I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

New Sherlock Trailer Strikes a Traditional Tone

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"as English in sympathy and tradition as you and I are" [NOBL]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXpzv6I_78kpszzpOHyH93rGWZt0uU1fqmikNhWvtslY7fWLHSOOKAHKOQylZDSR5JZkl42Pk_oYOzB9zm_NTt123vBn8rG26ic3NAJeGpJabR949Atry4z3NbW06Jfiq4DkOmltLkNV1/s1600/sherlock+special+-+teaser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXpzv6I_78kpszzpOHyH93rGWZt0uU1fqmikNhWvtslY7fWLHSOOKAHKOQylZDSR5JZkl42Pk_oYOzB9zm_NTt123vBn8rG26ic3NAJeGpJabR949Atry4z3NbW06Jfiq4DkOmltLkNV1/s640/sherlock+special+-+teaser.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Traditionalists should be rejoicing right about now.<br />
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We've long known that the <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00NB9Y0US" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="3a8583e892795b4537dbb88adc6fa920" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Sherlock" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Limited-Edition-Complete-Seasons/dp/B00NB9Y0US/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=3a8583e892795b4537dbb88adc6fa920&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2981492" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2981492" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=3a8583e892795b4537dbb88adc6fa920&_cb=1436533272902" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> </i>special - a standalone episode due in advance of the fourth series - would be set in Victorian England. This week we were treated to two more teasers that confirmed that long-held belief.<br />
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Online fans - who will <i>not</i> be kept waiting, if you please! - have expressed their dismay at the constant delay in scheduling Series 4. The popularity and busy schedules of the principal stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Free man have thrown the show runners into a holding pattern as they're committed to other projects in the immediate future. At this point, Sherlock is expected to return in 2017, but with a twist: a number of movie theaters will simulcast the series along with the expected television release.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVN1xySP3fVuI2lFGXJn1H3qp6O0YeFR4CRWrYDtIkjolBAUHFOQ6gj_WOyfeKWXA9svQ3_bz6VLSaYduBq74_8SgQiA8x5U4G2P6z76wmZCsnCWiO5ubU7nloxCy4gGjqqpghQaOUQ-s/s1600/Sherlock+-+coming+soonish.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVN1xySP3fVuI2lFGXJn1H3qp6O0YeFR4CRWrYDtIkjolBAUHFOQ6gj_WOyfeKWXA9svQ3_bz6VLSaYduBq74_8SgQiA8x5U4G2P6z76wmZCsnCWiO5ubU7nloxCy4gGjqqpghQaOUQ-s/s640/Sherlock+-+coming+soonish.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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"It was familiar ground" [STUD]</h4>
On Wednesday, the above official photo made its way across the Internet the day before San Diego Comic Con kicked off. The producers will be participating in a panel at SDCC, as they have in years past, so we'll expect more information to roll out.<br />
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Last night, we got a better sense of the special. PBS released a teaser video that gave us a better sense of the coming show. It opens with a scene of a period street sign of Baker Street, followed by a long look down the fabled thoroughfare on a snowy day (including a storefront with a red awning - Speedy's?). Trade vehicles and hansom cabs roll about, and the theme music is a clever nod to <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/01/remembering-composer-patrick-gowers.html" target="_blank">Patrick Gowers</a>' score from the original <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00L2YXV2W" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="91ef6029c587937cfb3837e20731d174" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Granada series with Jeremy Brett" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/dp/B00L2YXV2W/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=91ef6029c587937cfb3837e20731d174&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6307700" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Granada series with Jeremy Brett</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6307700" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=91ef6029c587937cfb3837e20731d174&_cb=1436533300283" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />.<br />
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The facade of the door of 221B hasn't changed, and as it opens, Mrs. Hudson greets Holmes and Watson, who step out of the carriage, with a remonstration to give notice when they're due home. Cumberbatch's Holmes replies with what can only be music to traditional Sherlockians' ears with a soothing and logical, "I hardly knew myself, Mrs. Hudson."<br />
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We hasten to note that the Victorian version of Cumberbatch's Holmes seems far less manic and rushed - more of the true gentleman that Sherlock Holmes was - a far cry from his self-proclaimed "sociopath" character of the modern series.<br />
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Then Mrs. Hudson takes note of Dr. Watson's latest publication, taking the opportunity to insult him about it because she only makes perfunctory appearances with little to no dialog. Holmes piles on, claiming that there wasn't enough of him in "the dog one." A nice inside joke to Sherlockians who know that Holmes was offstage for a good bit of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>.<br />
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We're then left with a complete lack of information about the air date, as the scene fades to a slate that reads "Sherlock. Coming soon...ish."<br />
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Here's <a href="https://youtu.be/m1Asbi4APb0" target="_blank">the full video</a> for your review. Let us know what you think.<br />
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New Sherlock Trailer Strikes a Traditional Tone

"as English in sympathy and tradition as you and I are" [NOBL] Traditionalists should be rejoicing right about now. We'...

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by Scott Monty

Herlock Needs Your Help

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"she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex" [SCAN]</h4>
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When Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the original Sherlock Holmes stories between 1887 and 1927, they were groundbreaking in that they helped give rise to serialized stories in which the characters were the central focus. The Canon has been called "<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/11/a-textbook-of-friendship.html#.VZbch_lViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a textbook of friendship</a>" as it followed the relationship between Holmes and Watson as well as the adventures they experienced together. For many people, it was a contemporary and believable chronicle.<br />
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No less groundbreaking and contemporary is the new web series <a href="http://herlock.us/" target="_blank">Herlock</a>. The series explores the vital issues of our time through a Sherlockian framework. Gender bias, LGBTQ issues, personal liberty, corporate power, militarization of the police and more. The things that matter most, tackled by two extraordinary women whose adventures may occasionally remind you of someone else's.<br />
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The central character is veterinary medicine student Jonny Watts, who thinks she has her future planned out - until she meets female private investigator Sheridan Hume, that is. According to the Herlock web site:<br />
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So are Jonny and Sheridan really Holmes and Watson? Well, yes and no. We all know that <b>society responds differently to a brilliant woman than it does to a brilliant man</b>. And that difference has been a part of these women's lives since they were very young. Now that they are adults, the stakes have increased and the gender gap has widened. They are not their male counterparts as envisioned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (or anybody else). And that's part of the excitement of Herlock -- they'll solve mysteries together, they'll negotiate a relationship full of surprising tensions (and rewards), and they'll do it all while confronting the challenges of being smarter-than-average women in the 21st Century.</blockquote>
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Currently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFUMkszczjI&index=1&list=PLnOdI_Q0Z0DqUs2QgCoP4fmP-SBfm1cTc" target="_blank">a single episode in four acts</a> has been created. "Silver Blade" introduces us to the main characters. And that's all there is for now. But it doesn't have to end there!<br />
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There is <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/herlock#/story" target="_blank">an Indiegogo campaign</a> set up that needs your assistance - and the help of those around you. The producers are trying to raise $35,000 by Sunday, July 5.<br />
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Please do what you can to help support this unique and groundbreaking program.<br />
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<i><a href="http://herlock.us/" target="_blank">Herlock</a></i> was created and written by Lee Shackleford, author and star of the off-Broadway hit play <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="141965957X" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="347752d7b1d52c3ed15d0a6fd1f54130" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Holmes & Watson" href="http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Watson-Lee-Eric-Shackleford/dp/141965957X/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=347752d7b1d52c3ed15d0a6fd1f54130&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6503619" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Holmes & Watson</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6503619" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=347752d7b1d52c3ed15d0a6fd1f54130&_cb=1435949917883" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> and the writer responsible for getting Data back into a deerstalker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The pilot was produced and directed by David E. Duncan (S<i>now White and the Huntsman</i>, <i>Iron Man</i> and <i>Iron Man 2</i>, <i>Rise of the Planet of the Apes</i>, <i>Chronicles of Narnia</i>). The Director of Photography was Christopher Popp, whose DP credits include the Emmy-nominated <i>Five</i>, and the critically-acclaimed Bollywood feature <i>Lakshya</i>. The pilot stars Gia Mora (<i>Castle</i>, <i>True Detective</i>, <i>Quality Time</i>), Alana Jordan (<i>The Blind Side of Missing Pieces</i>), and Vince Cusimano (<i>Bigger Than the Beatles</i>, <i>Monsters in the Wood</i>s).<br />
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Please take the time to <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/herlock#/story" target="_blank">make a donation</a> and pass along this message.<br />
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Herlock Needs Your Help

