from other works about Sherlock Holmes are interspersed.

action

Part 1

Early 20th century. One evening a seedy man, Colonel Stark, picks up a young engineer from the train station and drives him to his house. The engineer is supposed to repair a defective hydraulic press , which is said to be used to compress fuller's earth . Despite being forewarned by a mysterious, hysteria-prone woman who lives in Stark's house, the engineer goes to the basement where the press is located. When he comes across traces of amalgam , he asks the Colonel about the true purpose of the press; this locks him in the press and turns it on. The engineer barely escapes and is saved by the woman; However, when he escaped from the window, Stark cut off his thumb. Injured, he arrives at London train station and goes to the doctor to treat his wound - that doctor is Dr. Watson . Watson goes to see Sherlock Holmes , who has retired to Sussex and dedicated to beekeeping . Holmes and Watson go to the Colonel's house, but find it burned down. However, they find fake shilling coins at the crime scene. Together they visit Holmes' brother Mycroft , who now occupies a high position in the British government. It reveals that German spies are trying to sabotage Britain's economy by circulating counterfeit money. Using a photo, Holmes discovers that "Colonel Stark" is an alias of the German spy Eduardo Lucas. The Prime Minister of England, meanwhile, wishes to meet with Holmes on a delicate matter. An important document has disappeared from Secretary of State Trelawny Hope's box; if published, war could break out. Holmes and Watson go to their old quarters at 221b Baker Street to meet the Minister. The house is now owned by a construction company, but Holmes and Watson's room has been preserved as a museum. After meeting the Prime Minister, Holmes realizes that only said Eduardo Lucas could have stolen the document. However, it turns out that Lucas was recently killed in his apartment. At the scene of the crime, the detectives meet the retired Inspector Lestrade , who instructs a new employee in detective work. Holmes notes that the blood stain on the carpet doesn't match a corresponding stain on the parquet - someone must have mad the carpet. Holmes finds a secret hiding place under the parquet, but this is empty. The interrogation of a constable brings the information that a woman visited the scene of the crime that night. With Watson, Holmes go to Trelawney Hope's wife, who confronts them with this information. She confesses that she was blackmailed by Lucas . However, when the document was handed over, Lucas was stabbed to death by his jealous wife. Watson comes up with the idea of ​​simply putting the document back in its case and pretending that it has simply been overlooked, which, despite the last doubts on the part of Hope and the Prime Minister, actually succeeds.

Part 2

The German resident in England, von Bork, receives a secret visit from his superior, Baron von Herling. Outwardly a bon vivant and athlete , von Bork is actually a German spy who collects documents about the British armed forces in the run-up to the First World War. His best source is Altamont, an American of Irish descent. Von Bork only needs to get the last document, the naval signals of the British Navy. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of just such a document theft. The body of Cadegan West, a young Royal Arsenal employee , was discovered on the tracks of the London Underground . In his pocket were seven of the ten pages of a new, secret underwater boat . The suspicion arose that the young office worker wanted to sell the plans to German spies - but I convinced his fiancée of his innocence. The only one who would otherwise have access to the papers is Sir James Walter, the director of the arsenal - but he died of a heart attack as a result of the scandal that caused him. Holmes is involved in the investigation to get the three missing pages. He discovers that West was killed elsewhere, put on the roof of a subway car and only fell onto the tracks at a switch. It just so happens that the German spy Hugo Oberstein lives in a house with windows over the tracks. Since Oberstein has already left, Holmes and Watson are looking for the real thief who passed the documents on to him. Using a code in the newspaper advertisements, Holmes arranged a meeting with the thief - it was the director's brother, Valentine Walter, who was in debt and was paid by Oberstein. West had accidentally observed and followed him through the office window, was then killed by Oberstein and laid on the subway roof. Some time later, Holmes and Watson, who has meanwhile been drafted for the upcoming war, go to von Bork, who is Holmes' neighbor, and buys honey from him. As Watson strolls around the house, he discovers that Holmes is precisely the Altamont who is supplying von Bork with secret information. Now he has brought him the coveted marine signals; but Watson interferes and confronts Holmes. When von Bork learns that Altamont is really Sherlock Holmes, he tries unsuccessfully to shoot Watson, then flees through the garden, where he collapses, numb from sleeping pills. Holmes reveals to him that he purposely took a trip to America and joined a secret society of ex-Irish people to gain von Bork's trust. The information he supplied from Bork had been tampered with; and in his house von Bork was watched over by his old housekeeper Martha, who is really Mrs. Hudson.

At the end, Holmes and Watson sit in front of a cinematograph and ponder how harmless the criminals of Victorian England have been compared to the crimes of the 20th century, while a silent film plays on the screen.

actor

main actor

Part 1

Part 2

Film crew

Interesting facts

  • At the end of the film, when Holmes and Watson are watching a silent film , the projectionist can be seen turning the crank. This is the director of the film series, Igor Maslennikov .
  • Towards the end of the second part, the code is set on von Borks vault - "1912 April". Watson turns the wheels and sits in the armchair while Holmes says “The future is not so bleak.” Meanwhile, the code wheel stops at the position “1914 August” - the beginning of the First World War .
  • The restaurant where Holmes and Watson dine towards the middle of the second section is the converted setting of the apartment at 221b Baker Street .
  • Hugo Oberstein's house was realized as a miniature trick recording .

Alternative version and German version

The literal translation of the Russian title is “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The 20th Century Begins ” . The two- parter was also brought to the cinemas, under a different title: "Шерлок Холмс в XX веке" (German: "Sherlock Holmes in the 20th century"). The theatrical version has been shortened compared to the TV two-parter. a. The entire plot of "The Bruce Partington Plans" has been removed.

In the GDR the film ran under the title "Sherlock Holmes in the 20th Century" ; initially a Russian version with German subtitles was shown on GDR television, later a German dubbed version. Sherlock Holmes was founded by Siegfried Voss and Dr. Watson was voiced by Hasso Billerbeck . (The change in speaker is explained by the fact that the episodes were no longer dubbed by the GDR television in Berlin-Johannisthal, but by the DEFA studio in Leipzig.)

On DVD

The films were restored for DVD evaluation by two companies independently of one another: the Russian label “Twister” and the Mosfilm subsidiary “Krupny Plan”. "Twister" released all five Sherlock Holmes films by Igor Maslennikow between 2000 and 2004 on DVD, some with bonus material. The “Krupny Plan” was published in 2007. The restoration of Twister is, however, a bit better in quality.

The "Twister" DVD contains Russian sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Russian and English subtitles. As a bonus there is an interview with the director Igor Maslennikow as well as text information about the cast and crew.

The “Krupny Plan” DVD does not contain any bonus material and only Russian subtitles; In addition to the 5.1 remix, it also contains the Russian monotone.

In 2019 PIDAX (licensed by DRA) released a new DVD version of 116 minutes in length and only with German sound (Dolby Digital 2.0) as episode 3 of this series.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Restaurant on 221b.ru
  2. ↑ Michael Ross: Sherlock Holmes in Film and Television - A Handbook. ISBN 3-930932-03-2 .
  3. ↑ Media on 221b.ru ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.221b.ru
  4. ↑ Image comparison of the Twister and the Krupny Plan version

Web links