The Masks of Death

'The Masks of Death' was Peter Cushing's swansong as Sherlock Holmes, a character he had played opposite Andre Morell in a Hammer 'Hound of the Baskervilles' and then in a television series for the BBC opposite Nigel Stock.

Here his Watson is an elderly John Mills, and the two make a charming pair presenting Holmes in his later life as a beekeeper who is tempted out of retirement to help an old friend, policeman McGregor (Gordon Jackson). It soon becomes apparent that more urgent matters require the intervention of the great detective when the Home Secretary (Ray Milland) comes to call with a foreign dignitary (Anton Diffring). And to complicate things, still further, The Woman has returned to London (Irene Adler of course, played by Anne Baxter).

As a plot goes, 'The Masks of Death' is rather pedestrian and not that involving. But with a cast like this, who can complain? Cushing is more crotchety than he had been in his previous outings in the role, but Mills proves a fine foil - his Watson is definitely the army man, a man of action. Baxter is luminous, and even when the solution is staring us in the face there's still enough going on in the interplay between the actors to keep us interested.

Above all else, this TV movie was most welcome for giving Peter Cushing a chance to end his acting career on a high note and in one of his most celebrated roles (he appeared in one more film after this one but this was to be the last lead role of his long career). He'd first played Sherlock Holmes twenty-five years previously in a Hammer movie, and then in a 1968 BBC television series. Here, he revisits the character in a later stage of life and, accordingly, this time his rendition of the great detective is less agile and prone to moments of impatience and tetchiness. Cushing is just one of a number of senior actors in the cast, many of them sadly fast-approaching the end of their careers... Anne Baxter, Gordon Jackson, Anton Diffring... Ray Milland also sadly was not in great health at the time and it shows. Nevertheless, all give very good performances as one would expect from such distinguished names. The piece is nicely filmed with good location work and the music is okay too but unfortunately everything is let down by the plot. Much of the narrative involves Holmes and Watson investigating a supposed kidnapping which ultimately proves to be nothing more than a red-herring, conceived to keep Holmes distracted from another more important matter. One can't help wondering if it would have been easier for the villains to have simply assassinated Holmes if they were so worried about him bringing them to justice. And once this duplicity is discovered, the characters involved just vanish from the action and the story suddenly shifts to a climax that is, in itself rather unsatisfying. Why do Holmes and Watson, two ageing men, risk their lives in flushing the villains out of their lair when the police apparently have the whole place surrounded anyway?

It was a nice idea to see a more elderly Holmes in action for once and even better to have Peter Cushing playing him once again, and it's a shame that plans for a proposed follow-up never came to fruition, because a better story might have worked wonders. A good attempt that just doesnt quite come off.

The story is a little on the thin side, if decidedly chilling at the climax. But the pleasure of watching a first-rate assortment of mature actors go through their paces makes this a show worth watching again and again. Peter Cushing's Holmes is severe, ascetic and all business, John Mills' Watson cheerful and worth having in a tight spot, and Anne Baxter's Irene Adler a genuinely charming and intelligent lady.

A request by Scotland Yard inspector Gordon Jackson for help from the now retired Sherlock Holmes about some very mysterious deaths of men being found in the Thames River brings the famous detective back to Baker Street. The celebrated detective and his companion Dr. John Watson now spend a lot of their time in the countryside just gathering their notes together for the ultimate Holmes memoir.

The Masks Of Death brings Peter Cushing to his second portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuth. He had previously played him in the Hammer Film production of The Hound Of The Baskervilles. In this film John Mills is Doctor Watson who also narrates.

The Masks Of Death is not based on any Conan Doyle story and the reason is pretty clear. After Holmes and Watson go to work on this case, the Home Secretary played by Ray Milland asks for Holmes's help in a case of national importance. Accompanying Milland is German gentleman Anton Diffring. They allege that a prince of the royal Hohenzollern blood has been kidnapped while traveling incognito in Great Britain. We've got to find him before anything else period. Milland plays a member of the cabinet who wants to stop an impending German/British war at all costs.

In fact in the cabinet of Herbert Asquith back in the day, the Minister for War, Lord Haldane was a man doing just that and his pro-German views were the basis for his dismissal. I doubt Arthur Conan Doyle would have been libeling Lord Haldane back in those days. And it would have been libel for what eventually Holmes uncovers.

Baker Street purists will scoff at this one. It wasn't however a bad film for Peter Cushing. Anne Baxter is on hand as well in one of her last roles as a mysterious German/American woman who Holmes can't quite trust. He suspects, heaven forfend, she's a suffragist.

What the two cases have in common might surprise the viewer. If carried out it would have been the crime of the last century.

The Masks of Death is a real coming together of classics. First of all, we have the fact that the film is based on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle character of Sherlock Holmes (albeit it an aging version of the character), then we have the fact that the film is directed by the great Roy Ward Baker; a name that fans of classic British horror will recognise instantly, and perhaps most important of all is the presence of one of the finest British actors ever to grace the silver screen - the great Peter Cushing in a reprisal of the iconic role that he last played in 1968. The story is not a Conan Doyle original, but still focuses on his most famous character. Sherlock Holmes has been called in to investigate three bodies that have mysteriously turned up in the Thames. It's not into the investigation before he is called to investigate another case; that being the investigation of a German prince that mysteriously disappeared. However, shortly into his second case; Holmes begins to suspect that something more sinister may be afoot.

What sets this film apart from almost every other Sherlock Holmes film ever made is the fact that this one shows the character in his twilight years. Holmes is in retirement and he's not quite his usual sharp self and even shows some failings on a number of occasions. One of the main things that is liked about the character is his sharpness and keen eye for detail; but even so, The Masks of death has to be admired for daring to do something a little different. And who better to portray this aging Holmes than the great Peter Cushing? Cushing would have been seventy years old at the time of filming and still manages to inject his usual verve and screen presence into what would turn out to be his penultimate screen role. Roy Ward Baker certainly knows how to direct and does a good job here as the film moves swiftly and the shots of a dingy London are very well done. Cushing receives good support from the likes of John Mills, Anton Diffring and Ray Milland too, which is nice. It does have to be said that this isn't the most interesting Holmes story ever put on the screen; but its well worked and entertaining and the ending is intriguing and imaginative.