"she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex" [SCAN] When Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the original Sherlock Holmes st...

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by Scott Monty

Here's How Scintillation of Scions VIII Went Down

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"Excellent, Watson! You scintillate today"  [ILLU ]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM152r31LHrENSvzp2ZRmWzsmI6STTJBuipccYwey1fFL70DN1N5vaiQvrHSpTI912DF3rDa264gTSSnhbVMOsow3JNfQk5-GK_ZogLeoEtqgQMxbrtpcTAGjnYJbZ-gObc-FlXRB1qf55/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Scintillation of Scions VIII - the celebrated Sherlockian event" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM152r31LHrENSvzp2ZRmWzsmI6STTJBuipccYwey1fFL70DN1N5vaiQvrHSpTI912DF3rDa264gTSSnhbVMOsow3JNfQk5-GK_ZogLeoEtqgQMxbrtpcTAGjnYJbZ-gObc-FlXRB1qf55/s640/DSC_0013.JPG" title="Scintillation of Scions VIII" width="640" /></a></div>
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In mid-June, <a href="http://scintillation.org/" target="_blank">A Scintillation of Scions VIII</a> (SoS VIII) was held at the <a href="http://sheratonbwiairport.com/" target="_blank">Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport Hotel - BWI</a>. <br />
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The event began with a reception on Friday night. Saturday included a day of presentations, vendor tables, a traditional English afternoon tea and plenty of fellowship and camaraderie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Parthian Shot and the Sussex Vampire were two of the inspired drinks</td></tr>
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The organizing team, led by the SoS creator, <span style="line-height: 24px;">Jacquelynn Morris, </span>BSI ("The Lion's Mane"), ASH, did an amazing job. The venue for the event has grown each year, but has maintained a cozy atmosphere.</div>
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The presentations were wonderful. There were so many highlights. Among them were a presentation about Sherlock and Mental Health, and a genealogist's Sherlockian Family Tree. A couple of the presentations focused on spiritualism, including Doyle's friendship with Houdini. There were presentations about BBC Sherlock, Guy Ritchie's Holmes and costuming. <br />
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Before settling in for our tea, a fencing demonstration burst into the event. Attendees had a chance to learn about techniques from the charming couple who fought their way through a presentation.</div>
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The last presentation of the day was from Lee Shackleford, the author and star of the off-Broadway hit play "Holmes and Watson". He screened the pilot of <i><a href="http://herlock.us/" target="_blank">Herlock</a></i>, a new webseries in which the<br />
familiar characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are interpreted as two young women living in contemporary America. [<b>Ed. note:</b> Please check <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/herlock" target="_blank">Herlock's Indiegogo page</a> and help support it.]<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee Eric Shackleford of Holmes & Watson fame.</td></tr>
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The vendors brought books, videos, jewelry and other things Sherlockian for the attendees to pursue. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeChRVPSO4Urp0sUKhGtFg2vqtyGFx53D1CSyIfOGtnz-y_dDSF7QYx9hSnvCPdQDSehbYoQP-aMu1Jd1fDELrfOVQvN7jpudE2GNdPRed8AOx0SdL27uSaG1m0bnbRjFlyhLa96sreJ4/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeChRVPSO4Urp0sUKhGtFg2vqtyGFx53D1CSyIfOGtnz-y_dDSF7QYx9hSnvCPdQDSehbYoQP-aMu1Jd1fDELrfOVQvN7jpudE2GNdPRed8AOx0SdL27uSaG1m0bnbRjFlyhLa96sreJ4/s640/DSC_0065.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The <span style="color: #333333;">Bag Auction</span> and door prizes were numerous and diverse. Photos with the "Flat Basil" benefitted the House of Ruth. <br />
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In honor of the 123rd anniversary of Basil Rathbone's birth, Saturday night had a Basil Rathbone Celebratory Birthday Dinner/Black and White Dinner that included a viewing of a move starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. The spiritualism theme was carried through in the choice of movie, <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B0000APVC7" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="0025e8e7cea0e3d83d528a2a65ce22af" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Scarlet Claw" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Scarlet-Claw/dp/B0000APVC7/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=0025e8e7cea0e3d83d528a2a65ce22af&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9116878" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Scarlet Claw</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9116878" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=0025e8e7cea0e3d83d528a2a65ce22af&_cb=1435799864137" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>.<br />
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The attendees were a diverse and enthusiastic group, and included many people new to the world of Sherlock Holmes. Old and new friends met. Those new people I met were planning to come back to future events. It was lively event, full of thought provoking and entertaining speakers.</div>
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The proceeds from registration and fundraising were used to cover web costs, all event expenses, and donations to Sherlock Holmes-related projects and <a href="http://www.hruth.org/" target="_blank">The House of Ruth</a>.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 24px;">Each year, Jacquelynn and her team surpass their previous success. Here's looking forward to SoS IX, which takes place <b>June 10-11, 2016</b>.</span><br />
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If you'd like to see more photos from the event, <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskfntDYZ" target="_blank">check out this album on Flickr</a>.<br />
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Here's How Scintillation of Scions VIII Went Down

"Excellent, Watson! You scintillate today" [ILLU ] In mid-June, A Scintillation of Scions VIII (SoS VIII) was held at the...

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by M. M. M.

