sherlock holmes: the second stain

[cimorene]

i've always thought the title, and the plot-point it refers to, were particularly clever here: it's one of the more memorable of the short stories. it's not a terribly outstanding episode, but it's fun to watch: it starts a bit tense, loosens up, then gallops fast-paced through the middle. there's another lull before the ending. no scene-by-scene ...i will mention the remarkable progression in the middle. holmes is on his way out (and the case at a standstill) when watson reads in the newspaper that someone suspected to be concerned with the case--one of several sneaky sorts who would pilfer important papers and sell them--had turned up murdered. he dashes back into the room. the paper. holmes and watson strolling, and lestrade (!!! omg, lestrade. every ep he's in he's better.) appears and, with every charmingly transparent attempt at nonchalance, drops hints about how cool the case is, and how easily he has it in hand, but does desire holmes to just look at something. holmes (much more successfully) pretends nonchalance; they three take a cab over and are given the account of events, and shown the curious fact that the bloodstain on the carpet doesn't match the location of the identical stain on the floor, which meant the rug had been moved--why?

ahhhh.

holmes says suddenly, apparently with a change of subject, that lestrade is to question the police guard outside carefully. 'away from us, we'll wait here!' says holmes. he urges that he question the man very carefully, claim to know someone has been in the room and tell him etc etc etc. then as soon as lestrade is gone, h.'s indolent pose vanishes. 'watson!' he says, 'the table!' watson bodily lifts it to the side; holmes drags back the carpet in a moment and is crawling (and writhing rather) all over the floor, scrabbling with fingertips while watson watches out the window. when w. says 'he's coming!' h. has just found the trapdoor in the floor. he pops it open and thrusts in his hand. he says, 'empty!' and they make a mad scramble, toss the rug down and the table on top and the two of them shuffle at a comically fast pace around the edge of it, straightening the wrinkles with their feet. (there's some v/ nice camerawork in these.)

and of course there's the end--where he sort of uses sleight-of-hand to slip the recovered letter back into the dispatch case. only his assurance and aplomb could possibly carry it off; that and the fact that the government official to whom the case belongs is really not incredibly sharp. he smokes a cigarette in a controlled manner, almost post-coital, i like to fancy. and when they leave the building he suddenly, on the terrace, gives a startling leap of joy.

high points: searching under the rug.
low points: the flashbacks might be a bit slow.



lord whatsisname (no. that's not his name).

the prime minister.

the lady wife.

watson and the paper.

good thing he picked up this edition.



with lestrade.

of course, holmes is always happy to hear lestrade's theories, or so he claims, but you'd think l. would notice the faces h. makes, wouldn't you?

feeling in the compartment under the floorboards.

questioning the policeman.

the lady flashes back to the fateful night of the murder.

holmes wisely looks away while the p.m. and l.w. (not r. his n.) discover the letter in the box.

another drag.

the final frame of the episode.

Comments

[ljash.livejournal.com]

I adored the snarl when he didn't find anything under the rug.

Hi. A few months ago I discovered the jeremy brett holmes episodes and utterly loved Brett as Holmes. I've had an on-and-off crush on Holmes since I was a kid and loved these versions. I also liked that particular Watson, who wasn't always paired with Brett (can't remember his name).

I was hoping that the renewed interest wouldn't lead to slash. But now here I go. Oh well. :)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

you mean edward hardwicke? i liked david burke better because he looked younger, and hardwicke's performance in the hound of the baskervilles, which was the first of the ones with him that i watched, disappointed me somewhat as i found it--a little too stiff. but he grew on me and converted me completely in 'the empty house.' i like them both and don't grumble too much about having to make the switch.

why should you hope it wouldn't lead to slash?--just because there's not all that much of it to read, and even less that's really good?

[ljash.livejournal.com]

Yes, Hardwicke. I started with Brett by watching whatever I could find in the library which ended up being the Return of Sherlock Holmes DVDs. I don't know why but I really liked Hardwicke. I also wasn't that fond of The Hound of the Baskervilles but I'm not sure what threw me off. I wasn't thrilled with Burke's performance in the few things I saw of him but that might have just been because I already liked hardwicke.

The slash... the slash. I guess it just seems Wrong in ways that other slash doesn't, possibly because pairing dear Sherlock with anyone at all just doesn't work to me. But now I have to go read the slash. Just because it's there.

