#SHERLOCKSUNDAY : THE CASE OF THE SABOTAGED DANCING MEN EPISODE

#SHERLOCKSUNDAY Here's a little tale, a story, a case that would puzzled the great #SHERLOCKHOLMES himself maybe. THE CASE OF THE SABOTAGED EPISODE, concerns the events that unfolded live before the British television viewing public on the night of MONDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 1968. When the unsuspecting viewers settled down to watch the latest episode of the BBC's 'SHERLOCK HOLMES' series, starring Peter Cushing as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Dr Watson. Back in 1968, this series was not only the BBC's first Sherlock outing in colour, but it was afforded the luxury of being broadcast on an early form of video tape. Any outdoor location work, was shot on film and inserted, edited into the finished EDITED video programme.

AT THE POINT of completion, each programme existed in two forms, an edited version, with all studio sequences edited in order, just as you would see in an broadcast at home. The other version would be what is known as B ROLL footage, this consists of the entire recorded programme in a very rough form, with sometimes many recordings of the same scene, complete with mistakes, outakes and errors. OUR STORY BEGINS....

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TWILIGHT TIME BRINGS HAMMER BASKERVILLE CUSHING CLASSIC TO BLU RAY FOR USA

NEWS: Hammer films classic THE HOUND OF BASKERVILLES, starring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville... is coming to the US as a BLU RAY release set for JUNE 14th 2016...from Twilight Time. More details, with sleeve art and extras to come.....

 

 IT'S OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY PCAS 1956 -2016!

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WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! THE CASE OF THE MISSING OBJECTS REVEALED!

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! Congratulations to all five! The answers to our 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' blu ray /dvd combo competition. THANK YOU to everyone who entered, if you didn't win a copy of this Cushing Sherlock Cracker, the first it's been released on BLU RAY.. don't despair, there will be ANOTHER FIVE copies to win THIS TUESDAY in a 'sudden death' competition that will last ONLY SIX HOURS! Stay Tuned For Details.... A VERY BIG Thank you to the team at Shock for so generously sponsoring our competition!

Here are the MISSING ITEMS we were looking for:

The Case of the Missing Objects! Did you SOLVE the case? Here are the items that were missing from EXHIBIT TWO in our 'Hound of the Baskervilles' Competition... there were TEN...for some there were eleven (!!!) But as long as you included the ten we were looking for your entry was popped into the deerstalker and part of a very popular draw! 

1. Axe Behind Light Is Missing 2. Lamp Stand Missing 3. Picture to right of Sherlock replaced with photograph of Peter Cushing from The Vampire Lovers 4. Sherlock's Finger Missing 5. Studs Missing From Sherlock's Chair 6. Buttons Missing from Sherlock's Jacket 7.Detailing On bed Pillar removed 8. Blank Picture behind Watson 9. Watson's Ear Missing 10. Watson's pipe is missing.... 

There will ANOTHER COMPETITION on TUESDAY 30th SEPTEMBER (This Tuesday)..with another chance to win a further FIVE COPIES., in a SUDDEN DEATH comp that will only last SIX HOURS. Look out for details TOMORROW!

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WIN HAMMER FILMS 'THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES' BLU RAY DVD COMBO HERE!

The Hound Of The Baskervilles Blu Ray / DVD: During the month of September, The UK Peter Cushing Appreciation Society in association with Shock Entertainment, Cinema Cult and Screenpop are launching TWO competitions, offering TEN copies of Hammer films classic 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee...for the very first time on Blu Ray...as prizes!

Here we present the first competition, with FIVE blu rays up for grabs! All you have to do is use your POWERS of OBSERVATION to win your copy!

OBSERVE ABOVE EXHIBIT A: A vintage photograph from 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' Featuring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Andre Morell as Watson.

OBSERVE BELOW EXHIBIT B: The same photograph, but with TEN DIFFERENCES. Things moved, changed or missing!

To ENTER the competition, list ALL TEN DIFFERENCES and send your list to us, BY EMAIL TO : THEBLACKBOXCLUB@GMAIL.COM. ANY entries posted as comments will be deleted and not counted as an entry. ALL correct entries will be placed in a hat and FIVE winning names will be drawn.