Remembering Patrick Macnee

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"handsome, and dashing" [SCAN]</h4>
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Actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001495/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Patrick Macnee</a> has passed away at the age of 93 at his home in California, due to natural causes.<br />
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While widely known for his portrayal of secret agent John Steed with Diana Rigg's Emma Peel in the 1960s television show <i>The Avengers</i>, and perhaps less so for his role opposite Roger Moore in <i>A View to a Kill</i>, Macnee has a deeper connection to Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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In 1991 and 1992, Patrick Macnee portrayed Dr. Watson to Christopher Lee's Sherlock Holmes in two films: <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B008L0YN22" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="0b27ff5e3812a0c6a23dfcc2e639c64c" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-TV-Miniseries-Collection/dp/B008L0YN22/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=0b27ff5e3812a0c6a23dfcc2e639c64c&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_652879" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_652879" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=0b27ff5e3812a0c6a23dfcc2e639c64c&_cb=1435262899459" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> and <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="6302278872" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="a138b02fdcb17d80cafabab1ebb8c3d5" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Incident at Victoria Falls" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Incident-Victoria-Falls/dp/6302278872/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=socialmediama-20&linkId=a138b02fdcb17d80cafabab1ebb8c3d5&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_892212" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Incident at Victoria Falls</a><span style="border-color: initial !important; border-image-outset: initial !important; border-image-repeat: initial !important; border-image-slice: initial !important; border-image-source: initial !important; border-image-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important;"><i><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_892212" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=a138b02fdcb17d80cafabab1ebb8c3d5&_cb=1435262918327" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i></span>, in which they portrayed a retired duo assigned to tasks by Mycroft Holmes and King Edward VII and meet Irene Adler and Lillie Langtry, respectively.<br />
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Of course, Macnee's co-star <a href="http://ihose.co/christopherlee" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christopher Lee passed away</a> exactly two weeks ago, also aged 93.<br />
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But perhaps more interesting is Macnee sharing the distinction with only a handful of other actors (including Jeremy Brett, Reginald Owen, Edward Woodward, Howard Marion-Crawford and a select other few) of playing both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Macnee appeared as Sherlock Holmes in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hound_of_London">The Hound of London</a></i> (1993) and in an episode of <i>Magnum, P.I.</i> as David Worth, who believed he was Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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While we're on the subject of interesting, the connections to three of Macnee's co-stars above should hold some attention. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/05/remembering-roger-moore.html">Roger Moore</a>, aside from playing James Bond, also played Sherlock Holmes in <i>Sherlock Holmes in New York</i> - another film in which Macnee played Dr. Watson, notching his appearances as Watson at three. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/11/remembering-john-hillerman.html">John Hillerman</a> was of course Higgins from <i>Magnum, P.I.</i>, where his appearance with Macnee was as his Watson, and he also played Watson to Edward Woodward's Sherlock Holmes in <i>The Hands of a Murderer</i>. And Dame Diana Rigg took over the hosting duties at <i>Mystery </i>for Vincent Price, and she introduced a number of the later Jeremy Brett episodes on the program.<br />
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Remembering Patrick Macnee

"handsome, and dashing" [SCAN] Actor Patrick Macnee has passed away at the age of 93 at his home in California, due to natu...

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by Scott Monty

Celebrating Father's Day with Sherlock Holmes

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"I had the story from my father" [HOUN]</h4>
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From the relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Altamont Doyle to the various fathers and father figures in the Canon, it's fascinating to consider paternal impacts in the Sherlock Holmes stories.<br />
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Far from being a homogeneous and idyllic characterization of fatherhood like some greeting card, fathers in the Sherlock Holmes stories are a mixed bag. The heroic John Ferrier and magnanimous Grant Munro represent the best in fathers, while on the other end of the spectrum, the nefarious Grimesby Roylott and Jephro Rucastle show just how abusive and criminal some can be.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134350122&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Perhaps this is an opportunity to listen to <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose43" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 43</a> again - an evergreen episode in which we dissect and analyze certain father figures. Interestingly, many stand-in fathers tend to be better paternal figures than the biological fathers. See if you agree.<br />
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And until next year, we have the pleasure to wish you a very happy Father's Day, however you may celebrate it.<br />
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Celebrating Father's Day with Sherlock Holmes

"I had the story from my father" [HOUN] From the relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Altamont Doyle to the va...

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by Scott Monty

Never Too Young for Holmes: Author Interview with Elizabeth Veradan

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"which a child could open" [SCAN]</h4>
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I am always happy to hear of  a new Holmes pastiche, but what really gets me excited is when it is a pastiche aimed at younger readers.  To make certain that the character of Sherlock Holmes remains the world's most known literary figure, it is important to introduce young readers to the character at an early age.  Author Elizabeth Varadan ensures that a number of young readers, particularly upper elementary and middle school aged children, will get to know Sherlock Holmes when they solve a case alongside a plucky ten year old girl in her new novel, <i><a href="http://www.strandmag.com/Imogene-and-the-Case-of-the-Missing-Pearls-by-Elizabeth-Varadan-_p_8701.html" target="_blank">Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls</a></i>.  I recently interviewed Ms. Varadan via e-mail while she was vacationing in Spain, on her new book, her previous work for children, and her current literary projects.<br />
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<b>IHOSE: What made you decide to write a story starring a ten year old girl teaming up with Sherlock Holmes?</b></h4>
<b>Elizabeth Varadan: </b>A few years ago I visited my brother and his wife in England, and they took me to the <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/home.htm" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Museum</a> on Baker Street in London. I was charmed. I already had read the canon and some pastiches, and I thought, <i>Wouldn’t it be fun to write something about Sherlock Holmes?</i> Then I forgot all about it. Sometime later in a used bookstore, I came across Lenore Vlegbad’s delightful children’s book, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1LnAGtU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kitty and Mr. Kipling</a></i>, about a little girl who became friends with Rudyard Kipling during the time he and his family lived in Vermont. The idea came to me, <i>Wouldn’t it be fun to write a story about a little girl who became friends with Sherlock Holmes?</i> And then that idea grew into, <i>What if she actually helped him solve a case?</i></div>
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<b>IHOSE: One of the delights in reading the book is your portrayal of your characters. You paint pictures with your descriptions of the crabby governess , the ragged delivery boy, and the bratty cousin. Do you sketch out your characters before you draft or do they come alive as you craft your story?</b></h4>
<b>EV: </b>Thank you! For me, it varies. Often the characters grow as I write the story. I’ll have a general idea of the main character and the story line, and they both evolve together. Some characters, arrive full-blown. Rusty was that sort of character. Except for having to get help from English friends with his Cockney accent, I somehow knew what he would do and say as scenes unfolded. Likewise Miss Mullin and the servants. I’m working on a book now, though, that requires a lot of character development ahead of time. It’s a cozy mystery for adults, more plot-driven, and it seems to call for more advance work. I’m not sure why.</div>
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<b>IHOSE:  In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=92&v=NpBXxmTVdvM" target="_blank">trailer</a> for your book, you have a plucky young girl playing the part of Imogene.  Is the character based on the little girl?</b></h4>
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<b>EV:</b> The girl that plays Imogene in the trailer happens to be the daughter of a magician friend of mine whom I met when I was publicizing <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1GmRyMY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fourth Wish</a></i> (which involves magic.) He's a professional magician with a magic shop and he performs at parties, etc. What's wonderful is that "Maddie" is ten-almost-eleven, the exact age of Imogene, and has a similar personality -- by accident. I hadn't met her before the trailer and her appearance at my book signing. Imogene herself was based more on my personality when I was that age and so enamored of Nancy Drew. I and my friends decided we were a detective ring, and we made real pests of ourselves in the neighborhood, investigating what we hope were suspicious occurrences.</div>
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<b>IHOSE: Tell us about some of your other writing for children.  You self-published the book <i>The Fourth Wish</i>, and you have been published in magazines for kids such as <i>Skipping Stones</i> and <i>Ladybug</i>.  What are some of your favorite pieces?</b></h4>
<b>EV:</b> Usually my favorite piece is the one I’ve just finished, because I’m still high on it. But I have a collection of stories for children that is really near and dear to my heart. Story collections don’t sell well in the U. S., alas, so I’m considering self-publishing that one. Another book is a historical MG (i.e. book aimed at middle level readers) I’ve worked on for years involving a ghost. It needs a few more re-writes, but I utterly love this story, and I got some excellent encouragement from a well-published author at a recent conference that led me to believe it’s more marketable.<br />
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<b>IHOSE:  The question I ask all Sherlockians.   If you were stranded on a desert island with only one Sherlock Holmes story, which would it be and why?</b></h4>
<b>EV:</b> Oh, gosh. That’s hard. Probably "A Scandal in Bohemia." I like the cleverness of Irene Adler and Sherlock’s admiration of her. They are such a good match.<br />
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<b>IHOSE: What are your current projects?  </b></h4>
<b>EV:</b> Right now I’m pretty immersed in the cozy mystery for adults that I mentioned above. After that, I have two more books involving Imogene and Rusty that are roughly sketched out.<br />
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<b>IHOSE:  Any last thoughts?</b></h4>
<b>EV:</b> Well, this isn’t about my own writing, but I’ve been delighted to find MX Publishing and more Sherlockian writers, like yourself. I love mysteries. I love Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I love books that plunge me into the world of the Victorians. So I feel like I have a wealth of books at my fingertips that I can look forward to reading, one by one.<br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/1JZQohu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Elizabeth Varadan</a></b> is a former elementary school teacher. She taught most elementary grades, but her favorites were the middle grades, and she now writes middle grade fiction. She and her husband live in Midtown Sacramento, California, a beautiful tree-lined neighborhood with bookshops and art stores nearby. Her children’s fiction and poetry have appeared in Ladybug, Friends, and Skipping Stones Magazine. Her adult flash fiction has appeared in several online and print magazines, and her poetry has been anthologized in Vine Leaves Journal and The Stray Branch.<br />
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You can read Elizabeth Varadan's blogs <a href="http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a> and<a href="http://victorianscribbles.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> here</a>.  She is also on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/4thwishvaradan" target="_blank">@4thwishvaradan</a>) and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethVaradanAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">For more of Derrick Belanger's I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere articles, click <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Derrick%20Belanger#.VWHEBU9VhBc" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a>.  To learn more about Derrick Belanger's Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books, click <a href="http://amzn.to/1ct0qc6" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a>.</i><br />
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Never Too Young for Holmes: Author Interview with Elizabeth Veradan

