Shinwell Before Using
by Dean Richardson
Several things Sherlockian are in the offing, some old, some new,
some unfortunate. Let's get that out of the way first (not that I'm
biased, of course).
Just released on August 19 is "The Sherlock Holmes Collection."
It consists of two DVDs with four TV films starring Matt Frewer as
Max Holmesroom: The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000), The
Sign of Four (2001), The Royal Scandal (2001), and The
Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002). The set is priced at $19.99,
but Borders has it for $14.99 (and it's a steal at half the price).
The first volume of another set with that same title, "The Sherlock
Holmes Collection," is scheduled for release October 28 by MCI.
But the films in this set are the first of the newly restored and
remastered.
Rathbone/Holmes series from the late thirties and mid-forties. The
(volume one) titles are Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of
Terror (1942), SH and the Secret Weapon (1942), SH in
Washington (1943), and SH Faces Death (1943). Bonus materials
include reproductions of original posters, photo galleries, and commentary
by David Stuart Davies. The list price for this boxed set is $69.98,
but Amazon.com is offering it in preorder for $52.49. There is no
indication about the number of disks, but I'm guessing (at that price)
four. Volume two, due November 25, includes The Pearl of
Death (1944), The Scarlet Claw (1944), The Spider Woman
(1944), and The House of Fear (1945). No dates have been announced
for the other two sets, but we do know the contents. Volume three
will offer The Woman in Green (1945), Pursuit to Algiers
(1945), Terror by Night (1946), and Dressed to Kill (1946),
and volume four will consist of The Hound of the Baskervilles
(1939) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939). The Universal
series films are being released first because of the poorer condition
of the 20th Century Fox pair.
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In the realm of print, Publishers Weekly's "Fall Announcements"
issue includes three pastiches in the lists (and I'm sure there will
be several others). The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
by Ted Riccardi (Random House, $24.95) will be published September 9.
It is a collection of stories concerning the Great Detective's experiences
during the three-year gap following Reichenbach. According to the capsule
review, the stories, set in Tibet and Sumatra, are more Indiana Jones-style
adventures than actual mysteries, and they lack the flavor usually provided
by the good doctor.
October will see Femme Fatale, an Irene Adler novel by Carole
Nelson Douglas (Forge, $25.95). I haven't read any of this series, but
I understand that Sherlock is more of a supporting character. This one
is set mainly in New York in 1889 and involves Irene and friend Nellie
Bly pursuing a serial killer (after chasing Jack the R in the previous
two volumes).
Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara by Alan Vanneman (Carroll
& Graf, $25) won't be out until February. In this one, Winston Churchill
enlists the GD in exposing the imposter who claims to be Archduke Josef
of Austria.
A further word on Shadows over Baker Street, the collection of
mutant patiches (i.e., Doyle and Lovecraft) I mentioned last month as
due in October. For a detailed (and generally favorable) review, see
the August issue of Locus, a science fiction news magazine available
at Borders, Davis-Kidd, and Barnes & Noble. Judging from the summaries
(and as I suspected), H. P. is dominant over A.C.D., but the results
could be entertaining in any case.
Finally (as you were thinking to yourself), when I showed the two and
one-half inches tall lead figures of Holmes and Watson at the most recent
meeting, several expressed interest in contacting the shop where I bought
them. Here it is: Le Petit Soldier Shop, 528 Rue Royal, New Orleans,
LA 70130. As I mentioned, each figure costs $25, and besides the two
I have, there are another Holmes (wearing his smoking jacket), another
Watson (holding a pistol), a Moriarty, a Mrs. Hudson, a Lestrade, and
a newsboy.
Odds and Ends
The back cover of the July 2003 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery
Magazine features an ad for the MPI Sherlock Holmes DVD Collections
featuring Jeremy Brett. Adventures is out on what appear
to be five DVD's, The Sherlock Holmes Feature Film Collection includes
HOUN, Last Vampyre, SIGN, Eligible Bachelor
and Master Blackmailer. Finally, coming soon, is The Return
of Sherlock Holmes "Digitally Restored!"
My recent reading has included The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson, about Chicago's Columbian Exposition and the serial
killer, H.H. Holmes. Fascinating. And I read Curious Incidents
II, edited by Charles Prepolec and JR Campbell. What continues
to impress me about Charles' work is clearly stated in his introduction:
"As with our previous volume of 'Curious Incidents',
you will find no sign of Holmes' newly discovered sex life, or of
unlikely and repeated trips to America, nor will you find him shooting-up
with cocaine in railway lavatories or facing off against the likes
of Dracula, Jack the Ripper or Fu Manchu! Instead, I think you'll
find fresh work by a collection of talented and creative writers,
each successfully conveying not only his or her own individual perspective
on the Master Detective, but keeping a recognizably genuine and
Canonical Sherlock Holmes firmly in view while doing so." The
result is fun and soothing to the jaded reader. You can obtain them
directly from Mad For a Mystery Publications, Suite D308,
3805 Marlborough Drive NE, Calgary, AB T2A 5M4, Canada.
More later... Davice
...End of September,
2003 Plugs and Dottles...
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