|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 20, 2017 17:11:58 GMT
There are three degrees of separation between me and M.R. James. In 1988 I saw The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, the play with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke (and no, I did not sit between them). I saw Robert Stephens in the audience and spoke to him. He had been in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes with Christopher Lee who had been interviewed by M.R. James. Stephens and Brett were tremendous friends for decades. I'm extremely jealous! Not only is Robert Stephens a great favourite of mine, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes one of my favourite films of all time, but I've always regretted not having had the chance to see Brett and Hardwicke on stage as Holmes and Watson in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Paul's script is an ingenious fusing of key moments from throughout Conan Doyle's stories, and even if 'the secret' itself doesn't quite hold water, fun though it is, I would have loved to have seen those two actors bringing the whole thing to life on stage. |
|
|
|
Post by ropardoe on Feb 20, 2017 19:24:59 GMT
There are three degrees of separation between me and M.R. James. In 1988 I saw The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, the play with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke (and no, I did not sit between them). I saw Robert Stephens in the audience and spoke to him. He had been in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes with Christopher Lee who had been interviewed by M.R. James. Stephens and Brett were tremendous friends for decades. I'm extremely jealous! Not only is Robert Stephens a great favourite of mine, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes one of my favourite films of all time, but I've always regretted not having had the chance to see Brett and Hardwicke on stage as Holmes and Watson in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Paul's script is an ingenious fusing of key moments from throughout Conan Doyle's stories, and even if 'the secret' itself doesn't quite hold water, fun though it is, I would have loved to have seen those two actors bringing the whole thing to life on stage. Edward Hardwicke was, of course, the son of Cedric Hardwicke. Cedric was born in the Lye, near Stourbridge in the Black Country (the Lye is where they used to feed spare babies to the pigs - priorities!). Darroll (my other half for those who don't know) was also born in the Lye. His grandfather was a local photographer, and one of his photographs of Hardwicke Sr is reproduced in Cedric's biography. We could tell it was one of Darroll's granddad's photos as it features the urn in his studio (said urn then became an ornament in the garden of Darroll's parents!). |
|
|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 21, 2017 13:37:08 GMT
And Cedric Hardwicke was a former Sherlock Holmes, having played the role on radio for the BBC in a 1940s production of 'The Speckled Band'. He was also one of the sons of Frankenstein in the Universal films series, the other son being future Holmes Basil Rathbone. Among Cedric's great friends was Rathbone's Watson, Nigel Bruce, so the young future Watson met the then-current Watson frequently, and would meet a future Watson while in the role, as Jude Law appeared in an episode of the Jeremy Brett series. While Jeremy Brett was also a former Watson, having played the part on stage with Charlton Heston's Holmes in 'The Crucifer of Blood' a few years before playing Holmes, and a few years after playing Dracula on stage, taking over from Frank Langella, who would then play Holmes on stage in a revival of the William Gillette play, which, back in the 1970s had counted Robert Stephens as one of its roster of Holmes actors... etc, etc, etc... A tangled skein, indeed. (And probably one that belongs in a completely different thread.)
|
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Feb 21, 2017 17:31:14 GMT
I also saw The Secret of Sherlock Holmes with Brett and Hardwicke: almost 30 years ago now I'm appalled to discover. It was a show long on the charisma of its performers and shorter on the theatrical experience I seem to recall.   I was an inveterate theatre goer back in those days, though I cant recall ever seeing any famous faces amongst the audiences I was ever a part of. Now that I come to think of it though I did once bump into that other seminal tv Holmes Tom Baker outside the Playhouse Theatre before a performance of Twelfth Night. The Playhouse is of course situated just down Northumberland Avenue from the Sherlock Holmes pub. What a photo opportunity went begging that afternoon I now realise. Rummaging around for the evidence of having seen the Brett play I was reminded of seeing another Holmes play around the same time called Holmes and the Ripper by Brian Clemens. It was quite entertaining I seem to remember. It starred Francis Matthews as Holmes, who as well as being the immortal voice of Captain Scarlet was also in Dracula, Prince of Darkness with Lee who etc etc etc    |
|
|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 21, 2017 18:40:37 GMT
Rummaging around for the evidence of having seen the Brett play I was reminded of seeing another Holmes play around the same time called Holmes and the Ripper by Brian Clemens. It was quite entertaining I seem to remember. It starred Francis Matthews as Holmes, who as well as being the immortal voice of Captain Scarlet was also in Dracula, Prince of Darkness with Lee who etc etc etc I saw a more recent revival of that Holmes vs the Ripper play, with Brian Clemens' son playing the role of Holmes. Typically, Clemens' script was great fun, with a dash of humour to offset the action, though for anyone who'd seen 'Murder by Decree' (starring Christopher Plummer as Holmes - coincidentally a cousin of Nigel Bruce, and also coincidentally the actor Jeremy Brett apparently thought should play Holmes if 'The Secret of Sherlock Holmes' was staged in America), perhaps a little familiar in places, as both draw on the same source theories. |
