sherlock holmes: wisteria lodge (16 caps)

[cimorene]

interestingly, the boxed set's liner notes say of 'wisteria' that it touched a bit on the homosexual (and almost as interestingly, out brett as bi):

"Powers remembered Brett to Scarlet Street magazine at the time of the actor's death, obliquely referring to the Brett's [sic] rarely-mentioned bisexuality:

'I am happy to be counted as one of Jeremy's friends--for indeed, I loved him, too. He was a princes--sometimes a princess-but always among the crowned heads of theater and film.'

...

'The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge' (1908) is a story with a gay subtext of its own. It has often been argued... that Mr. John Scott Eccles' invitation to visit Aloysius Garcia at Wisteria Lodge is nothing less than a homosexual pickup. ...

'I am a bachelor... and being of a socialbe turn I cultivate a large number of friends...I met some weeks ago a young fellow named Garcia... He spoke perfect English, was pleasing in his manners, and as good=looking a man as ever I saw in my life...In some way we struck up quite a friendship, this young fellow and I. He seemed to take a fancy to me from the first, and within two days of our meeting he came to see me at Lee. One thing led to another and it ended in his inviting me out to spend a few days at his house, Wisteria Lodge....'[all ellipses in this paragraph were already present when i got to it.] --Richard Valley

this story is notable for a particularly electrifying performance by brett and an illustrious guest star--the guy who plays the policeman was from the shakespeare company, apparently, and is very good.

high points: the introductory scene. brett really chews the scenery. the height of adorability comes when he tosses a bunch of papers, and his hands, into the air in exasperation (because he's bored and thirsting for a case, you understand).
low points: the thing watson wears in the first scene (cap inside)--is it a smoking jacket, or a dressing gown? anyway, it's hideous.
guest stars/plot: particularly dramatic flashback towards the end of this one. plus, a nice shot of garcia kissing his gun (cap inside).
slash: not terribly obtrusive, but i thought this one was sort of warmfuzzy all the same.



the opening shot--poor bored holmes.

springing into action.

mr. john scott eccles, foreground. watson, behind, in the hideous jacket. what is that, brown silk jacquard with frog closures and--a fur collar?

thinking and tapping his lips. wearing black leather gloves, rar.

a nice shot of the street in the town where the investigations take place.

watson deciding from h.'s notes what to do while h. is in town for the day. that's a spyglass in his hand.

walking off into the sunset. investigating near where the body of garcia was found.


running to the bicycles to pursue a horse-drawn carriage, which bears an abducted lady to the train.

w. bicycling after h.


the inevitable discussion/explanation/solution scene in the denoument.

the lady's flashback--that's a knife at her throat.

the bad guy, a don pedro.

garcia kissing the gun.

h. paying his respects to the local constable, who has actually, for once, earned them.

Comments

[dana-kujan.livejournal.com]

I had learned a few years before his death that Mr. Brett was bisexual from an American artist friend of his. At the time, even though I'm bisexual (I prefer "queer") myself, I was a little put off by the way she declared it, not so much by the words she used ("he identifies himself as 'basically gay'"), but that she used the fact as an excuse for her slash drawings. I certainly wasn't shocked by the art, nor had I demanded an explanation for it. I've never felt that sexual identity or art needed explaining or justifying. ::shrug:: Maybe she just struck me as odd.

Anyway, there's a lot of homosexual subtext in the Canon, and quite a few homosexual characters. Two good books on the subject, if you haven't read them already: "In Bed with Sherlock Holmes" (Christopher Redmond) and "Naked is the Best Disguise" (Samuel Rosenberg).

And you're right about Watson's jacket/robe thing. He looks like he's trying to be Rex Harrison! "Sorry, John, you want the Higgins residence next door."

[cimness.livejournal.com]

ahahah! an excuse! slash needs no excuse.

'basically gay' seems an odd way to describe a bisexual man who lived for many years in a heterosexual relationship. not to imply that makes him mostly heterosexual either. actually, it's a strange descriptor for any bisexual person, even if they lean more towards the gay side, i think.

no, i've not read those books. on reflection i believe my opportunities to read them very limited. i'd have to order them online. i'm not sure it'd be worth it as the subtext seems fairly obvious.

[dana-kujan.livejournal.com]

I agree with your "strange descriptor" remark. I'm not sure what was up with the artist friend, and I've since lost contact with her, so I guess that's enough said about that.

I found the books I mentioned in my public library, way back when I was still in high school. They helped confirm to my tender young brain that I wasn't imagining things, or at least that I wasn't the only one getting that "queer vibe."

[cimness.livejournal.com]

dare i to hope--?!

but my public library is horrible. i mean, this is a library that every weekend holds a book sale, and offers for sale every book that has not been checked out in the past three years.

(but i went to the library in lubbock, texas while visiting an aunt, and they didn't even own--counting ALL the branches together!--every work by dr. seuss! astonishing.)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

the university library has one of them.

but it's a university of 35,000--i think they should have BOTH ::grumble::.

[dana-kujan.livejournal.com]

Cool! Which one does it have?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

naked is the best disguise. trying to talk my dad into using his faculty privileges to get it for me.