"which a child could open" [SCAN] I am always happy to hear of a new Holmes pastiche, but what really gets me excited ...

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by Belanger Books

The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo

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"At Waterloo we were fortunate" [SPEC]</h4>
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Two hundred years ago today, British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington defeated French forces led by the Emperor Napoleon, and everything in the European-centered world changed. Without the Battle of Waterloo, fought at a ridge a few miles south of Brussels, Sherlockians would not have the story of "The Six Napoleons," Canada would not have a city named Waterloo (where I now live), and history would not be able to remember the "long Victorian age", stretching from June 1815 to an August 99 years later.<br />
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During that long Victorian age the British Empire reached its zenith, Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes were born and lived and worked — and in Britain and the nations linked to it there was no net inflation for 100 years. Stability in prices and interest rates over that long period is the unstated background to many financial facts in the Sherlock Holmes canon, such as Mary Sutherland's New Zealand investments in "A Case of Identity." Such luxuries were possible because after June 18, 1815, Europe was no longer menaced by "Boney," the Emperor whose military and political ambitions knew no bounds.<br />
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The Napoleonic Wars (background to Horatio Hornblower's exploits and to North America's piddling little War of 1812) lasted some fifteen years, becoming an obsession in Britain, to say nothing of the effect they had in continental Europe where they were mostly fought. And after Waterloo, and Napoleon's exile to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, they cast a long shadow forward.<br />
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Eighty years later, Watson could say with a perfectly straight face that "a man who had... received some hereditary family injury through the great war, might conceivably form... an <i>idee fixe</i> and under its influence be capable of any fantastic outrage." The story in which he says that gives many other indications of what a constant presence Napoleon was in British life. (And "the Napoleon of crime" was a natural, and naturally understood, epithet for Moriarty.)<br />
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Waterloo, Ontario, and Waterloo, New York, both got their name in 1816, when the news of the battle was fresh. In London, Waterloo Bridge across the Thames was built in 1817 and named as a memorial to the battle. Waterloo Station, from which Holmes and Watson frequently took southbound trains (to Leatherhead in the case of "The Speckled Band," for example) was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway and first named Waterloo Bridge Station, becoming just "Waterloo Station" in 1886 at about the time of "The Beryl Coronet."<br />
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The Canon refers directly to the 1815 battle just once, in "The Abbey Grange," when Holmes says: "We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo, for it begins in defeat and ends in victory." Marengo, fought in Italy in 1800, was a last-minute victory for the French forces, little known today but familiar, like so much else about the Napoleonic Wars, to gentlemen of the 1890s. Waterloo was an undisputed victory for Britain and a disastrous defeat for France.<br />
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If Sherlock Holmes was knowledgeable about Napoleon and Waterloo, Arthur Conan Doyle was obsessed: he wrote a short story, "A Straggler of '15", which was turned into the one-act play "Waterloo"; he presents Napoleon in the novels <i>The Great Shadow</i> (with a colourful description of the events at Waterloo) and Uncle Bernac; and, most important, he brings the Napoleonic era to life in his stories of Brigadier Gerard. It is no surprise that one of those tales is "How the Brigadier Bore Himself at Waterloo". <br />
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It also no surprise that the name of Waterloo is still vividly remembered — particularly, one hopes, by Sherlockians.<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="http://visualoblivion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">"Scotland Forever!"</a> by Elizabeth Thompson - Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scotland_Forever!.jpg#/media/File:Scotland_Forever!.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
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The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo

"At Waterloo we were fortunate" [SPEC] Two hundred years ago today, British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington...

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by Chris Redmond

Mr. Holmes - A First Review

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"an admirable screen" [HOUN]</h4>
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From the tweeted still images, to the multiple trailers, to countless interviews, <i><a href="http://mrholmesfilm.com/" target="_blank">Mr. Holmes</a></i> is finally here. And it was well worth the wait. The opening scene sets the tone for the entire movie: you immediately get a glimpse of the man that is Sherlock Holmes (Sir Ian McKellen) as he is in his later years. </div>
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Shortly after the opening credits the story begins to unfold in three parts. Sherlock is now retired and living in his cottage with a housekeeper and her son. As he is growing older, dementia has begun to set in. You find that he has just returned from Japan, where he traveled to find ‘prickly ash’ in belief that it would salvage what is left of his mind. The reason he wants to desperately find the plant is because while reading one of Watson’s published short stories, Holmes notices that the ending is wrong, only he can’t remember what really happened. </div>
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The story is one of regret, hope and, most of all, family. Regret over the case that ended Holmes’ career. Hope for his quest to find a cure for his aging mind. And the family he has both lost, rejected, and found along the way. </div>
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The scenes are beautifully shot, and whether on location or in a studio the transitions between spaces and even the three different storylines is flawless. There was no confusion at what point in the tale anything falls or who is involved, and while this may seem basic practice by any writer, that they have managed to keep that while filming and editing separate but interwoven tales is worth noting. </div>
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The settings are colorful and vibrant, often in contradiction with the story being told, but this brings the world to life. Every space is well dressed and fits with the characters' personalities and stations. And you can truly believe not only are they real and in these places but you are present with them.  </div>
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As for the casting, it was refreshing to see a movie staring Ian McKellen that allows, in some cases, him to act without words. One of the many things that critics admire about him is his ability to tell a story or have a conversation without even opening his mouth. Director Bill Condon has embraced this talent in many scenes but not so many that it felt overused or gimmicky; especially when Holmes is struggling against dementia or the general tiredness of a human body that is giving out. Poignant moments that would have been diminished by words are enhanced by an actor’s ability to not only act his part but feel it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Ian McKellen at the post-screening press conference at the Soho Hotel in London</td></tr>
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Milo Parker as Roger, Holmes's protege, while still relatively unknown, is already a force of his own on the screen. His command of Roger’s youthful innocence is well balanced with the child that is having to grow up before his time. His interactions with Holmes highlight both characters growth, the boy in knowledge and the man in admitting his humanity.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roger with Sherlock Holmes on the Sussex d=Downs</td></tr>
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Laura Linney shines as Mrs. Munro, who is both Roger’s mother and Holmes’ housekeeper. At times one can not help disfavor but love and weep for her simultaneously. Her hurt from the loss of her husband and sometimes bitterness she has towards Holmes is heartbreaking and so real that you can almost taste the tears she must have cried.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Holmes and Mrs. Munro</td></tr>
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The rest of the cast, a full list of names that you can’t help but recognize, such as Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, and Philip Davis, comes together with an onscreen chemistry that is sometimes lacking in modern cinema. There is even a nod to fans of Holmesian film interest with Nicholas Rowe donning the deerstalker once again as our favorite Detective. </div>
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The only real complaint is that the absence of our beloved Dr. Watson is physically tangible, more than is noticeable in <i>A Slight Trick of the Mind</i> by Mitch Cullen, upon which this film is based. Maybe that is because when thinking back to the canon, Watson often left himself out of most of the details of the stories, and in the book that translates well. However, in the film, the role appears to be split between two different characters: Dr. Barrie (Roger Allam) and the young boy Roger. And while these two make a graceful attempt at the role of Watson, the writing ultimately fails at putting them in our good Doctor's shoes.</div>
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This film is a must-see for fans not only of Sherlock Holmes but of the cinema as well. And of course fans of bees, which in a Q&A with Sir Ian recently, he assured us were not harmed in the making of this film.</div>
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<i>Mr. Holmes</i> opens in the UK on 19 June and the US on July 17<sup>th</sup>.<br />
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Mr. Holmes - A First Review

"an admirable screen" [HOUN] From the tweeted still images, to the multiple trailers, to countless interviews, Mr. Holmes ...

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by LadyRedCrest

Episode 78: Legal and Leisure Ramblings

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"the incoherent ramblings of these sots" [TWIS]</h4>
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The 15th of every month brings a new episode, and our latest is chock full of Sherlockian nuggets. There's a legal case afoot, in case you haven't heard. We cover the latest broadside from the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. - the #FreeMrHolmes saga - and discuss the movie starring Sir Ian McKellen. We ponder Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's epitaph if written under the present clouds of the estate's business dealings.<br />
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We also take a moment to pause and reflect on the screening of the William Gillette 1916 film, our 1,000th post and the Scintillation of Scions event. It's been a busy month!<br />
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Burt takes us on an audio journey to Roslyn in the Hoboken-Free State to celebrate the 125th birthday of Christopher Morley, founder of the Baker Street Irregulars. There we hear from Morley scholar and <i>Baker Street Journal</i> editor Steven Rothman, BSI ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>") and Terry Hunt, BSI ("The Something Hunt"), as well as two grandchildren of Morley.<br />
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Mental Exaltation</h3>
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Another installment of our successful quiz program, written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli, is all about the legal profession in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Sandy Kozinn joined us from New Jersey to play - listen to hear how she did.</div>
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We welcome a guest reader for this episode's Gas-Lamp reading: <a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/" target="_blank">Ray Betzner</a>. Ray gave a touching talk at the BSI Dinner in January and an encore presentation at the Sons of the Copper Beeches in April. It is titled "A Case of Identity: Sigerson's Choice" and it is remarkable.<br />
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Finally, we conclude with some listener comments, including a very surprising duo.<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock078.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 43.8 MB, 1:35:25</h4>
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Links:</h3>
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<li>You may have missed <a href="http://scintillation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Scintillation of Scions VIII</a>, but edition IX is coming next year.</li>
<li>We had a representative at the screening of William Gillette's 1916 silent classic Sherlock Holmes at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival last month. You can read <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/06/sherlock-holmes-in-san-francisco.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tim Greer's impressions of the event and the film here</a>.</li>
<li>And if you'd like to see the restoration yourself, the DVD and Blu-ray are coming out in October - <a href="http://ihose.co/1916bluray" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">order it here</a>.</li>
<li>We celebrated our 1,000th post on the site: <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose1000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ihose.co/ihose1000</a></li>
<li>The summary of <a href="http://ihose.co/freemrholmes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the #FreeMrHolmes saga</a>.</li>
<li>Related: you might wish to educate yourself with Betsy Rosenblatt's scholarly legal treatise <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2321343" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Adventure of the Shrinking Public Domain</a>.</li>
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Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">ihose.co/scoopsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,500 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.<br />
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Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br />
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Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br />
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<h3>
Sponsors</h3>
This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention:<br />
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<a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</i></a>)<br />
<a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about <i>The Seven Per-Cent Solution</i>.<br />
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We welcome mystery writer Dan Andriacco. His upcoming novel Rogues Gallery is the latest in the Sebastian McCabe - Jeff Cody Series. Learn more on Dan’s blog <a href="http://danandriacco.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Beat</a> at <a href="http://danandriacco.com/">DanAndriacco.com</a>.</div>
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We're also pleased to recognize Joseph Vega, William Simpson, Bob Byrne, Peter Lawrence, James O'Leary and Mary Miller for their generous support. If you would like to <a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=hK1xNvhQD0hKUPaO-TnV5azaGpfRrj_75PdqgxehR-vhAaZ3WgAkiSXu6LC&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d96f000117187ac9edec8a65b311f447e" target="_blank">help support I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>, you can <a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=hK1xNvhQD0hKUPaO-TnV5azaGpfRrj_75PdqgxehR-vhAaZ3WgAkiSXu6LC&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d96f000117187ac9edec8a65b311f447e" target="_blank">click here</a> or on the "Donate" button in the upper portion of the site.<br />
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Episode 78: Legal and Leisure Ramblings

"the incoherent ramblings of these sots" [TWIS] The 15th of every month brings a new episode, and our latest is cho...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Sir Christopher Lee