Competition ENDS Saturday 27th SEPTEMBER 2014 at MIDNIGHT! Winners names will be posted here on the PCASUK blog / website on Sunday 28th SEPTEMBER 2014.

Have FUN and Good LUCK!

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SHERLOCK HOLMES: MUST BE THE TRUTH : BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES

BBC FOUR : 'HOW TO BE SHERLOCK HOLMES'

Thanks to Becky Jarrett and John Cooper for this info: BBC Four are going to air a documentary called 'How to Be Sherlock Holmes' at 10.00pm on Sunday the 12th of January. Christopher Lee is a contributor & Peter's tenure as the Great Detective is covered. The following link has more information, some nice little clips, & details of repeats xxx http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03pzsd9

A MISLAID HAT AND CHRISTMAS GOOSE: PETER CUSHING IN 'THE BLUE CARBUNCLE' REVIEWED WITH GALLERY

A seemingly minor issue involving a mislaid hat and Christmas goose turns fascinating for master detective Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) when a priceless gem is found in the bird's gullet...

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle made its debut in January of 1892.  The story offered a tremendous showcase for showing off Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed sleuth's ability to make precise deductions from the most mundane of materials.  It also shows off the character's rigidly applied personal code, in that he rejects a pushy dowageress' offer of a substantial sum to retrieve her stolen gem because the case (and the client) strikes him as petty at best, while he subsequently throws himself into the mystery for his own personal amusement because it's a riddle which captures his imagination.  In many respects, it's one of the most satisfying and intriguingly plotted of the Holmes stories - and yet, it remains a seldom dramatized tale so far as film and television are concerned.

The first - and as of this writing, last - version for cinemas emerged in 1923.  It was part of the long running Ellie Norwood series of Holmes films - and like the majority of the films in that franchise, it is believed to be lost today.  It would take until 1968 for the next version to emerge, this one as part of the BBC produced Sherlock Holmes series starring Peter Cushing.  It would take over a decade for the story to be filmed again, this time as a TV film produced in the then-Soviet Union. Granada added the story to their stable of Holmes adaptations starring Jeremy Brett in 1984, while an animated version was done for the program Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999).

The BBC version presents a generally faithful adaptation, courtesy of screenwriter Stanley Miller.  Though suffering from some of the same cramped production values that dogged some of the other entries, this is, on the whole, a very satisfying and briskly paced entry in the series.  Cushing gets one of his best showcases as Holmes in this episode - he perfectly captures the character's arrogance and unerring sense of logic, and he also has a marvelous moment of realization wherein the long-suffering Dr. Watson is able to gloat over one of his deductions being inaccurate.

Nigel Stock, for his part, again proves to be a most satisfactory Watson - he has moments of befuddlement worthy of Nigel Bruce in the Basil Rathbone series, but on the whole he is allowed to play the role as Doyle intended, as a sturdy and reliable medical man.  The supporting cast performs quite ably, as well, including Frank Milddlemass in the role of Peterson.  Middlemass was a busy character actor who would go on to play one of the stuffed shirt lodgers that Cushing verbally lacerates in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969).  Intriguingly, he would also go on to play the meatier role of Harold Baker - the gentleman whose loss of his hat and prized Christmas goose sets the mystery in motion - in the 1984 version with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.It has to be said that, overall, the Brett version is the stronger of the two versions - it offers up healthier production values and much more stylish direction (Bill Bain's work in that capacity in the Cushing version is very much of the "efficient" school), but it also tinkers with the finale somewhat, making it less true to the original story than the Cushing version.  Purists may therefore prefer this earlier version - and those who prefer Cushing's more controlled take on the character versus Brett's ultra-neurotic characterization are also bound to find this a much more tolerable viewing experience

Ultimately, it is to be regretted that the majority of the Cushing episodes have been lost to the mists of time.  While the majority of the earlier episodesstarring Douglas Wilmer have survived, many of the Cushing episodes were not so fortunate and fell victim to the BBC's practice of "wiping" old shows to make room for new ones.  Of those believed to be lost, one that seems of particular interest is The Naval Treaty, which featured such outstanding character actors as Dennis Price and Peter Bowles.

