The Naval Treaty

An old school chum writes to Dr. Watson and asks for Sherlock Holmes' help: an immensely important naval treaty document, which was entrusted to him for copying, has been stolen. The poor guy, devastated and hardly able to carry a conversation for two minutes before getting into another nervous fit, is hopeless.

This is the first time where the plot involves a mystery in the true sense of the word, because while Holmes is putting the pieces together in his mind, the audience isn't given much of a clue.

I admit this was my least favorite episode when I first binge-watched this series, since I found the constant whining and nervousness of Percy Phelps (the character who lost the treaty) too tiresome and annoying. But upon a couple of repeated viewings over the years, I now find it better than most episodes. Recommended.

The Naval Treaty is an episode I always enjoy watching, mostly for the acting, characters and the story itself. I think it's fair to say it is lacking in any suspense or mystery, I would argue that even a casual viewer would guess 'whodunit' within minutes.

As mentioned the performances are particularly fine, Brett is particularly strong in this one, commanding you to watch him, when he's not even so much as uttering a word. David Gwillim gives a particularly fine performance as Percy, the victim, you watch him and truly believe he's suffering. The late Gareth Thomas is also great in his role, he had such a command and presence.

So it lacks any real mystery, but it's a fine watch nonetheless. The production values, costumes etc are the glorious standard expected from this series.

One of those episodes it's nice to watch curled up with a cup of tea. 7/10

The Naval Treaty is one of the Conan Doyle short stories that had to be expanded to an hour's length.

It features a strong performance from David Gwillim. He plays Percy Phelps, a foreign office who has lost an important document. Embarrassingly his uncle is also the foreign minister. Phelps has literally fallen to illness brought about by the shock of losing the papers. He calls on his old school friend, Dr Watson for help.

Sherlock Holmes is certainly intrigued by the puzzle. Phelps working late at night only left his office briefly and the document swiftly disappeared. However Holmes knows enough to serve Phelps something special for breakfast.

This is a well adapted story, Jeremy Brett looks suave in his light coloured suit as he spends an afternoon in the country. It does lose some mystery because of the well known guest star syndrome.

Watching The Naval Treaty in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes my mind wandered to Woodrow Wilson and one of his 14 points which was 'open covenants openly arrived at', something he was trying to get into the Treaty of Versailles. It was against just such things as this, a secret Naval Treaty between the British and the Italians, something the foreign offices of any number of European powers would have loved to have gotten their hands on in those days before World War I.

The document, written in French, because in Europe that was the universal language of diplomacy, is entrusted to David Gwillim, a clerk in the foreign office. Gwillim is in that position because of his uncle is the foreign minister. One night the document is stolen and Gwillim facing personal ruin as well as the potential crisis in foreign relations the United Kingdom could suffer calls on a friend of a friend. Gwillim went to school with David Burke as Dr. John Watson and we know who his friend is. Jeremy Brett is the one man in the country who could untangle this potential crisis and keep it from coming to a head.

Given the limited number of characters in a short story, let alone one of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about the master sleuth, we only have a limited number of suspects. It was obvious to me who the guilty party was almost from the beginning. Yet Conan Doyle's stories are mind games, the treat in reading and watching a dramatization is to see how Sherlock Holmes's mind works.

We don't have secret treaties any more, not because nations wouldn't like to have them. But in this the day of the internet, such secrets can't be kept for too long. What Wilson couldn't get by treaty, technology has forced upon nations.

The Naval Treaty is a strong episode with a lot that makes the Granada Sherlock Holmes series so great evident. It's not one of the best, with the perpetrator rather obvious from the get go due to a lesser amount of suspects as usual. However, the story is the usual clever and mostly compelling standard, and the script is of high quality, thought-provoking and sometimes playful with some suspenseful parts too. The music is wonderful, I always find the music in this series haunting, beautiful or often both, and this episode is an example of the music being both. The production values are typically splendid, evocative and very beautiful-looking. The photography is always focused and fluid. The acting is strong too, the support cast are good but nobody as such stood out. David Burke is a composed and intelligent Watson, but this episode belongs to the supreme Holmes of Jeremy Brett, who never fails to delight with his gritty baritone and towering presence. All in all, not one of my favourites but still very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox