THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Narrated by Simon Vance

"In a romantic chamber of the heart, in a nostalgic country of the mind where it is always 1895." V. Starrett

I've read all the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories many times over the years, needless to say, and of course, I am very familiar with the movies and television versions. But I'd always thought about getting the entire collection on audio - and now, finally, I have. Hard to explain the 'comfort' of Sherlock Holmes to anyone not similarly affected or 'afflicted'.

I downloaded the entire unabridged series of stories from Audible with brilliant narration by Simon Vance and in effect, I've been happily ensconced in Victorian England over the past week or so.

Vance is a wonder, his remarkably rich voice captures the varying personalities of each and every character in the canon, even the American voices in A STUDY IN SCARLET and THE VALLEY OF FEAR. 'His' Holmes is perfection. I can't imagine a finer and more adept audio interpretation.

There are some audio versions of the Holmes stories available for free downloading online, but nothing on the level of Vance's narration. At least not that I've heard. This is the version to beat.

Tuesday's Forgotten (or Overlooked) Film: THE SCARLET CLAW (1944) starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

Of all the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, I think this is the one with the most creepy-scary moments - so I am hereby qualifying it as a tip-top Halloween offering.

THE SCARLET CLAW (1944) is a film directed by Roy William Neill (as were most of the Holmes/Watson movies released by Universal) and it is based, far as I know, on nothing Conan Doyle ever wrote (except for the characters), especially since the action takes place in Canada.

The story:

Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are, for no apparent reason that I can make heads or tails of, traveling in Canada to attend some sort of conference on the occult. Here's why it makes no sense: Holmes doesn't believe in spooks and spirits so why would he travel halfway around the world just to tell people who do, that he doesn't. See what I mean?

At any rate, here we are in Quebec at a posh hotel.

Just as Lord Penrose (the always good for a 'sneer' Paul Cavanaugh) is addressing the conference on his belief in things supernatural - coming up against Holmes' disbelief - he receives news that his wife has been found dead back home. Without much hint of emotion, he stiffly informs the conference members that Lady Penrose's body has been discovered by the village priest in the local church - her throat torn out. I mean, jeez.

Though mortally wounded, she had dragged herself to the church where she clutched at the bell pull in a last desperate attempt to bring help. (The manor house has no phone.) Unfortunately for her, the village people in the charmingly named village of La Mort Rouge are not inclined to go out in the night just to answer the odd bell ringing or two.

Eventually, the priest did set out for the church and discovered the body. Now I don't know about you, but I'd imagine a cut throat would be rather a bloody thing, but nary a hint of blood or wound are we shown even when the priest looks down at the unfortunate lady's body. I'm the last person in the world - heaven knows - to call for blood and guts, but really, the whole thing looks a little too antiseptic even to me.

Minor quibble, I know.

Lord Penrose declines Holmes' immediate offer of help in investigating his wife's death. He is convinced that Lady Penrose has been done in by some supernatural evil lurking in his aptly named home town.

But Holmes is surprised the next morning as he and Watson are preparing to return to London, to discover a letter asking for his help. The letter was written by none other than Lady Penrose herself just days before her tragic death.

As Holmes' says, "Imagine the irony, Watson. For the first time we have been retained by a corpse." (Or words to that effect.)

Despite Lord Penrose's standoff-ishness, Holmes and Watson travel to the gloomy (not to mention, foggy and shadowy) village of La Mort Rouge to investigate the murder of Lady Penrose.

To that end, the villagers they meet up with, including a rather garrulous post man and a surly publican with a sweetly innocent daughter, are a nervous and suspicious lot full of superstitious nonsense stemming from the fact that some sheep have recently been found nearby with their throats cut. Yeah, that would be enough to make me nervous and suspicious, I admit it.

La Mort Rouge is one of those grim places with a tedious history where everything happens at night and daylight is a rare commodity.

Of course Holmes, the most rational of men, is not convinced that the evil they're dealing with is of the supernatural variety, not even after coming across a ghostly figure prancing about the fields in the dark.

Unable to prevent a couple more murders, Holmes comes to realize that the victims (except one) all share a common - if improbable - link and that a brutal killer, adept at disguise, is actually lurking among the villagers, hiding in plain sight.

In this as in so many Holmes' movies made at Universal, we have a familiar cast of character actors who appear over and over again in various and sundry parts: Gerald Hamer, Paul Cavanaugh, Arthur Hohl, Miles Mander, David Clyde and the always wonderfully creepy Ian Wolfe among others.

It's almost like little theater where the same actors take different parts, sometimes as villains, sometimes as heroes, sometimes bit parts, sometimes more. It's always fun to distinguish among them and realize where and when you've seen them before. The only constants are Holmes and Watson and occasionally Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard (Dennis Hoey,who does not appear in this film).

If THE SCARLET CLAW is successful, believe me it is not because of the rather hackneyed, illogical script. (Which is basically a version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, minus the hound.) What works for me best are the creepy atmospherics (and you know how important I think those are).

As I mentioned, everything happens in the dark of night - all is doom and gloom, and the murder weapon, a five pronged garden weeder, is as nasty as it sounds.

So, throw logic out the window, fix a batch of popcorn and prepare to enjoy another moody Halloween flick which will get you in the mood but will not gross you out.

Preview the original trailer here.

Conan Doyle is probably spinning in his grave...

Why oh why can't people leave well enough alone? Now, I like Johnny Lee Miller well enough and he might, just might make a good modern day Sherlock Holmes. But Lucy Liu as Dr. Watson???

No, no, a thousand times no! Debuting tonight - ('Elementary' now isn't that a clever name?) it's just as well that I don't have cable and therefore won't be watching.

If you take a look, let me know what you think. If it's good, I'll eat my words.

But in the meantime, I remain, aghast, agape and agog.

I didn't like the Robert Downey Jr. incarnation of Holmes, either.

What was Holmes thinking? Now we know.

Now at long last, we know what Sherlock Holmes was thinking when he first met his future partner and wife, Mary Russell on the Sussex Downs lo, these many years ago.

We also realize (if we've read The Beekeeper's Apprentice) that Watson was absolutely correct in his estimation - though Holmes accuses him of being over-dramatic. Not true. Watson was right on the money.

BEEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS is a short story recalling what was on Holmes' mind that fateful day. (The Beekeeper's Apprentice is written from Mary Russell's point of view.) For me it's just a bit of amplification that adds clarity to the events which at the time, for Holmes and Russell, at least - were momentous.

For me too, come to think of it since The Beekeeper's Apprentice was the beginning of my love affair with this wonderful series.

BEEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS is available for 99 cents as an e-book. I've downloaded the Kindle for PC from amazon (it's free) and occasionally - at the risk of a headache - will read a story on my computer screen - it's it's short enough.

Tuesday's Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film: WITHOUT A CLUE (1988) starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley

Tuesday is Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film day - a weekly meme hosted by Todd Mason at his blog, SWEET FREEDOM. Don't forget to visit and see what other overlooked films other bloggers are talking about today.

I've talked about WITHOUT A CLUE, a 1988 film directed by Thom Eberhardt, before, when I first began blogging, but I think it's time to talk about it again. Not enough people have heard of this hilarious Holmes and Watson parody starring two British actors better known for their dramatic work.

It's Victorian England at its wacky, murderous best. Ben Kingsley plays a brilliant and very pompous  Dr. John Watson who in this version of Arthur Conan Doyle's tales, is the real brains behind the classic detecting duo. Sherlock Holmes is just an invention of his fertile imagination. But the stories Watson writes are so popular he's forced to produce a real life Holmes. 

Readers (as well as the cops) think that Holmes is the actual genius solving the cases Watson chronicles.

To that end, he hires a drunken, womanizing sot of an actor - Michael Caine at his laughably smarmy best, to play Sherlock Holmes. Caine easily steals the movie with his outrageous portrayal of a nitwit. When I first saw this movie sitting in a nearly empty theater, I laughed until I cried. It was embarrassing.

Unfortunately no one else in the theater found the film as amusing, so I assumed they were grumpy Holmes purists or just a bunch of folks without any redeeming qualities whatsoever.

When an indignant Watson fires Holmes for being a total incompetent, not to mention a letch and a lush, Watson then goes to his publisher Conan Doyle and tries to make a different deal for himself - a series of tales based on a crime solving doctor.The publisher scoffs at the idea.

The public wants Holmes. Period. The good doctor is hoisted on his own petard.

The government wants Holmes too. They come calling on a case of national importance (a missing Bank of England 5 pound notes printing press and an engraver), they won't hear of anyone but Holmes taking the case.

So Watson is forced to rehire Holmes whom he finds drunk and disorderly at a local pub.

On the trail of the murderous and cunning Professor James Moriarity (an overacting Paul Freeman), Watson drags Holmes along to the Lake District of England to investigate the finding of a dead body related to the Bank of England case. They are met at the train station by half the town and a marching band.

