There are some very good things about this production. The direction and photography are excellent, and Ian Richardson is quite good as Holmes - almost as good as Jeremy Brett. Watson is a bit of a letdown. He was closer to Doyle's portrayal of a doctor with above average intelligence than many Watsons have been, but Donald Churchill was no David Burke or even Edward Hardwick. He swallowed every sound to the point of talking from his throat rather than his mouth - distracting and irritating.
Glynis Barber (Beryl Stapleton) and Martin Shaw (Sir Henry) looked like they belonged 100 years in the future. Ronald Lacy (Inspector Lestrade) looked like a boy trying to play a grown-up. These actors gave the movie the aura of a high school play with students playing grown up characters from 100 years earlier. Shaw did have one of the best American accents I have heard from a British actor. It is an enjoyable effort, but - like so many Holmes stories - it pales in comparison to the version with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwick.
Glynis Barber (Beryl Stapleton) and Martin Shaw (Sir Henry) looked like they belonged 100 years in the future. Ronald Lacy (Inspector Lestrade) looked like a boy trying to play a grown-up. These actors gave the movie the aura of a high school play with students playing grown up characters from 100 years earlier. Shaw did have one of the best American accents I have heard from a British actor. It is an enjoyable effort, but - like so many Holmes stories - it pales in comparison to the version with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwick.