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RiffTrax Presents a New Riff from Bridget and Mary Jo…8 Replies to “RiffTrax Presents a New Riff from Bridget and Mary Jo…”Commenting at Satellite News
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i always loved those Sherlock Holmes movie made in the late 1930s/early 1940’s.
A while back, I tried one of the other Sherlock Holmes riffs (can’t recall the title, but it’s the one with the music boxes). I was familiar with the fact that Nigel Bruce played Watson as somewhat dim, but was still startled by what an idiot his character was.
Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) was Lodac in The Magic Sword. Whit Bissell (London Bobbie) was Stanley Briggs in Lost Continent and Dr. Alfred Brandon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf. James Craven (RAF Officer Watching Bombsight Test ) was Commodore Carlson in Project Moon Base. George Eldredge (Policeman Outside Durer’s) was Mike in The Corpse Vanishes. Guy Kingsford (Foot Patrolman) was Mr. Koberly in Teen-Age Crime Wave. Composer Frank Skinner composed the stock music used in The Phantom Creeps, Kitten with a Whip, The Brute Man, Revenge of the Creature, and The Leech Woman.
Those nazis never had a chance with that blowhard psychopath in charge. Good thing after all these years we don’t have to worry about that sort of thing.
Yeah, I haven’t seen these old Holmes & Watson films since I was a kid and am kind of taken aback by how bad they actually are.
RiffTrax channel plays “The Woman in Green” regularly and Watson is definitely a drooling moron throughout…
From Wikipedia.
“‘Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon’ (1942) is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films which updated the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the then present day. The film is credited as an adaptation of Conan Doyle’s short story ‘The Adventure of the Dancing Men,’ though the only element from the source material is the dancing men code. Rather, it is a spy film taking place on the background of the then ongoing Second World War with an original premise. The film concerns the kidnapping of a Swiss scientist by their nemesis Professor Moriarty, to steal a new bomb sight and sell it to Nazi Germany. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson have to crack a secret code in order to save the country. The film is one of four films in the series which are in the public domain.
During the course of the adventure, Holmes adopts the disguises of an elderly German bookseller (taken from the Arthur Conan Doyle story ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’), the lascar sailor Ram Singh, and the Swiss scientist Professor Hoffner. His disguise as the bookseller was parodied in the film ‘The Pink Panther.’
This film marks the first appearance of Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade – the Scotland Yard detective who, with Watson, provides much of the comic relief in six of the films of the series.
Though the film is credited as an adaptation of ‘The Dancing Men’, there is little resemblance between the two other than the code. It is implied that the events of ‘The Dancing Men’ are canon with the events of the film, as Watson is reminded of ‘a case [they] had some years ago’.
Lionel Atwill appeared previously in the film The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) as Dr Mortimer.”
Terry:
For a different take on Holmes and Watson, rent or stream the movie “Without a Clue.”
It’s a 1988 British comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories but reverses the precedence of the characters in a comedic style.
It’s a fun acting showcase by those two British virtuosos.
I remember going to see “Without a Clue” at the theater in ’88 and liking it a lot. There are so many good-to-awful Sherlock Holmes remakes, reimaginings, and parodies. A strange one is 1971’s “They Might Be Giants” with George C. Scott as a deluded man who thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes, attracting the attention of a psychiatrist named, of course, Dr. Watson. It’s uneven but funny in spots; I hated the ending but oh well.
This new Rifftrax from B&MJ is good but short, and there seemed to be more than the usual number of dead spots with no riffing. Still, glad I bought it, enjoyed watching it, and look forward to seeing it a second time.
The one with the music boxes is the last one, “Dressed to Kill”. It features one of my favorite lines of dialogue, when Holmes compliments Mrs. Courtney on her plan, and she says, “Praise from you is indeed gratifying.” And, at the end when Holmes catches her, she compliments him and he responds with the same line.
The Rathbone/Bruce movies are old favorites of mine. I’d watch them with my Dad whenever they were on. That said, Bridget & Mary Jo do a great job riffing on them.