The thing is, wherever they go, Holmes is the detecting rock star. Watson gets shoved into the background literally and figuratively. But it's always Watson deducing and hunting for clues as Holmes basks in the limelight with the cheesiest grin this side of Wisconsin.

Along for the ride are Inspector Lestrade (Jeffrey Jones) who is no smarter than Holmes and worse yet, can't quite figure out that's it's Watson who is the brains of the whole enterprise.

The humor in the film comes from watching Kingsley and Caine do their best to upstage each other while in the midst of attempting to solve a heinous crime. Michael Caine is just superb. Is there nothing this man can't do? He is totally unafraid to look or act the fool. Kingsley in a thankless role, is almost as good though he isn't as self deprecating as Michael Caine. His portrayal is a bit too tightly mannered to be truly funny, but he is wonderful nonetheless.

WITHOUT A CLUE is not all mystery and wackiness and fun (not that there's anything wrong with that), in some strange way it's also a film about friendship and tolerance. At the heart of Michael Caine's lechery and lunacy is a touching glimmer of loneliness. In the end, these two very strange men finally work out a way to solve the case and save their odd partnership.

Unfortunately, the second half of the film doesn't play as well as the first because, foolishly, it all takes a serious turn - things start blowing up and Paul Freeman chews up the scenery with his Snidely Whiplash portrayal of Moriarity.

Thankfully though, there's  Caine and Kingsley to save the day and the movie.

If you have affection for Holmes and Watson and you also enjoy British physical humor, slapstick and satire, plus you enjoy laughing out loud, then this is the movie for you.

Look, I'm a Holmes purist of the old school. Except for the books by Laurie R. King, I'm not overly fond of Holmes pastiches and heaven forbid someone make fun of my favorite fiction character in all literature.

WITHOUT A CLUE is pastiche and funny faces and Holmes as fool and yet, I love it.

You can never overestimate the power of an actor's charm.

About Sherlock Holmes...

illustration by Sidney Paget

Just in case you needed a brief brushing up on all things Holmesian, here's a nice overview of the most famous consulting detective in literature, by Michael Dirda over at The Browser.

I first heard about this piece through The Book Beast at The Daily Beast.

Quote/Unquote

It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Copper Beeches

David Burke as Watson and Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes

Happy Birthday, John H. Watson, M.D.!

Watson and Holmes in the original drawings by Sidney Paget.

Nigel Bruce as Watson in all fourteen films with Basil Rathbone as Holmes.

Ian Hart as Watson in the PBS Mystery production of The Hound of the Baskervilles with Richard Roxburgh as Holmes.

David Burke as Watson in the Granada television production of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett as Holmes

Edward Hardwicke as Watson (he took over from Burke and made the role his own) beginning with The Return of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.

Martin Freeman as Watson in the newest, modern day version of Sherlock Holmes with Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes.

***********************************

Today - July 7th - is the birth date (supposed) of John H. Watson (b. 1852 ), doctor, army surgeon, wounded soldier, dedicated friend, trusted and devoted side kick to the greatest detective who ever lived, Sherlock Holmes. As much as Holmes always bridled at the very idea of Watson's case-book chronologies, I wonder where the world of detectivizing and literature would be today if not for Watson's insistence on telling tales.

Arthur Conan Doyle knew what he was doing by having the Holmes stories narrated in the first person by an interested on-looker. Stories told by Holmes himself would have been, admittedly, nothing but humorless, romance-free tracts on crime-fighting in Victorian England with particular attention paid to the copious and various minutia of scientific clue-gathering, tobacco particle by bit of ash, by bit of indigenous earth by depth of footprint.

Thank goodness for John H. Watson. Without him there would be no stories. Without him, you could say, there would be no Sherlock Holmes.

The role of Watson hasn't changed much over the years, even as the stories based on the original canon have expanded and morphed into modern day scenarios - he remains the devoted helpmate, ready to lend a hand, move into 221-B Baker Street between marriages and/or run off with Holmes to solve a case on nothing more than a moment's anxious notice. His devotion to his friend is complete and unstinting. For my money, this friendship is what makes Holmes, who would otherwise be nothing more than a brain encased in a walking/talking shell, human. Though occasionally short-tempered and impatient with Watson, Holmes' affection and devotion for his friend is, I believe, as deeply felt and returned.

