Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace

Starring:Sherlock Holmes-and the Deadly Necklace
Studio: Delta Music Music in
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
And The Deadly Necklace

A priceless Egyptian necklace gone missing, a mysterious death of a police informant, and a series of murders that have the police baffled. Sounds like a case for the legendary Sherlock Holmes. This rare Holmes film stars the legendary Christopher Lee, and this time the case is positively puzzling.

Description

And The Deadly Necklace

1962 B&W 85 minutes

Customer Reviews:

Deadly "Necklace".......2006-07-26

Horror maestro Christopher Lee played Mycroft Holmes and Sir Henry Baskerville, but was hardly ever seen as the great Sherlock. That was in "Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace," a solid enough mystery with some very nice acting, beautiful sets... and really wretched dub work.

An informant of Sherlock Holms (Lee) totters up to his doorstep, and dies after gasping a cryptic message. Holmes and Watson (Thorley Walters) follow his message to the pub where Professor Moriarty (Hans Söhnker) is staying, and overhear Moriarty plotting a murder and a theft -- of an astounding necklace found in the tomb of Cleopatra.

They rush to a country estate to save the paranoid lord-of-the-manor, only to arrive too late -- the necklace is gone, and the man himself is dead. Now Holmes must infiltrate Moriarty's home to steal back the necklace, and get it to the auction before Moriarty can steal it back.

"Deadly Necklace" is definitely a mixed bag, as a Sherlock Holmes movie goes -- we have the basics of a Holmes movie, and some of them are really amazing. But often, it feels like Terence Fisher is directing on autopilot, leaving it to Christopher Lee to keep the movie afloat.

There are some wonderfully quick-moving subplots, such as the question of who shot the guy in the castle, buried clothes, and bloody footprints. Alas, many other parts of the movie are either plodding or confusing, which can be fatal to a mystery story. The park-bench scene with Moriarty and Holmes is a perfect example -- it feels like it was crammed in to take up some extra time. It really has nothing to do with the plot, and could have been cut without any effect.

Lee is a simply magnificent Holmes, and perhaps the best "one off" Holmes I've ever seen. He comes across as intelligent without having to work at it, and still tough enough to kick through an oak door. Thorley Walters makes a likably bumbly Watson, and provides a good thought-bouncer for Lee, but Söhnker makes a very hammy Moriarty. Not an ounce of menace, and the scene where he runs from Holmes is unintentionally funny.

And what about the infamous dubbing? Well, it's really bad. Lee's rich baritone is covered by someone who sounds like he's doing a Christopher Lee impersonation, sometimes sounding American (and when undercover, swishy). Even stranger, there's a hollow echo effect whenever anyone speaks. It sounds like the dubbing was done in a giant bathroom. As the final indignifty, they tack on a fluffy jazz soundtrack that doesn't match the setting.

There are some deep, intense flaws in "Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace," but even with a dubbed voice Christopher Lee carries the film with rare style. Watch for his performance, if no other reason.

Disappointing.......2006-04-08

I am great fan of Sherlock Holmes and of Christopher Lee. I regret buying this DVD - th B&W movie looks all washed out - the dubbing is comically bad and the voices - to rob Christopher Lee of his voice - borders on the criminal.

I could not even finish watching it - its that bad!

Don't buy this - even if you are a fan of the Great Detective.

Christopher Lee as Sherlock Holmes.......2006-04-04

This film is not quite as bad as some people and reviewers will have you believe! Sure, the dubbing is atrocious and the music is ridiculous but the plot and the acting are top notch! Christopher Lee and Thorley Walters are excellent as Holmes and Watson. One wishes that Lee's rich baritone wasn't dubbed or anyone else's for that matter. One also wishes Lee when he was younger, would have played Holmes more often. The transfer to DVD is not that good, and the picture a bit fuzzy, but I've seen far worse. May not be a film for Holmes purists, but for anyone who likes Holmes and/or Lee will enjoy this film.

