Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueKing Edward asks Sherlock Holmes to perform one more task before his retirement: to safeguard the Star of Africa on a trip to Cape Town. Soon the fabled jewel is stolen and several people en... Tout lireKing Edward asks Sherlock Holmes to perform one more task before his retirement: to safeguard the Star of Africa on a trip to Cape Town. Soon the fabled jewel is stolen and several people end up being murdered.King Edward asks Sherlock Holmes to perform one more task before his retirement: to safeguard the Star of Africa on a trip to Cape Town. Soon the fabled jewel is stolen and several people end up being murdered.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Gugliamo Marconi
- (as Stephen Gurney)
- Chandra Sen
- (as Pat Pillay)
- Ram Dhulup
- (as Kessie Govendor)
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The main problem I have with these productions lies with the American scriptwriter, Bob Shayne. His characterisation of Holmes and Watson never rise above the level of a pastiche; Holmes does virtually no deductive reasoning here, and could have been replaced by any other fictional history (Marple or Poirot, for instance). Lee is wonderful, and Macnee is great comedy value, but that's all you get.
The plot of this miniseries is complicated beyond belief and mired down with irrelevant, extraneous characters. Shayne's unwelcome obsession with mixing real-life people into his story continues with Theodore Roosevelt (!) playing an important role. Despite the presence of such luminaries as Richard Todd, Joss Ackland, Jenny Seagrove, and Claude Akins, this is a disappointment. I can't help but imagine what INCIDENT AT VICTORIA FALLS would have been like had it been written by somebody who really knew their stuff.
An original Sherlock Holmes story, i.e. Not adapted from a book or short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and it's a mixed bag. On the positive side we have Christopher Lee whose portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is fantastic, giving him a great sense of intelligence and gravitas. The scenery and cinematography are great too, making you feel you really are in Africa in 1910. And yes, some of the scenes were actually filmed at Victoria Falls!
The plot is reasonably interesting though this is where the problems start to come. The film clocks in at over three hours due to the myriad of sub-plots filling up the time. Some of these are needed for the main plot but some are just padding or could have been less elaborate.
The fact that the writer throws in characters like President Roosevelt and Lillie Langtry, shows just how padded some of the sub-plots are. Those particular characters didn't have to be somebody famous but the writers did it just to create a sub-plot out of their fame and for a bit of a wow factor. (Incidentally, Lillie Langtry was 57 years old in 1910 and is 30-something in the movie, so the writer didn't do their research very well).
Overall it's interesting enough to be watchable but with a more focused plot and a decent degree of editing it could have been great.
The South African government is planning on presenting one of the world's largest diamonds, the Star of Africa*, to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. However, worries about it becoming stolen prompt the British government to send Holmes and Watson to go to Africa to guard this rare gem.
Not too surprisingly (since the film is nearly 190 minutes), the there is a gem robbery and Holmes' trail leads through South Africa to Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) to Victoria Falls. Along the way are a variety of red herrings and a few famous folk just happen to be there...including Marconi and President Theodore Roosevelt!
So is this any good? Well, it's okay and fortunately Lee's performance is subdued and lacks the usual cliches. But the film is doomed by just being too freaking long. An hour could easily have been shaved off and the film just drags to its ultimate finale. Oddly, the female actresses in the movie were mostly very poor. Overall, just okay...not terrible nor all that great.
*By the way, there really WAS a huge diamond called the Star of Africa...and it was presented to King Edward VII in 1907. Subsequently, it was cut down into several very large gems...some of which you can see in the collection of the British Crown Jewels.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesIn the dialogue, it is revealed that both Holmes and Watson are in in their mid-fifties. In reality, Christopher Lee and Patrick Macnee, both born in 1922, were about 70 years of age at the time of this production.
- GaffesJust before the safe is opened a character Saye that "as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa" he is presenting the diamond to King Edward. Edward VII died on 2 May 1910. The Union of South Africa was not formed until 31 May 1910, until that the senior colonial officer was the Governor of the Cape Colony.
- Citations
Amelia Roosevelt Morrison: [about her autograph book] Pablo Picasso drew me a little picture, but I couldn't make it out, so I threw it away.
- Crédits fousNo mention of Arthur Conan Doyle. The curious incident of the dog at night.
- Versions alternativesShorter version avaiable on video
- ConnexionsFollows Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991)
Meilleurs choix
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- Incidente en las Cataratas Victoria
- Lieux de tournage
- Sociétés de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro