The Adventure Of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother [1975] Gene Wil

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The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072608/

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is a 1975 English/American comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear and Leo McKern. The film was Wilder's directorial debut.

Douglas Wilmer and Thorley Walters appear as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively. Wilmer had previously appeared as Sherlock Holmes in the 1960s BBC TV series, and Walters played Watson in three other films: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), The Best House in London (1969), and Silver Blaze (1977).


Gene Wilder ... Sigerson Holmes
Madeline Kahn ... Jenny Hill
Marty Feldman ... Sgt. Orville Stanley Sacker
Dom DeLuise ... Eduardo Gambetti (as Dom De Luise)
Leo McKern ... Moriarty
Roy Kinnear ... Moriarty's Assistant
John Le Mesurier ... Lord Redcliff
Douglas Wilmer ... Sherlock Holmes
Thorley Walters ... Dr. Watson
George Silver ... Bruner

The film's title and premise are a joke referring to the character of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes' older brother, who was by both of their estimates a good deal smarter than Sherlock. He was, however, too lazy to become a detective, and did indispensable work for the British government. Mycroft was described by Sherlock in conversation with Watson:

ΓΓé¼┼ô One has to be discreet when one talks of high matters of state. You are right in thinking that he is under the British government. You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he is the British government.

[...] Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind, will receive neither honour nor title, but remains the most indispensable man in the country.
ΓΓé¼┬¥
ΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans"


Sigerson's name refers to an alias used by Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Empty House".

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is a true oddity in the history of cinema if there ever was one. At first glance it would be totally justified to mistake it for a Mel Brooks movie. After all, the cast feels rightΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, and Gene WilderΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥all synonymous with Mr. Brooks.

It also uses a recognizable "Brooksian" (to coin a term) formula in that it takes a specific genre and spins it on its earΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥much like Young Frankenstein did with the classic Universal Pictures horror movies of the '30s and '40s, Blazing Saddles did with the Western. or High Anxiety did with the Hitchcock canon.

On closer inspection, however, something seems a little bit off. There's a sense of fearlessness afoot. The humour is less obvious and more surreal. Scenes shift from the uncomfortable, to the erotic, to the utter macabre. Musical numbers pop out of absolutely nowhere. No, my friends, this is not your typical Mel Brooks movie, and the reasons are as obvious as the noses on your face. Nose. nose on your face. Of course, nose, not nosesΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥nobody has two nose on their face unless theyΓΓ鼪anyway that's not what's important right now. What is important right now is that The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother not only starred Mr. Gene Wilder, but it was also written and directed by him.

This is a film that has reached cult status in some very unlikely circles. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was never widely released to the home video market. In 1977 Magnetic Video did release both a VHS and Beta version, but after thatΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥nothing. Here it is then, over thirty years later and with a commentary by Gene Wilder thrown in for good measure. So will this be the Holy Grail edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother that the few, the faithful, and the peculiar have been clamouring to get their hands on or will it simply be, well, merely elementary?

If you're curious to see the inner workings of Gene Wilder's comedic mind left to its own devices, then I suggest you watch this disc pronto. You have to remember, he wrote this after collaborating on the script for Young Frankenstein, another comedic masterpiece, which means he was arguably at the peak of his creative powers. If anything, after watching the former you can't help but go back and start picking out the Wilder touch in the latter. Hell, it could be a credited course in any popular culture curriculum in the country. (Say that three times fast.)

The genius of Gene Wilder's comedic persona is in the juxtaposition between his innocent doe-eyed schoolboy looks and the manic frenzy that can explode at any minute from it. Nobody builds up to a psychotic outburst like Gene. And he doesn't disappoint here. Wilder's Sigerson Holmes is an equally combustible mixture of supreme ego, immense insecurity, and unflappable confidence. He is so convinced of his own genius that the very thought that he could be on the wrong track doesn't even come into equationΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥often leading to hilarious consequences.

But then a hero is only as good as the villain he faces. That's where Leo McKern comes in. Best known, perhaps, for his role as Horace Rumpole of the Rumpole of the Bailey series on PBS, Leo McKern is a sadistic delight as the evil Moriarty. McKern plays him with twitches, ticks and the uncontrollable urge to scream "YaΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥Ya" at intermittent intervals and has the compulsive need to do something gloriously evil every twenty minutes. McKern is a pleasure to watch, and his interaction with Dom DeLuise as opera singer/blackmailer Eduardo Gambetti, who pinches, slaps, and pulls at McKern's rubber features, is pure magic. Yes, that's right. Dom DeLuise. Sadly people forget how funny this man can be. Today he's regulated to the same comedy ghetto as the likes of Tim Conway or Harvey Korman. And that's just not fair (for any of them). DeLuise's portrayal of Eduardo Gambetti is inspired. The screen comes alive whenever he shows up and even though he's just a supporting player, he almost steals the show.