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Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93.<br />
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Even without horror and fantasy films, Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (1922 - 2015) would still have enjoyed an illustrious career.<br />
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The son of a British army officer and an Italian contessa, Lee served in the Second World War with RAF Intelligence and the Special Operations Executive. After the war, he pursued a film career, landing a speaking role in <i>Captain Horatio Hornblower, R.N. </i>(1951), when the director wanted an actor who could fence and speak Spanish. Lee could do both.<br />
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Over the next 65 years, he would record seven solo albums and appear as a guest artist on 17 more, receive a knighthood for his charity work, and amass more than 275 film acting credits. He played the villain Scaramanga in the James Bond film <i>The Man with the Golden Gun</i>, the swashbuckling Rochefort in Richard Lester's <i>The Three Musketeers</i>, the founder of modern Pakistan in <i>Jinna</i>, and, on various occasions, Sir Henry Baskerville, and both Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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After appearing as Sir Henry in <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1TdJjg7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i> (1959), opposite his great friend Peter Cushing, Lee first played Sherlock Holmes in <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1TdJqrW" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace</a></i>, an underrated international production filmed in Germany in 1962. He played a slimmed-down Mycroft Holmes in the acclaimed 1970 production of Billy Wilder's <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1QrcZHA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, opposite Robert Stephens, then returned as Sherlock Holmes in the early 1990s in a pair of telefilms, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Qre6Hh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady</a></i> and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Qre8ir" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Incident at Victoria Falls</a></i>.<br />
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Despite his appearances (and second career) in recent blockbuster franchises like <i>Star Wars</i> and <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, and his long association with the films of director Tim Burton, Christopher Lee's film career will likely forever be linked with the wildly successful and still much-admired horror movies he made at Hammer Films. Often appearing with Peter Cushing, Lee breathed new life into the tired black and white monster-film franchises of the '30s and '40s, ramping them up for the '50s and '60s with liberal doses of Eastmancolour blood, close-quarters violence, and panting sex appeal.<br />
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Though Cushing and Lee did indelible work as Victor Frankenstein and his Creature in <i>The Curse of Frankenstein</i> (1957), and as an obsessed Egyptologist and his prize in <i>The Mummy</i> (1959), the stalwart companions will best be remembered as the dauntless vampire hunter, Van Helsing, and his eternal nemesis, Count Dracula, in a series of Hammer vampire films that began with <i>Horror of Dracula</i> (1958). Lee was one of several actors, <b>Frank Langella</b> and <b>Jeremy Brett</b> among them, to have played both the Count and the Great Detective.<br />
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Sir Christopher Lee was an important player not only in many films, but in film history, and a significant contributor to celluloid legacy of Sherlock Holmes. In the mid-1980s, during the height of that decade's Sherlock-mania that included the new Granada series starring Jeremy Brett and the Steven Spielberg-produced Young Sherlock Holmes, Lee hosted a retrospective titled <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1TdJ6cW" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>. In it, he took us on a tour throughout London - including the sitting room recreation at the Sherlock Holmes Pub - and of Sherlock Holmes as portrayed on stage and screen throughout the years.<br />
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For a brief glimpse of the man behind the movies, take a moment to enjoy this clip of Lee and Cushing before the press, while recording the narration for a documentary on Hammer Films. The ailing Cushing could not travel to London for the recording, so Lee insisted the entire project relocate to a studio near Cushing's home in Whitstable. It was the two friends' last collaboration, and, as always, they are clearly having a ball.<br />
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Please join us in standing on the terrace for one of the last links to a golden age of Sherlock Holmes and a true gentleman.<br />
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Remembering Sir Christopher Lee

"dazed at the horror of the thing" [FINA] Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93. Even without horror and fantasy ...

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by Tim Greer

John, Holmes and the Emotional Connection

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Why, what on earth does this mean, John?" [FIVE]</h4>
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What did Gary Hopkins know in 1988 that Sherlockians still argue about a quarter of a century later?<br />
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The perceptive Sherlockian blogger <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.ca/2011/03/meaning-of-this-extraordinary.html" target="_blank">Jaime Mahoney actually commented on Hopkins's insight</a> several years ago, but that was in another era, before the "relationship" between Holmes and Watson became the hot topic it is now. It's been the focus of much attention around the BBC "Sherlock" series and CBS's "Elementary", and the more I hear about "Sherlock and John" on the BBC show, or "Sherlock and Joan" on CBS, the more I ask myself what signs of that relationship can be detected in the actual, original Sherlock Holmes tales.<br />
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We can (and should) ignore the phrase "my dear Watson", which Holmes uses 78 times in the Canon, and the reciprocal "my dear Holmes", which Watson uses only 16 times. That was a convention of the times, just as young men sharing accommodations for financial reasons was a widespread custom. (Anybody familiar with W. S. Gilbert's early farce "Cox and Box"?)<br />
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But here and there in the stories one finds a hint about how the two men thought of one another. Clearly the friendship grew closer over time;. After Holmes's apparent death at the Reichenbach Falls, Watson called him "the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known," which sounds respectful rather than affectionate, but when Holmes reappeared in London, not dead in spite of all the evidence, Watson fainted. That brief episode was examined and cross-examined in detail after its modern expression by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman was presented in "The Empty Hearse" last year.<br />
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Other than the emotions surrounding Holmes's death and resurrection, the Canon offers two important incidents where the partners have occasion to show their feelings for one another. One, famously, is in "The Three Garridebs" — the Canonical story many fans are longing to see dramatized by the Cumberduo — when Killer Evans pulls his revolver and shoots Watson in the thigh. "You're not hurt, Watson?" Holmes cries. "For God's sake, say that you are not hurt!" And Watson records: "It was worth a wound — it was worth many wounds — to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask." But to his friend he makes little of it: "It's nothing, Holmes. It's a mere scratch."<br />
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The other incident comes at the climax of "The Devil's Foot", when Holmes, impatient to test his theory that a west African ordeal poison has been put to use in a remote house in Cornwall, subjects himself and Watson to the same dreadful fumes. Watson describes the effect on his senses: "I broke through that cloud of despair and had a glimpse of Holmes's face, white, rigid, and drawn with horror. I dashed from my chair, threw my arms round Holmes, and together we lurched through the door." In a moment the two are "lying side by side, conscious only of the glorious sunshine", a somewhat suggestive phrase out of context. And what does Holmes say when he regains his breath? "Upon my word, Watson!" Nothing could be more Victorian.<br />
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But it brings us back to Gary Hopkins. The name may not ring a very loud bell, but he wrote four of the scripts for the "Granada" Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett, including "The Devil's Foot" in 1988. His script for that one includes a prolonged and rather cheesy hallucination scene in which Brett's Holmes sees himself bleeding hideously and relives the terrifying confrontation at the Reichenbach. (The whole thing is a foretaste of more extensive Brett hallucinations that would be seen in Granada episodes released a few years later.)<br />
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And in Hopkins's version of "The Devil's Foot", what one word does Sherlock Holmes utter after Watson urgently repeats "Holmes! Holmes!" and shakes him vigorously?<br />
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"John!"<br />
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He never calls John H. Watson by that name anywhere else in all their adventures. And if he did say it on that terrible day in Cornwall, Watson left it out of the Canon. But if he did . . . if he did . . .<br />
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John, Holmes and the Emotional Connection

"Why, what on earth does this mean, John?" [FIVE] What did Gary Hopkins know in 1988 that Sherlockians still argue about a qu...