|
|
|
Post by Michael Connolly on Feb 22, 2017 13:31:24 GMT
There are three degrees of separation between me and M.R. James. In 1988 I saw The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, the play with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke (and no, I did not sit between them). I saw Robert Stephens in the audience and spoke to him. He had been in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes with Christopher Lee who had been interviewed by M.R. James. Stephens and Brett were tremendous friends for decades. I'm extremely jealous! Not only is Robert Stephens a great favourite of mine, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes one of my favourite films of all time, but I've always regretted not having had the chance to see Brett and Hardwicke on stage as Holmes and Watson in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Paul's script is an ingenious fusing of key moments from throughout Conan Doyle's stories, and even if 'the secret' itself doesn't quite hold water, fun though it is, I would have loved to have seen those two actors bringing the whole thing to life on stage. I clearly remember watching The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. I had spoken (nonsense probably) to Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke separately before I saw the play. I met them again after I met Robert Stephens (and babbled more nonsense about The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes). All three autographed my programme. I never did such a thing before or since. |
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Feb 23, 2017 23:57:50 GMT
These Sherlock Holmes connections games are great fun aren't they.
Here's another one:
In all the coverage concerning the recent death of Andrew Sachs I can't recall seeing any reference to the fine substitute Watson he made for the brilliant Clive Merrison on the BBC radio series, replacing the much missed Michael Williams.
Merrison, incidentally, played Batholomew Sholto in the 1983 tv film version of The Sign of Four starring Ian Richardson, the part that was played by the late great Ronald Lacey in the Jeremy Brett adaptation. Lacey in his turn had portrayed Lestrade in the 1983 tv version of The Hound of the Baskervilles again starring Ian Richardson.
Small world isn't it.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 24, 2017 14:00:26 GMT
These Sherlock Holmes connections games are great fun aren't they. Here's another one: In all the coverage concerning the recent death of Andrew Sachs I can't recall seeing any reference to the fine substitute Watson he made for the brilliant Clive Merrison on the BBC radio series, replacing the much missed Michael Williams. Merrison, incidentally, played Batholomew Sholto in the 1983 tv film version of The Sign of Four starring Ian Richardson, the part that was played by the late great Ronald Lacey in the Jeremy Brett adaptation. Lacey in his turn had portrayed Lestrade in the 1983 tv version of The Hound of the Baskervilles again starring Ian Richardson. Small world isn't it. And in the other Richardson film, Inspector 'Layton' - in fact 'Lestrade' overdubbed with the word 'Layton', no doubt because there was already a substitution of Watsons between films and a second Lestrade would only confuse matters further - was Terence Rigby, who played Watson to Tom Baker's Holmes for a BBC 'Hound of the Baskervilles', while that production's own Lestrade, Hubert Rees, played Watson for the BBC children's series, 'The Baker Street Boys', which also featured a memorable Professor Moriarty played by Colin Jeavons, the excellent Inspector Lestrade opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes. Richardson's other Watson, Donald Churchill, would appear in 'Wisteria Lodge' with Brett and Hardwicke, while Major Sholto, father of Merrison's Bartholomew, was Thorley Walters, previously a Dr Watson to Christopher Plummer, Douglas Wilmer, Christopher Lee, and Peter Jeffrey, the latter in a cameo in the film 'The Best House in London', which also featured Willie Rushton and a cameo from John Cleese, who would play Sherlock Holmes with Rushton as his Watson, and also play Holmes's own grandson, with Arthur Lowe as Watson's grandson, in a pair of 1970s spoofs, the latter of which also featured Connie Booth as Mrs Hudson, and Cleese and Booth, of course, co-created Fawlty Towers, which also starred Andrew Sachs... And, no, outside of Sherlockian circles, I don't think I saw Andrew Sachs' brilliant Watson referenced. Sachs had also played the King of Bohemia in the Merrison & Williams version of 'A Scandal in Bohemia'. And, to loop everything back to the actual subject of this thread, Sachs also recorded some marvellous readings of a handful of M.R. James's stories for Textbook Stuff. |
|
|
|
Post by ropardoe on Feb 24, 2017 17:51:39 GMT
I watched them filming scenes for "The Problem of Thor Bridge" episode of the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes in Chester. A carriage drove through the Abbey Gateway and then Edward Hardwicke walked through it. On the other side of the road, and waiting for another scene, was Chester Town Hall, pretending to be Winchester Museum. They'd painted up a rather nice "Winchester Museum" sign for the front entrance to the Town Hall. I was kind of hoping they'd leave it there, to confuse the tourists!