Price and Cushing would later go on to appear in Hammer's Twins of Evil (1971), by which point former matinee idol Price was reduced to appearing in small roles in low budget horror films just to keep the tax man away from the door.  Another lost episode, The Greek Interpreter, actually costarred Edward Hardwicke, the son of the distinguished thespian Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who would later go on to play Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes.  The loss of these episodes is indeed unfortunate, but in the "small miracles" category, at least Cushing's fanbase is not completely deprived of seeing their favorite actor playing Holmes on this series.

Indeed, The Blue Carbuncle would mark his final portrayal of the character for many years - until he was enlisted to play an aged, but still sharp, version of the detective for the Tyburn TV production Masks of Death (1984), costarring John Mills as Watson.  Cushing would later be offered a chance to play a choice supporting role in the Jeremy Brett vehicle The Last Vampyre (1994), but ill health made his participation impossible - and the role would be played instead by Maurice Denham.  Cushing's association with the role nevertheless remains quite strong for many, and he is frequently cited alongside Rathbone and Brett as being the definitive interpreter of the role on screen.

REVIEW: TROY HOWARTH
IMAGES AND FORMAT: MARCUS BROOKS

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TROY HOWARTH REVIEWS: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY: PETER CUSHING BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES

A farmer by the name of McCarthy is brutally slain.  Problem is, he wasn’t very well liked, and the list of suspects is lengthy… It’s up to Sherlock Holmes to get to the bottom of the matter…

The Boscombe Valley Mystery, published in 1891, isn’t one of the more popularly referenced Sherlock Holmes adventures, though it has been adapted on several occasions.  In 1922, it became part of a series of Holmes adventures starring Ellie Norwood as the great detective.  Prior to Arthur Wotner and Basil Rathbone, Norwood was arguably the screen’s premier interpreter of Holmes; sadly, many of his films are now believed to be lost – including this one.  The story would get a reprieve until 1968, when it was adapted for this installment of the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes series.  It would not be adapted again until Granada included it in its series The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, which would emerge as the final series to feature an ailing Jeremy Brett in his signature role as Holmes.

This adaptation remains the more satisfying of the two extant versions, largely because Cushing in his prime is so much more enthralling in the role of Doyle’s master detective.  While Brett’s performance is rightly championed in many circles, his later performances tend to mix the melodramatic with the lethargic, a reflection, no doubt, of his disintegrating mental and physical condition.  Cushing, by contrast, is at the top of his game here.  He knows when to work in one of his signature flourishes – cue that extended index finger! – and when to rely on quiet understatement.  He also has great chemistry with Nigel Stock’s Dr. Watson.  Stock is seldom mentioned among the screen’s most notable portrayers of Watson, and this is a pity – he manages to combine the blustery humor of Nigel Bruce and the intellectual efficiency of Andre Morell, and his performance matches Cushing’s every step of the way.  

The supporting roles are ably portrayed as well, with the cadaverous Peter Madden making a good impression in his small role as the ill-fated (and quite disagreeable) McCarthy; Hammer fans will remember him as the sympathetic innkeeper in Kiss of the Vampire (1962) or as the pompous police inspector volleying insults with Cushing’s Baron Frankenstein in Frankenstein Created Woman (1966).  Hammer alum Victor Brooks (Brides of Dracula) and Michael Godfrey (Rasputin – The Mad Monk) also put in appearances.

The episode was directed by Latvia-born Viktors Ritelis, whose most significant genre credit remains the suspenseful Michael Gough vehicle Crucible of Horror (1969), also known as The Corpse.  Ritelis employs some of the flashy editing techniques also evident in that film and he manages to pace the episode smoothly.  The murder scene includes some surprisingly bloody insert shots, which surely caused a little bit of concern at the BBC at the time.

For Cushing fans, The Boscombe Valley Mystery – like the other entries in the series – is an undiluted pleasure.  Holmes remains one of his most indelible characterizations, and it’s easy to see why – he manages to walk the tightrope between the florid and the understated, and he remains one of the most authentic interpreters of the character on screen.