Murder by Decree (1979)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.1/10   

Director:

Bob Clark

Escritores:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)
John Hopkins (screenplay)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

9 febrero 1979 (USA)

Género:

Crimen | Drama | Horror | Misterio | Suspenso

Frase comercial:

Sherlock Holmes unveils the secrecy of Jack the Ripper - clue by clue - murder by murder.

Plot:

Sherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.

Plot Keywords:

Jack The Ripper | Sherlock Holmes | Murder | Asylum | Conspiracy

Premios:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Expansively produced, wonderfully atmospheric, credibly acted Ripper yarn.

Reparto

Christopher Plummer	...	Sherlock Holmes
James Mason	...	Dr. John H. Watson
David Hemmings	...	Inspector Foxborough
Susan Clark	...	Mary Kelly
Anthony Quayle	...	Sir Charles Warren
John Gielgud	...	Prime Minister Lord Salisbury
Frank Finlay	...	Inspector Lestrade
Donald Sutherland	...	Robert Lees
Geneviève Bujold	...	Annie Crook
Chris Wiggins	...	Doctor Hardy
Tedde Moore	...	Mrs. Lees (as Teddi Moore)
Peter Jonfield	...	William Slade
Roy Lansford	...	Sir Thomas Spivey
Catherine Kessler	...	Carrie
Ron Pember	...	Makins

También conocida como:

Sherlock Holmes and Saucy Jack (USA)
Sherlock Holmes: Murder by Decree
Asesinato por decreto (Spain) [es]

Duración:

124 min | Sweden:110 min

País:

UK | Canada

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:16

Locaciones de Filmación:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Compañía:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivialidades:

The Masonic signs Holmes makes to the Chief Inspector are: the Duegard of the Entered Apprentice (right hand palm down over left hand palm up), the Sign of the Entered Apprentice (drawing the right hand from left to right across the throat), a variation of the Real Grip of a Master Mason(the handshake with the thumb and little finger extended), and finally the Sign of a Fellow Craft (drawing the right hand across the body from the left breast to the right hip). The Signs all refer to the penalties associated with the divulging of the Order's secrets to outsiders, i.e., having the throat slit and the chest opened and the heart torn out. The Duegard refers to the gesture of holding the Bible during the initiation ritual in the left hand, with the right resting upon it.

Errores:

Continuidad: When Watson is arrested by the police after being conned into a small courtyard with only one entrance two policemen enter but three policemen leave

Citas:

Sherlock Holmes: We've unmasked madmen, Watson, wielding scepters. Reason run riot. Justice howling at the moon.

Conexiones de Película:

References A Study in Terror (1965)

Banda de Sonido:

Preludio

Expansively produced, wonderfully atmospheric, credibly acted Ripper yarn.

This isn't the first time Holmes has met Jack the Ripper in the movies, but this particular encounter leaves all others for dead. Handsomely photographed and produced, this notable addition to the Holmes cycle not only presents a credible yet intriguing Sherlock in Christopher Plummer, but just as importantly a Doctor Watson more akin to Conan Doyle's creation than the silly ass usually presented on the screen by Nigel Bruce and his successors. Full marks to James Mason.

The support cast is also top-notch, though some false beards were a trifle obvious. Another minor complaint lies in the poorly conceived, tacked-on ending in which Holmes is examined by John Gielgud's unyielding Prime Minister.

Otherwise this is a remarkably handsome film that transports the viewer right back to a teemingly authentic Sherlock Holmes London.