|
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Feb 25, 2017 12:48:42 GMT
These Sherlock Holmes connections games are great fun aren't they. Here's another one: In all the coverage concerning the recent death of Andrew Sachs I can't recall seeing any reference to the fine substitute Watson he made for the brilliant Clive Merrison on the BBC radio series, replacing the much missed Michael Williams. Merrison, incidentally, played Batholomew Sholto in the 1983 tv film version of The Sign of Four starring Ian Richardson, the part that was played by the late great Ronald Lacey in the Jeremy Brett adaptation. Lacey in his turn had portrayed Lestrade in the 1983 tv version of The Hound of the Baskervilles again starring Ian Richardson. Small world isn't it. And in the other Richardson film, Inspector 'Layton' - in fact 'Lestrade' overdubbed with the word 'Layton', no doubt because there was already a substitution of Watsons between films and a second Lestrade would only confuse matters further - was Terence Rigby, who played Watson to Tom Baker's Holmes for a BBC 'Hound of the Baskervilles', while that production's own Lestrade, Hubert Rees, played Watson for the BBC children's series, 'The Baker Street Boys', which also featured a memorable Professor Moriarty played by Colin Jeavons, the excellent Inspector Lestrade opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes. Richardson's other Watson, Donald Churchill, would appear in 'Wisteria Lodge' with Brett and Hardwicke, while Major Sholto, father of Merrison's Bartholomew, was Thorley Walters, previously a Dr Watson to Christopher Plummer, Douglas Wilmer, Christopher Lee, and Peter Jeffrey, the latter in a cameo in the film 'The Best House in London', which also featured Willie Rushton and a cameo from John Cleese, who would play Sherlock Holmes with Rushton as his Watson, and also play Holmes's own grandson, with Arthur Lowe as Watson's grandson, in a pair of 1970s spoofs, the latter of which also featured Connie Booth as Mrs Hudson, and Cleese and Booth, of course, co-created Fawlty Towers, which also starred Andrew Sachs... And, no, outside of Sherlockian circles, I don't think I saw Andrew Sachs' brilliant Watson referenced. Sachs had also played the King of Bohemia in the Merrison & Williams version of 'A Scandal in Bohemia'. And, to loop everything back to the actual subject of this thread, Sachs also recorded some marvellous readings of a handful of M.R. James's stories for Textbook Stuff. Oh what a convoluted joy that was to read. Really appreciated you posting that. And you even succeeded in steering the discussion back to MRJ. Rosemary will be awarding bonus points for that, I'm sure. And points mean prizes; what do points make...? (Oh, the insufferable grip of 80s tv). For what its worth, I see that a young Cherie Lunghi appeared in "The Second Stain" episode of the 60s Cushing series and would go on to be Richardson's Mary Morstan. While Wilmer & Cushing's Watson Nigel Stock would appear in Young Sherlock Holmes & the Pyramid of Fear. I only actually saw this for the first time at Christmas having studiously avoided it in the past The concept always appalled me. But in its own way it was quite prescient considering the current fad for prequels of all kinds. (What is it with this modern obsession for back stories? I'm no more interested in finding out where Indiana Jones got his hat than I am in reading about a teenage Fu Manchu). Be that as it may YSH&tPoF wasn't actually that bad; quite entertaining really in its own silly way. But I'm still not convinced by the flying bath chair. Strongly suspect some prototype Cavorite might have been smeared on the machine somewhere along the line. |
|
|
|
Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 5, 2017 13:19:05 GMT
Here's some news from 32 years ago. Ramsey Campbell has an interesting interview in Comics Interview 22 (1985) about horror literature, horror films and censorship. Among the books he recommends is The Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James. More recently, I've just received Letters to Arkham - The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth. I met the postman when I left my house. I asked him for the parcel and he gave it to me. I could have been anybody.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 7, 2017 12:27:59 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Dr Strange on Apr 7, 2017 12:56:09 GMT
I'm not just saying this because at least one of them reads and contributes to this website. one of them? |
|
|
|
Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 7, 2017 13:07:53 GMT
I'm not just saying this because at least one of them reads and contributes to this website. one of them? Is there anybody there? |
|
|
|
Post by mrhappy on Apr 7, 2017 13:54:03 GMT
Said the Traveller, knocking on the moonlit door. (Couldn't resist) |
|
