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Hands of a Murderer
UK 1990
produced by Robert E. Fuisz (executive), William F. Storke (executive) for Green Pond Productions, Storke Enterprises, Yorshire International Films
directed by Stuart Orme
starring Edward Woodward, John Hillerman, Anthony Andrews, Kim Thomson, Peter Jeffrey, Warren Clarke, Terence Lodge, Christopher Fairbank, Harry Audley, David Sibley, Nickolas Grace, John Tordoff, Michael Tezcan, Daniel Newman, Faith Kent, Jimmy Flint, Geoffrey Rose, Honora Burke
screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue, based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, music by Colin Towns
Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Moriarty (Anthony Andrews) escapes the gallows (literally) thanks to a couple of
smokebombs and a Punch and Judy-theatre. This of course means his
old foe Sherlock Holmes (Edward Woodward) won't sleep until he has
recaptured him, and to do just that, he even turns down a gouvernment
assignment to find out who's stealing military secrets presented to him by
his brother Mycroft (Peter Jeffrey) and Colonel Gould (Warren Clarke) -
that is though until one of the secrets is stolen using hypnotism, a
method Moriarty would use, and then Mycroft is kidnapped. Of course,
Moriarty is really involved, and he has kidnapped Mycroft because the
secret he has stolen is coded, and only Mycroft has the key. But Mycroft
is a man of magnificent willpower, and thus he gives Moriarty only the
kind of information that will get Sherlock on his trail. After much to and
fro, that even has Holmes' trusted sidekick Watson (John Hillerman)
kidnapped once, and that has several of Moriarty's men killed, Holmes
figures that Colonel Gould has to be Moriarty's accomplice, and thus he
(and the police) just follow Gould to Moriarty's hideout - which leads to
a big shootout with Moriarty escaping and Homes being killed (!) - but at
least, Mycroft and his military secret are saved. Holmes' burial: A
frail old man wants to lay a bouquet on his coffin, but is suddenly
handcuffed by a beggar - the men are of course Moriarty and Holmes, and
the situation culminates in a high speed coach chase, at the end of which
Moriarty's coach goes down some cliffs into a lake. It's not likely that
he has survived, but his body cannot be found ... An ok Sherlock
Holmes movie: It's decently directed, carried by an excellent
cast, and even if little emphasis is put on character development in this
particular film, it can be assumed that the lead characters are well-known
enough from books and other movies to compensate for that. As I said, an
ok Sherlock Holmes movie - and that's just Hands of a
Murderer's problem: There is virtually nothing in here that you
haven't seen before, no side of Holmes, Watson, Moriarty, Mycroft that we
aren't already familiar with, no supporting characters that aren't just
your Sherlock Holmes-clichées, no situations or conclusions
that come across as unexpected. It's really just your typical Sherlock
Holmes movie - and whether or not you watch it really makes no
difference.
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