Not to put too fine a point on it, I believe that Watson was Holmes' savior. There was always that something about Holmes that made me think he did not want to, essentially, disappoint Watson's hero-worship. Though Holmes is, of course, as self-involved and selfishly self-centered as any genius, he does come to realize, I think, that with Watson at his side,  he [Holmes] is a better man.

Okay, enough mush.

Today we celebrate the birthday of a man who would have probably been embarrassed to be called 'great' and yet, in my book, he evidenced his greatness by the very unimaginative, naive and sheer simple goodness of his nature and his complete devotion to that most difficult genius whom he called "...the best and wisest man whom I have ever known."

We should all be so lucky to have such a friend.

Forgotten or Overlooked Movies: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR (1942) starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

I suspect this movie has purposely been forgotten my some to whom the idea of Sherlock Holmes still alive and kicking in or around 1940 or so, is anathema. Horror of horrors. Conan Doyle must be spinning in his grave. Nah. Far as I'm concerned, Holmes is now, was then and always will be, immortal. (Despite Doyle's fussing.) So why shouldn't he show up to help fight Nazis? What greater evil has ever daunted the British lion? (A hint of this appears in the opening credits as the darkness of war looms over Great Britain.)

In this third of what would eventually be fourteen Holmes and Watson films (most directed by Roy William Neill), suspend your disbelief and join in the fun of watching Basil Rathbone - one of the three best Holmes interpreters, the other two being Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett - as he goes about the business of taking on 5th Column spies and saboteurs plaguing England on the very eve of World War II. This time directed by John Rawlins.

Here's the story: Alongside Watson - played bumblingly and endearingly by Nigel Watson - Holmes is called in (as a last resort) to add his peculiar genius to a problem-plagued Government Defense Committee faced with a national disaster of nightmarish proportions.

What the newspapers have dubbed the Voice of Terror is a nightly (more or less) radio transmission - interrupting regular broadcasting - in which a strident German accented voice (speaking in English) predicts the immediate defeat of the British while, more importantly, predicting some deadly terrorist event, i.e. a train carrying hundreds of soldiers blown up while the Voice is on the air, similarly, a bombed factory or other important site destroyed, ships blown up and sunk in the night -that sort of thing. All these disasters happen almost instantaneously as the news is being broadcast, under the very noses of the government and the defenseless British people. Needless to say, this has the country on edge.

A seemingly hapless and helpless War Cabinet is not something any government wants to project while the threat of war is sitting across the Channel. At any rate, why the broadcasts are not simply knocked off the air is not very adequately explained, really, but that's okay - without the Voice of Terror there would be no story. And what a voice it is, too. Mocking and devious, self important and self-satisfied. There's no one like the British for saying the word, 'terror' with just the right amount of ominous emphasis. Also the word, 'futile' but I'm off on a tangent again.

When Holmes is called in, the Voice has been having it all his way for a while and a desperate cabinet has voted (not unanimously, so there is dissension in the ranks) to allow civilians - Holmes and Watson - access to heretofore 'secret' information regarding the Voice.

In this film, Basil Rathbone appears especially impatient, focused and harried, you can almost see his colossal brain working, shifting gears into overtime His country needs him - dammit!.He wears very dashing tweeds and a flamboyant kind of hairstyle which I didn't mind, but others seem to. (That means you, Classic Becky. Ha!)  He also has occasion to make a couple of strong, stirring patriotic speeches and very nicely too. The ending comments by Holmes to Watson, in a bombed out church, are especially poignant and prescient - Shakespeare, I think - This Sceptered Isle - but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to the story: Once Holmes is on the job, he almost immediately deduces that the voice has to be a member of the Defense Committee - a traitor in the upper reaches of government; treachery of the worst sort. (But he tells no one since it is merely suspicion.) He also deduces that the Germans are making one secret flight every few nights - a single plane under cover of fighters flies low over the English countryside to drop papers, plans and the recording. You see why Holmes's brain is needed during these fateful times?

In the meantime, Holmes has allied himself with the scruffier denizens of the Limehouse district of London. By appealing to their patriotism - hey, even crooks and low-lifes have patriotism - he has them spying and snooping about the city for anything untoward, especially around the wharfs and darker regions of town. Holmes always was good at getting this sort of help even back in Victorian times. The members of the Defense Committee - all upper class twits themselves - are, of course, scandalized. But Holmes could care less. War is not the time for the niceties of social class.

