Jeremy Brett--Gotta Miss Him

In preparing for my Murder Mystery in London lesson this week, I got worried about what to do with students who finish solving the crime in, say, fifteen minutes, leaving them a half hour to create mischief. So I started looking around for appropriate videos to keep them quiet, at least, until the end of class.

Of course, the obvious choice is some Sherlock Holmes, upon whom the story for the class is more or less based. No fewer than two dozen actors have played the iconic character on film, so which one to choose?

Well, for me, there is no question on this matter--the Granada Televsion series which starred Jeremy Brett is incomparable. Brett's quirky, multi-faceted, chisel-nosed Holmes seems drawn directly from the text, as are the Granada scripts. Production values were emphasized and it appeared the entire canon would finally receive top-notch filmic treatment. Baker Street Irregulars and Victoriana buffs the world over were psyched!



Alas, Mr. Brett (who played Freddie Eynsford-Hill in the film version of 'My Fair Lady' though his singing voice was dubbed--along with Miss Hepburn's) had a heart attack in 1995, leaving about 15 or so of the original stories yet to be made.

While looking around, I noted there is a new Holmes movie coming out, scheduled for release at Christmas. I'm surprised it's taken this long, since the thing hit public domain several years ago.