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by Chris Redmond

Sherlock Holmes in San Francisco: The Triumph of William Gillette

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"These relics have a history, then?" [MUSG]</h4>
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It was the day. The hour. Almost the very minute.<br />
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In the semi-darkness of San Franciso's opulent Castro Theatre, a capacity crowd of 1,400 listened as Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder"), introduced the U.S. premiere of the restored version of William Gillette's <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> (1916), the long-believed-lost holy grail of Sherlockian filmdom. For hours before the 7 p.m. start time, the sidewalk in front of the Castro was crowded with unfortunate souls vying for tickets to the sold-out event, and the atmosphere on this delectable Sunday evening in May was positively electric. <br />
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Critics gushed when the film appeared a century ago. Said <i>The New York Morning Telegraph</i>: "From the beginning to the end of this seven-part feature there is not a dull moment." The <i>New York Dramatic Mirror</i> called it, "a screen triumph with a varied assortment of punches – and veritable triphammer punches, all of them." But vintage praises could hardly ease my mind. Would the film hold the attention of moviegoers who had seen <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075194/" target="_blank">The Seven-Per-Cent Solution</a></i> and Guy Ritchie's <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></i>? Could a feature-length Sherlock Holmes silent film still connect with an audience in 2015? And, most of all, there was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gillette" target="_blank">William Gillette</a> – would he disappoint? Or was he, as Orson Welles declared, "the immortal Sherlock Holmes"?<br />
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The lights dimmed, the screen flickered, and we were off. On a scale of 1 to 10, the enthusiasm for William Gillette's <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> had been at Level Nine before the film began; two hours later, it had officially been turned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven" target="_blank">up to 11</a>.<br />
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<h3>
Some background</h3>
Prior to Gillette's film, Holmes had made cinematic history more than once. The 1903 Edison short <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmffCrlgY-c" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Baffled</a></i> was the first detective film. Mack Sennett, founder of Keystone, was Holmes in <i>The $500 Reward</i> in 1911. In 1914 came two versions of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>: one made in the U.S., with future six-time Oscar-winner <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ford" target="_blank">John Ford</a> as Dr. Watson; the other, the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/09/the-great-lost-sherlock-holmes-movie.html#.VXH8XmBq6_s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">first Holmes film made in England</a>, with James Bragington as the great detective.<br />
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But none of these was as yearned-for as the one-and-only film of William Gillette, and for good reason: Gillette was perhaps the most fully invested of all the actors who have played Holmes. He adapted and co-produced the 1899 play <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, in the process naming the page "Billy," a detail that later turned up in the Canon itself.<br />
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Gillette played Holmes over 1,300 times, even performing the role for Arthur Conan Doyle, and was the first Holmes on radio. He was the model for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Dorr_Steele" target="_blank">Frederick Dorr Steele's illustrations</a>, and he attended <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/02/the-1934-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">the 1934 BSI dinner</a> in December of that year, along with Christopher Morley and Vincent Starrett. It was he who gave Holmes the calabash-and-meerschaum pipe so widely identified with him that it is now "a Sherlock Holmes pipe." Gillette was "all in" as Sherlock Holmes, and it was tragic that the only visual record of his performance, the 1916 film made at Chicago's Essanay studios, was no more. But then the too-good-to-be-true happened.<br />
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A dupe negative was <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">discovered in the Cinematheque Francaise archive</a>. It was repaired and scanned at Italy's Cineteca di Bologna, and the resulting frames were sent to Robert Byrne, the president of the <a href="http://www.silentfilm.org/" target="_blank">San Francisco Silent Film Festival</a>, who painstakingly removed scratches, motes, and other damage, then oversaw the re-coloring of the film to its original orange-tinted interiors and blue-tinted nighttime exteriors. The Chicago History Museum loaned the restoration team a 1901 copy of Gillette's play, with the author's manuscript notes, as a reference for constructing new English intertitles.<br />
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But what about the film itself?</h3>
The results are in: As a film, <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> is very, very good. In places, it is even great. It is old-school and up-to-date, weird and wonderful, puzzling and thrilling, wacky and delightful, hilarious, hypnotic, and thoroughly entertaining – in short, it's just about everything one could ask for in a Sherlock Holmes film. Those interested may find the <a href="http://www.theatredatabase.com/20th_century/sherlock_holmes.html" target="_blank">details of the plot here</a>, as the film adheres closely to Gillette's stage production, and his skills as a dramatist leap from stage to screen admirably.<br />
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I am happy to report, moreover, that <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> is a film in the true sense. The first narrative film might have been Melies' <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Trip_to_the_Moon" target="_blank">A Trip to the Moon</a></i> but for one problem: Melies locks the camera in place (in a theatre) and performs a play in front of it. It was Edwin S. Porter's <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Train_Robbery_(1903_film)" target="_blank">The Great Train Robbery</a></i> (1903) that first used extensive cross-cutting to depict simultaneous storylines, and first moved the camera to follow the action.<br />
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Gillette's film makes expert use of the latest innovations in camera technique: Double exposure shots and editing through dissolves, methods pioneered in <i>Story of a Crime</i> (1901), are taken to a new level, and the camera pans are almost imperceptible in their smoothness. Most impressive are a pair of tracking shots, especially one in which Holmes searches a room for clues; the technique was so new that it was still called a "<i>Cabiria</i> movement," after <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOWicOwtHa8" target="_blank">the 1914 Italian film</a> in which it first appeared. But the tracking shots in <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> are such an improvement over anything in <i>Cabiria</i> as to beleaguer comparison.<br />
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As to the restored print, Rob Byrne and the restoration team have done one of the finest jobs of saving a classic film that I have ever seen. The image quality of the restored <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> is astonishing, and today's viewers are being treated to a better-looking film than even the original audience experienced:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/128699218?byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe> <br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/128699218" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes (1916) - Restoration Demo</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/silentrobert">SilentRobert</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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Saving the best for last, there are outstanding supporting performances in <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, notably Edward Fielding as Watson, Burford Hampden as Billy, Stewart Robbins as Forman, William Postance as Sid, and Ernest Maupain as Moriarty, sporting a Guignol left eye as inexplicable as Dr. Watson's first initial of "G." Moreover, even the inferior performances manage to be delightful: They are bold, barefaced, and never boring, rather like a series of cameos by Nicolas Cage in his "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CanOZjrn0Jo" target="_blank">mega-acting</a>" period.<br />
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Concerning William Gillette, it is plain to see why his Holmes lit up the world's theatre marquees for 33 years. Calvin Coolidge called the performance, "a public service"; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle added, "you made the poor hero of the anemic printed page a very limp object as compared with the glamour of your own personality." The intricacy of Gillette's byplay stands in a class by itself, and his snarky interactions with the villains are sure to delight even the most jaded of today's audience members. (One exchange in the Stepney Gas Chamber would be criminal to spoil without warning.)<br />
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The best moment of the screening came after an interview with the baddies. Holmes returns to 221B Baker Street, where he is greeted by Dr. Watson; he doffs his coat, and stands waiting for Billy. The page brings forth — and slips our hero into — what may as well be a cross between the Mantle of the Prophet and the Golden Fleece: the famous Gillettean dressing-gown.  I have seen a good many movies in my time, and in my time there have been a great many movies that have been seen by me, but never yet had I seen a sold-out house go berserk over a dressing-gown, nor witnessed a costume receive a standing ovation, until that moment.<br />
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If convenient, see <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> – for the first time – on the big screen. If inconvenient, do so all the same. But should this prove impossible, be advised that the <a href="http://ihose.co/1916bluray" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DVD and Blu-ray release</a> from Flicker Alley will be available on October 20, 2015, and it might be wise to pre-order your copy. With any luck, the work of the <a href="http://silentfilm.org/festival/music-musicians/donald-sosin" target="_blank">Donald Sosin Ensemble</a>, who brilliantly accompanied the film in its San Francisco screening, will be included on this release, but, even if not, the purchase price will be well spent.<br />
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In 1916, the <i>Chicago Tribune</i> called <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, "a production to which Essanay may point with pride … for future and again future revival." The future is here at last; for William Gillette, it's so bright, he has to wear shades.<br />
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Sherlock Holmes in San Francisco: The Triumph of William Gillette