Sherlock Holmes Double Feature: The Deadly Necklace/The Speckled Band

Average customer rating:

OK if you're a Holms collector; otherwise, forget it.

Sherlock Holmes Double Feature: The Deadly Necklace/The Speckled Band
Starring: Sherlock Holmes & the Deadly Necklace , and Speckled Ban
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FVQLWA
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Customer Reviews:

OK if you're a Holms collector; otherwise, forget it........2006-11-20

The fact that a film is on DVD doesn't guarantee that its quality is very good. The fact that a film's quality is threadbare doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. In addition to Overstock, one may find this pairing of Sherlock Holmes films on Amazon and Deep Discount. In any case, the price is only a few bucks. Whether this is a good bargain I leave to the reader.

The plots of these films are of little consequence. They are of interest only to people who collect Holmes films ... anybody who merely wants a few of the better offerings would do well to purchase some of those made by Jeremy Brett ... or, in a pinch, Basil Rathbone. There are a few other very good Holmes films featuring good actors on a one-shot basis - such as "Seven Per Cent Solution" or "Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". In any event, these films are considerably less estimable.

Here we have a pair of films featuring some of the best actors to do Holmes, even if the results tend toward disappointing. This appears to be the only disc with these films on it (although "Deadly Necklace") appears by itself in the same version on other discs.

"(Sherlock Holmes and) the Deadly Necklace" dates from 1962, although it neither looks it nor sounds it. Some who have seen this may be surprised to learn that it was produce by Hammer Studios. Not that Hammer hasn't turned out some really schlock stuff, but where Christopher Lee was concerned, they usually did a better job. The print a direct transfer from a rather worn 1:1.33 copy in black-and white. The quality of the color suggests the original may have been in color, and the snipped ends of the film's aspect suggest it may originally have been 1:1.66 or more.

The film is set in the early 20th Century - not improbable, since Holmes was still working then (and didn't actually die until 1957). However, the script is not adapted from any actual Doyle story. It involves an Egyptian necklace, and Professor Moriarty shows up as a world-famous archaeologist as well as the Prince of Crime. The plot is melodramatic and banal.

The biggest defect of this film is that - for whatever unfathomable reason - Hammer filmed it in Germany. It was nonetheless filmed in English. It was then dubbed in German and then re-dubbed in English. So what you hear isn't Lee nor any of the other original actors, but a bunch of unknowns - not that, outside of Lee, I doubt anyone would know any of the other actors. This is too bad, since Lee (see his "Hound of the Baskervilles") makes a quite decent Holmes. As it is, his voice double is condescending and plain as bread pudding with no raisins nor cinnamon.

The music for this film is primarily jazzy, in a possible attempt to be "period". Too bad nobody thought of ragtime. As it is, the music doesn't relate to what's happening on the screen, and often is at odds with the action.

The other film is "(Sherlock Holmes and) the Speckled Band" from 1931, starring a young Raymond Massey. The quality of the picture and sound is fully up to that of the 1962 effort, and in fact a bit better. Massey makes a quite respectable Holmes, although he certainly doesn't own the rôle in the way Rathbone did and Brett does. The other thespians who take part in this production are unlikely to be of interest to modern readers. The acting - as is true of many films of this period - owes a lot to the post-Victorian stage and to silent films.

There is very little else to be said of this film. The settings seem to be an odd combination of the 1890s (horse-drawn carriages) and the 1920s (electronic devices such as a primitive dictaphone). Taken altogether, it's an interesting curio and a sufficient inducement to buy the DVD with the pairing rather than a DVD with "Deadly Necklace" only.

Average customer rating:

Bizarre, but passable thriller
Deadly "Necklace"
defies explanation

Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
Starring: Roland Armontel , Leon Askin , Senta Berger , Ivan Desny , and Bernard Lajarrige
Director: Terence Fisher , and Frank Winterstein
Manufacturer: Retromedia
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000AYYVCO
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Description

Legendary Baker Street sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Lee) takes on the evil Moriarty again when the mad doctor goes after a priceless necklace which once belonged to Cleopatra. Director Terence Fisher and star Lee had previously worked together in several successful Hammer horror films, including THE HORROR OF DRACULA (1957), THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), and THE MUMMY (1959). This was a German/French/Italian co-production.