In general, the film has an excellent cast which includes Reginald Denny (a favorite), Thomas Gomez, Henry Daniell - hissss! (who went on to play Moriarity and other villains in several more Holmes films) and Montagu Love. It also stars Evelyn Ankers playing the important role of a young woman from Limehouse who, at Holmes' urging, insinuates herself into the shadowy household of a vile Nazi conspirator played by the always repugnant, Thomas Gomez.

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR is well done and has a good dramatic sense of urgency to it  - it was filmed in 1942, after all. I like the look of it in comparison to the later films whose budgets were practically nil. Though the films in this long-running series were never meant to be more than B grade, this one, in my view, is a stand-out. But then, I've always liked these sorts of story lines in this sort of setting. And there's no getting around the whole 'Voice of Terror' shtick which I enjoy immensely.

I did miss the Victorian trappings, but needs must and I, for one, am not taken aback that Holmes would be brought forward in time to deal with the Nazis. Of all the modern updates of Holmes, this remains a favorite.

The Quotable Sherlock Holmes

Since I posted some of my favorite Phillip Marlowe quotes earlier this week, I thought I'd do the same for Holmes. These quotes have been handily collected in one nice little book by John H. Watson, M.D. With An Introduction by John H. Watson III and Assisted by Gerard Van Der Leun.

From: THE ADVENTURE OF THE ABBEY GRANGE

"Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!" (This my favorite quote from any character in any book ever.)

From: THE VALLEY OF FEAR

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius." (My second favorite quote ever.)

From: THE GREEK INTERPRETER

"...There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubbable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offenses, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere."

From: THE CROOKED MAN

"It's every man's business to see justice done."

From: A STUDY IN SCARLET

"The plot thickens."

From: THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS

"I have been beaten four times - three times by men, and once by a woman."

From: A STUDY IN SCARLET

"Let me see - what are my other shortcomings? I get in the dumps at times, and don't open my mouth for days on end. You must not think I am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and I'll soon be right. What have you to confess now? It's just as well for two fellows to know the worst of one another before they begin to live together." Speaking to Watson.

From: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

"Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him."

From: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

"Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to bring home."

From: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

From: THE VALLEY OF FEAR

"When you have one of the finest brains of Europe up against you, and all the powers of darkness at his back, there are infinite possibilities."

From: THE FINAL PROBLEM

"You know my powers, my dear Watson, and yet at the end of three months I was forced to confess that I had at last met an antagonist who was my intellectual equal. My horror at his crimes was lost in my admiration of his skill."

From: THE FINAL PROBLEM

"He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, and abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order."

From: THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE

"I love all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life."

From: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

"You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles."

From: THE SIGN OF FOUR

"Women are never to be trusted - not the best of them."

From: THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP

"I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner."

From: THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE

"It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London."

From: THE GREEK INTERPRETER (Talking about his brother Mycroft.)

"I said that he was my superior in observation and deduction. If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an armchair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived. But he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong then take the trouble to prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a problem to him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one. And yet he was was absolutely incapable of working out the practical points which must be gone into before a case could be laid before a judge and jury."

From: THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES

"It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."

From: A STUDY IN SCARLET

"Read it up - you really should. There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before."

From: THE SIGN OF FOUR

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"

From: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Speaking to Watson.)

"I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt."

From: HIS LAST BOW

"Here is the fruit of my leisured case, the magnum opus of my latter years, PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BEE CULTURE, with SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SEGREGATION OF THE QUEEN. Alone I did it. Behold the fruit of pensive nights and laborious days when I watched the little working gangs as once I watched the criminal world of London."

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: Letter H

When I think of the Letter H in the context of mystery/crime fiction/thrillers, there are two possibilities: Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. For the Crime Alphabet Meme being hosted by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise I'm choosing Holmes. Simply put he has been and will always be my favorite fictional character as well as the best and most brilliant detective (consulting or otherwise) in the entire history of crime and detection.

I began reading the Sherlock Holmes stories early and just quietly and easily fell under their spell. Of the novels, I am a major fan of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. THE SIGN OF FOUR and A STUDY IN SCARLET, not so much. I also love most of the short stories though I haven't, lately, read them as frequently as I used to and my memory is not what it should be. (I see though I could have just as easily chosen The Hound for my letter H. But I'll stick with Holmes.)

For whatever magical reason, the stories continue to capture the imagination these many years, these many readings later. Holmes is just one of those eternal characters. If you ask me to list chapter and verse why this should be so, I don't know that I could. But once you fall under the spell of his personality, his oddities and eccentricities, you are his forever.