"These relics have a history, then?" [MUSG] It was the day. The hour. Almost the very minute. In the semi-darkness of San F...

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by Tim Greer

Reaching a Milestone

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"after a thousand cunning windings" [FINA]</h4>
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We tend to focus our efforts on Sherlock Holmes news, and while this update may seem a little navel-gazing, we'd still like to take the time to reflect.<br />
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With this post, we mark <b>our 1,000th entry</b> here on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<br />
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It all started nearly 10 years ago with our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2005/08/the-baker-street-blog_10.html#.VW-xj89Viko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">first entry introducing The Baker Street Blog</a> - as we were called at the time. Some of the early posts seem downright primitive in comparison, and some of them simply don't withstand the test of time, as other sites and technologies to which they refer are now defunct. But we still keep those posts up, because they act as something of a time capsule and a digital archaeological record of our efforts.<br />
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In mid-2007 we added an audio program (a podcast, if you must) called I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere that ambitiously attempted to commit to weekly or biweekly shows. We burned hot and bright for 18 episodes, then had our own hiatus for over a year. Now we're back on a regular (and sensible) monthly cadence that allows us to give serious thought to our guests and our topics.<br />
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Along the way, we picked up sponsors: <a href="http://wessexpress.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> and <i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/" rel="" target="_blank">The Baker Street Journal</a></i> continue to be our longest-running and most loyal sponsors, along with others who have joined us for s short while. And to them we are thankful.<br />
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Ours is a hobby, and as such, we can't cover the news full time - although we have had some lucky breaking news items like the <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">discovery of the 1916 William Gillette film</a> and the <a href="http://ihose.co/ACD_not" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">discovery of a Sherlock Holmes-like story</a> that was purported to have been written by Conan Doyle. Like Horace Harker of the Central Press Syndicate in SIXN,<br />
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<b><i>A great deal of my journalistic work is done at night, and I often write until the early morning."</i></b></blockquote>
As work and family life kept us busy, we shared a goal with Peter Blau at the 2011 BSI Weekend: to turn our site into a group-effort, sharing writing, reporting and commentary responsibilities with as many contributors who would raise their hands. And we welcomed our first contribution from <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Gordon%20Dymowski#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gordon Dymowski</a>, who has proven to be one of our most profilic writers.<br />
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We created a form to allow anyone to throw his or her hat in the ring to contribute (see it at <a href="http://ihose.co/writeforihose" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ihose.co/writeforihose</a>) and our stable of writers has grown. You can <a href="http://ihose.co/ihoseteam" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">meet the entire team</a> at <a href="http://ihose.co/ihoseteam" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ihose.co/ihoseteam</a>. Among those who write for us are Chris Redmond, BSI ("Billy") proprietor of the ground zero for Sherlock Holmes on the web, <a href="http://sherlockian.net/" target="_blank">Sherlockian.net</a>; <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/terrace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Francine Kitts</a>, BSI ("Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope"), the BSI's "Angel of Death; and the analytical and thoughtful James O'Leary, who always has a contribution of note.<br />
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But it was our syndication of <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Matt%20Laffey#.VW-4JM9Vikp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matt Laffey</a>'s Weekly Sherlockian Links Compendium that helped to make IHOSE a required destination. Syndicated from Matt's <a href="http://always1895.net/" target="_blank">Always 1895</a> site, we credited Matt with being the Peter Blau of the Internet (although <a href="http://redcircledc.org/" target="_blank">Peter does pretty well online</a> as well) and helping us to stay current with the news. With Matt's participation on his <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers</a></i> project with Mattias Bostrom, BSI ("The Swedish Pathological Society"), we understand his priorities while we miss his updates.<br />
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From reviews of books, comics, television, film and even apps, and interviews, analyses and commentary, our team aims to cover as much ground as we can. And like the original Baker Street Irregulars, we "go everywhere, see everything, overhear everyone." [SIGN]  Hopefully our writers aren't finding life as difficult as Neville St. Claire, who was a reporter for an evening paper in London and whose "<b><i>editor wished to have a series of articles.</i></b>" [TWIS]<br />
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Along the way, we've developed apps for our audio show, we've created the now-defunct Sherlock Holmes Social Network and then <a href="http://bit.ly/SHCommunity" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an online community</a> that now has over 2,600 members, <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub&publisher=445106&sitescope=45933" target="_blank">three options for subscribing by email</a>, a Sherlockian <a href="http://ihose.co/scoopsherlock" target="_blank">link-collecting site</a>, and even <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">an online magazine</a> that was <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/12/ihose-featured-on-flipboards-magswelove.html#.VW_BKc9Viko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">featured by its technology founder</a>s.<br />
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We've had our fun over the course of 1,000 articles - from the time <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/04/is-long-row-veil_1.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">we fooled some Hollywood media</a> to <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/10/to-me-than-twitter-illu_25.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our live-tweeting of the first series of <i>Sherlock</i></a> on behalf of PBS (and the subsequent series as well), and ongoing series such as our coverage of <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/%23FreeSherlock#.VW-63c9Viko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Conan Doyle Estate's legal issues</a> and the important <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Undershaw#.VW-8Os9Viko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">efforts to preserve Undershaw</a>. We also tried to be helpful, as was the case with our perennially popular <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/12/how-to-get-most-out-of-bsiweekend.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Guide to Getting the Most Out of the BSI Weekend</a> and the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2008/01/little-drama-sign_8.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">first use of Twitter during the BSI Weekend</a> (in 2008) and the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/visitors-soli_14.html#.VW-_Hs9Viko" target="_blank">first use of the hashtag #BSIWeekend</a>, to help those not in New York follow the fun.<br />
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Yes, we're pretty proud of what we've accomplished in nearly a decade. But without <b><i>you</i></b>, dear reader, we would be nothing. We are grateful that you invite us into your inbox, <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a> feed and earbuds. We realize that as part of building our reputation as the definitive site for news and information about Sherlock Holmes and popular culture, we have a great responsibility to you, and we take that seriously.<br />
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Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We hope it continues for many years to come.<br />
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