Movie: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
I was a bit concerned when we got The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother in the mail from Netflix last December. I loved it to itty bitty pieces when it came out, at which point I was 13 or 14 years old. At the same time, I also adored a short-lived television series entitled Fantastic Journey, which died a sadly-deserved death after just a few episodes. I watched it again as an adult (back when SciFi was doing reruns of short-run shows) and was horrified by how really really, atrociously bad it was. I was afraid the same would be the case of my beloved movie.
I needn't have worried!
One of the scenes that I vividly remembered took place after Sherlock Holmes' smarter brother, Sigerson (Gene Wilder), and his assistant Orville (Marty Feldman) have a close shave (ha ha) with death; they are very nearly split in two by a saw, but manage to evade it by squeezing up tight against the wall of the very narrow chamber in which they are imprisoned. Escaping through the bad guy's sumptuous estate, they find themselves at a formal party where they learn after several minutes that the shave was a bit closer than they realized.
Why does the conductor keep smiling so strangely at them?
Orville and Sigi buy a clue. (Hint: Look closely at the mirror!!!!)
YES, THEY HAVE THEIR HANDS ON EACH OTHER'S BUTTS. AND THIS MOVIE WAS ONLY RATED PG. YAY FOR 1975.
Reaction shot: "Holy crap!"
I think I saw the movie on TV again about a year after it came out, if only because I *still* remember all the songs surprisingly well. I had also bought the novelization (it's with my other Holmesiana in a box in the garage somewhere), but that wouldn't account for remembering the melodies after more than thirty years. TODS was a bit startled when I sang along with the Kangaroo Hop. (Yes, there will be more screencaps. You have been warned.)
Objectively? Well, it's hard to be objective, but this was a fun movie and had some surprisingly erudite Holmesian humor. Marty Feldman's character, Orville Sacker, has the name given to Watson in early drafts of the Sacred Canon; "Sigerson" is one of Holmes' aliases during the hiatus (and may have also been an early draft of his name, although I can't remember for sure). I also found myself snickering helplessly at Moriarty's inability to do simple arithmetic.
There are parts that barely look Victorian at all; Orville looks splendidly 19th century, but Sigi remains firmly entrenched in the 1970's. Then there are other bits that play with the Victorian setting in a wonderfully absurd way, and I loved Sigi's bicycle-driven fencing-practice machine, which lent an air of early steampunk to the proceedings.
This may also be the gayest movie I have ever seen that didn't have Alan Cumming in it, and I say that even though I was totally rooting for Sigi's romance with Madeline Kahn's music-hall singer, because Madeline Kahn is amazing as always. But a movie where Leo McKern and Dom DeLuise climb into bed together just has that special rainbow something, you know?
I needn't have worried!
One of the scenes that I vividly remembered took place after Sherlock Holmes' smarter brother, Sigerson (Gene Wilder), and his assistant Orville (Marty Feldman) have a close shave (ha ha) with death; they are very nearly split in two by a saw, but manage to evade it by squeezing up tight against the wall of the very narrow chamber in which they are imprisoned. Escaping through the bad guy's sumptuous estate, they find themselves at a formal party where they learn after several minutes that the shave was a bit closer than they realized.
Why does the conductor keep smiling so strangely at them?
Orville and Sigi buy a clue. (Hint: Look closely at the mirror!!!!)
YES, THEY HAVE THEIR HANDS ON EACH OTHER'S BUTTS. AND THIS MOVIE WAS ONLY RATED PG. YAY FOR 1975.
Reaction shot: "Holy crap!"
I think I saw the movie on TV again about a year after it came out, if only because I *still* remember all the songs surprisingly well. I had also bought the novelization (it's with my other Holmesiana in a box in the garage somewhere), but that wouldn't account for remembering the melodies after more than thirty years. TODS was a bit startled when I sang along with the Kangaroo Hop. (Yes, there will be more screencaps. You have been warned.)
Objectively? Well, it's hard to be objective, but this was a fun movie and had some surprisingly erudite Holmesian humor. Marty Feldman's character, Orville Sacker, has the name given to Watson in early drafts of the Sacred Canon; "Sigerson" is one of Holmes' aliases during the hiatus (and may have also been an early draft of his name, although I can't remember for sure). I also found myself snickering helplessly at Moriarty's inability to do simple arithmetic.
There are parts that barely look Victorian at all; Orville looks splendidly 19th century, but Sigi remains firmly entrenched in the 1970's. Then there are other bits that play with the Victorian setting in a wonderfully absurd way, and I loved Sigi's bicycle-driven fencing-practice machine, which lent an air of early steampunk to the proceedings.
This may also be the gayest movie I have ever seen that didn't have Alan Cumming in it, and I say that even though I was totally rooting for Sigi's romance with Madeline Kahn's music-hall singer, because Madeline Kahn is amazing as always. But a movie where Leo McKern and Dom DeLuise climb into bed together just has that special rainbow something, you know?