I guess I'll dig through your entries for recs? Though I think I might run away. Actually I'm more interested in your thoughts on what has slash built in already, as you expressed in a couple entries (I haven't delved into your journal but I've read a few). The only ones that really struck me was The Dying Detective and The Adventure of the Devil's Foot. That's the Brett versions, not the original stories. It's actually been quite a while for the original stories.

Gaa I'm getting into holmes slash.. oh the happy horror..

[cimness.livejournal.com]

here follows a kind of essay. hang on. :)

well, i watched some of the other, less fabulous film versions as a child and read a few of the stories. i heard of the slash, hm, a few years ago, and then i finally got around to reading the complete works last summer and went looking for it in earnest after. i enjoy viewing everything through slash goggles; i don't think romantic attachment is necessarily written into canon. but that True Platonic Love which renders two people more important to one another than any other thing or person may be to either... is quite close to romance, really. the dividing line is slender, and either interpretation seems perfectly plausible.

the same is true of brett and hardwicke's holmes and watson; but brett brings a definite swishiness to holmes, and a chemistry with hardwicke (or with burke for that matter) which is at times electric. of course, physical chemistry does not equal romantic attachment, but it's also not an essential element of a close platonic friendship, if you follow me. it aids the slashy interpretation. (and watching brett's gorgeous, adorable holmes-mannerisms makes it more fun, too.)

i'm fairly confident i've read (or started) every piece of hw slash on the internet. my recs are at my recs page, not my journal--the holmes ones under other (http://www.rightthisway.net/cimorene/recsother.html).

and i just watched 'the devil's foot' tonight, review forthcoming. it contained what i felt was the slashiest single scene in written canon too, but the film episode heightened the emotional tension and the personal-relations-subplot between holmes and watson. i haven't seen--and my dad doesn't own on film--'the dying detective.'

[ljash.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've also become an irrepressible slasher. I think that mostly this has been a good thing--it lets me notice the closeness of the characters in a way that touches me when I might not have noticed before. I just have to remember to pull it back a little when it gets out of hand. :) But yes I now glance at everything through slash and ye gods, it seems to be everywhere.

Brett is absolutely wonderful as Holmes. He really brings out the eccentricity, which no one else seems to do. And I agree about the chemistry of Brett and Hardwicke--he might have had a similar one with Burke but by then I was already attatched to Hardwicke. But mostly it's Brett--manic, angular, slightly scary, slightly disturbed, but utterly delighted when he's in his element.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

YESYESYESYES. brett carries the whole thing. yes. he's so adorable, and he's such an incredible brilliant character-actor. and so pretty. and so... mesmerizing. the guys in the liner notes keep referring to him as 'gothic' and 'baroque' (his style of acting, i mean). i don't think it's THAT close to melodrama but i see what they mean.

[ljash.livejournal.com]

It's hilarious to go back and watch My Fair Lady now. He played Freddie (the stalker).

I should try to read the liner notes sometime--the library doesn't give them to you with the disk because they keep the disk separately, but I could read them in the library.

BTW I read some of Irene Adler's slash and now I'm hooked on Holmes/Watson slash. grr.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

i've never seen my fair lady.

sadly for you, irene adler's is pretty much the best available. dana_kujan just recently published one for yuletide which on consideration i think is better, and there are a few which might approach the adler ones... but overall the quality is more 'good' or 'fair' than 'excellent.'

[ljash.livejournal.com]

I was afraid of that. Though I read some of Veinglory's and liked it just as much. I was particularly fond of that one where the ending made no sense.

I mentioned to my friend that I've succombed to holmes/watson slash and she, only slightly familiar with holmes, said, "You didn't think getting into Sherlock Holmes would lead to slash? Isn't he gay in canon?" whee... she had no idea why she thought that, it was just an impression she'd gotten.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

yes, me too--i was very fond of veinglory's. i think she's a more hit or miss author, though. and even her stories which seem superior to others by being more in character, or having no loose ends, or making perfect sense--may be less emotionally satisfying.

well, he really does seem pretty gay in canon.

[ljash.livejournal.com]

I think that for just now I have no taste at all as I've been reading anything and it all haunts me. Sometimes that happens at the beginning of a fandom--I like anything that gives me a slight window. I'm not sure why this one is so powerful but away I go anyhow.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

yeah, i am susceptible to the same thing. i read everything i could find and i enjoyed some which i didn't rec, simply because in the end they were... bad. (in fact, i re-read some which i couldn't see clear to rec--because they're touching, or sexy, or whatever. if flawed. there's not enough new material in the fandom to satisfy my cravings.)