I always say that I fell in love with Holmes when I was a kid and I just never fell out. One of several reasons I am an Anglophile is because of Holmes.

When I traveled to London many years ago, I even went so far as to stay on Baker Street at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel. Yes, I can see you all rolling your eyes. But you know, once I saw the name of the hotel I really had no choice. I even brought home a deerstalker cap. Ha!

If you have the entire Holmes canon (as I do) in one or two volumes, it's fun to dip in now and then and pick up one of the stories. Occasionally I will listen to an audio version which is just as much fun. I've never grown tired of listening to THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. The audios are much better than any of the filmed versions unfortunately. For whatever reason, they always muck up the story one way or another when it's filmed. So I'll stick to the audio or the written word.

I am still, to this moment, thrilled when I hear or read the words: "Come Watson, come! The game is afoot!" This is my favorite line in literature.

I am fond of watching Jeremy Brett play Holmes in the series he did for PBS in the 80's. (Available on Netflix instant play which is really most accommodating of them.) They're as faithful to the stories as you're going to find - especially the first two seasons. Just beautifully done. Brett is the ultimate Holmes. Later the shows veered away from the canon and the series suffered, as of course, it must.

Another good choice for Holmes-watching are the films done by the second best Holmes of all time: Basil Rathbone. I am an unabashed fan of Basil Rathbone and he can do no wrong in my book, so take care if you are in the mood to criticize. These films are kind of a mish-mash, of course, since they never followed any of the actual Conan Doyle stories but merely took bits and pieces of a few and spliced them here and there to make 'new' stories.

Most are dreadful. But I never minded because I had a good time watching Basil and Nigel Bruce giving their all to the definitive (until Jeremy Brett) portrayals of Holmes and Watson. The films are watchable ONLY because of these two actors and that's why, in spite of my misgivings, I still recommend them. (I also had a great crush on Basil, but let's not go there.)

There have been, of course, hundreds of attempts by various writers over the years to capture the 'magic' of Holmes, continuing the character in 'newly discovered' stories written by Watson. Most of them I haven't read. Of those I have, I've liked THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA by Rick Boyer and THE REVENGE OF THE HOUND by Michael Hardwick. But my very favorite interpretation continues to be that of Laure R. King's. In her series beginning in 1994 with THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE she has taken Holmes and turned him into a flesh and blood man, something even Doyle had trouble with. The series will now be 11 books along with the publication in September 2011 of The Pirate King. I can't wait. This is my favorite historical mystery series over-all and I recommend it highly.

For a full list of Laurie R. King's Sherlock Holmes books, please check out this link.

For those of us fortunate enough to have fallen under the spell of Holmes and Watson, nothing much else needs to be said, I'm preaching to the converted here. For those less fortunate: you don't know what you're missing.

For links to all the bloggers participating in the Crime Fiction Alphabet Letter 2011 Meme please go to Kerrie's blog MYSTERIES IN PARADISE.

Things Good To Know: Today is Sherlock Holmes' Birthday

Had he been 'real', Arthur Conan Doyle's immortal fictional detective would have been 157 years old today. (Even if he had been 'real', he would have still been immortal.) You know, if a character can be judged by the affection, admiration and esteem he has been held in over lo, these many years, then Sherlock Holmes, probably to his eternal befuddlement, has to be seen as one of the more beloved of ALL fictional characters. And, at least according to the author of THE VELVETEEN RABBIT's theory, the more a make-believe character is loved, the more he is 'made real'. So, for all intents and purposes, Holmes still lives. (I'm sure being compared to a velveteen rabbit, would have pained him enormously.)

Make no mistake, I fell in love with Holmes when I was a teenager and I've never fallen out. (I was also smitten, early on, by Hercule Poirot and Nero Wolfe. Obviously I'm a big believer in the lure of brain power.) So, for me, Holmes can do no wrong. But mostly I am a purist: it is the Holmes of Victorian gas lit London streets that I love best.

I'm including a link to the fabulous (and worthy of Doyle's original creation) Granada Television series featuring Jeremy Brett's incredible performance as Holmes and David Burke or Edward Hardwicke as his Watson. You can watch all the series of adventures unfold instantly at Netflix. You can also read about Brett and the series in a post from my blog linked here. If you scroll down a bit, on the left side of my blog you will also find a link to various posts on Holmes I've made over the last few months.

Thanks to The Rap Sheet blog for the heads up on this auspicious birth day.