Dr. Watson (Robert Duvall) prepares a scheme to Sherlock (Nicol Williamson) meets Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin) in Vienna to cure his drugs addiction . Besides , the trio will resolve an abducting of a famous actress damsel (Vanessa Redgrave) , rescuing her from villains still being beset by his dastardly and devilish rival . Holmes excursion brings the famed Victorian sleuth towards Austria , as Holmes along Freud will solve unanswered mysteries and Sherlock undergoes some risked experiences to resolve the cases using even his habitual disguise .
It is a nice Holmes film with gripping London and Vienna setting . A genuine ripping yarn and very intriguing . The movie blends suspense , thriller , detective action , cloak and dagger , mystery and being enough interesting . Packs an exciting amount of surprises with great lots of entertainment . This is a classy and effective romp with a strongly casting . Nicol Williamson as whimsical detective is top-notch , he's in cracking form . He makes an unique perspective on his life , revealing a complex personality . He's finely matched in battle of wits with Freud . The stars have a splendid fight aboard a train towards the end ; plus , Holmes tries to battle his arch-enemy Moriarty but with an amazing final surprise . Although Basil Rathbone will be forever identified as Holmes ; however , here Nicol Williamson is also played as an intelligent , cunning , broody and impetuous pipesmoking sleuth but addicted to cocaine , his interpretation is likeness to Christopher Plummer (Murder by decree) or Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett in television . While Dr. Watson isn't a bumbling and botcher pal generally represented by Nigel Bruce , but a clever and astute partner magnificently incarnated by Robert Duvall .
Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer provides the original plot , creating the basis for this particularly storyline . After this film , source novelist-screenwriter Meyer realized a similar operation , uniting H.G.Wells with Jack the Ripper in the movie ¨Time after the time¨ , as he became a film director himself , in his another picture connected with Victorian England. Excellent sets by production designer Ken Adam in his fourth of seven collaborations to director Herbert Ross . The film boasts a beautiful cinematography by Oswald Morris and a haunting score by John Addison . The motion picture sparkles with polish and wit and the ending results to be as exciting as moving and being well directed by Herbert Ross .