Customer Reviews:

Bizarre, but passable thriller.......2006-10-10

Amazon says the film is in colour - I don't know whether this is a mistake, since this was filmed in black-and-white, or whether someone had the bright idea to colourize it.

This is a rather bizarre film, shot in Germany in English, but then redubbed (badly) by American actors. Oddly, then, Hammer horror stalwarts Christopher Lee and Thorley Walters, as Holmes and a very Nigel-Bruceian Watson, are seen but never heard. It has an incongruous, but extremely catchy jazz score by bandleader Martin Slavin.

The film has the look and feel of a 1930s picture, a Charlie Chan or Universal horror - perhaps not surprising, since the screenwriter was Universal veteran Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man).

It is not what you would expect of Terence Fisher, one of the alltime greatest horror directors, and it is certainly no classic. I must confess, however, I actually enjoyed it, and would watch it again.

It did make me pine for what might have been if Lee had been given the chance to play Holmes in a better film.

Deadly "Necklace".......2006-07-29

defies explanation.......2006-07-10

i bought this based on the sherlock holmes interest i have had since a kid and also because christopher lee was in it..but its a real stinker,dubbed awfully,to the point that even christopher lee admitted that it wasnt his voice used in the end product! a total waste of money and time,save your pennies,badly done all round...even christopher lee's later tv reincarnation of sherlock holmes was much better,incident at victoria falls and another..

Average customer rating:

Better Than I Expected!

Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
Starring: Christopher Lee , Thorley Walters , Hans Söhnker , Senta Berger , and Hans Nielsen
Director: Frank Winterstein , and Terence Fisher
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

Better Than I Expected!.......2002-10-13

Over the years I've always read what a bad film this was, so I was pleasantly surprised when I bought this DVD and found the film to be quite good. I think Christopher Lee is a perfect Sherlock Holmes! Granted, it is a disappointment that he was POORLY dubbed in the American version, but this is something I can overlook because the film is a compelling mystery. Besides, Lee is often dubbed in these European films he made in the 60's, like Mario Bava's "THE WHIP AND THE BODY" and "HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD"; the lame Italian comedy "UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE"; "THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM", etc. So, if you can get past that, you'll find an intriguing and well-paced thriller well worth a look for fans of Lee and/or Holmes. The picture is ok, the print is a bit scratched here and there, and is presented full-frame (my big complaint). I'd rather have a widescreen picture myself. Lee is so tall, often the top of his head is cut-off here. Still, I enjoyed it and do recommend it quite highly.

Average customer rating:

Better Than I Expected!

Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace
Starring: Christopher Lee , Thorley Walters , Hans Söhnker , Senta Berger , and Hans Nielsen
Director: Frank Winterstein , and Terence Fisher
Manufacturer: Retro Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006G8I4
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Customer Reviews:

Better Than I Expected!.......2002-10-13

{15 Sherlock Holmes Movie Pack} Woman in Green, Secret Weapon, Terror By Night, Dressed to Kill, the Deadly Necklace, a Study in Scarlet, Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, Murder At the Baskervilles, Sign of the Four, the Speckled Band (PLUS) 5 Original TV Episodes

Average customer rating:

{15 Sherlock Holmes Movie Pack} Woman in Green, Secret Weapon, Terror By Night, Dressed to Kill, the Deadly Necklace, a Study in Scarlet, Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, Murder At the Baskervilles, Sign of the Four, the Speckled Band (PLUS) 5 Original TV Episodes

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Average customer rating:

Deadly Necklace/TV Shows
Starring: Sherlock Holmes
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc Corportation
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QJJF
Release Date: 2001-09-19

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