The Norwood Builder

The unfortunate John Hector McFarlane is desperately seeking Sherlock Holmes help. He will be accused of murder and needs to tell Holmes his story.

He drafted a will for Jonas Oldacre, a retired builder and a man he never met but his mother once knew him. McFarlane is the main beneficiary of the will. He had visited Oldacre's house late at night for the signing of the will.

Oldacre has been found dead, the body burnt near his house. All the evidence points towards McFarlane, his cane even his fingerprint. The will leaving him all of Oldacre's worldly possessions now looks like a death warrant.

Lestrade (Colin Jeavons) is introduced in this episode, pleased that he can get one over Holmes. Holmes is genuinely flummoxed but one suspects not for long. Watson finds out that Oldacre may not have had that much money to leave behind.

This was a such an enjoyable episode, so well realised. You can sense what might had occurred once you find out more about Oldacre. Holmes goes into disguise, acting as a vagrant to find out more information.

There were so many little things to enjoy here. Wonderful acting; Rosalie Crutchley does little to hide her disdain as the housekeeper. Anthony Langdon as the tramp and Helen Ryan as Mrs McFarlane.

There was so much here to lend atmosphere. Just look at all that horse manure on Baker Street as Holmes and Watson run for a hansom cab.

This episode again involves the client who finds himself in changed circumstances overnight. A contractor/builder finds that a man he doesn't know has made him his heir. Unfortunately, the man is killed and his body is burned. That would, of course, lead to the conclusion that the murderer was our young builder. At a time when a positive identification of a burned body was very difficult, there are some unanswered questions. First, of course, is why would this relative stranger wish to leave his money to this fellow. Holmes puts his usual tactics to work to figure this out. Inspector LeStrade makes his first appearance as Scotland Yard's cream of the crop. The byplay with Holmes as he jumps to conclusions is really fun. In the stories, LeStrade and other Yard men and local police officials benefit greatly from Holmes because the great detective does not aspire to public adoration. While Holmes is quite arrogant and incredibly sure of his abilities, he is usually satisfied to solve the crime rather than bask in the aftermath.

The Norwood Builder belongs to my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories.It is the first time when Inspector Lestrade appears - he is such a great character!It is a pleasure to watch his way of investigation, he is so self-assured and narrow-minded that he tries his best to hinder Holmes and insult him.Their duel of words is very entertaining.Just watch the various expressions on the face of Holmes - simply marvelous! My other favorite is the scene where Holmes finds the witness for Lestrade.I cannot express how much I love Jeremy's smooth, velvet voice! As he shouts 'Fire'...it is soooo masculine, powerful and overwhelming!And he looks absolutely awesome: he is tall, elegant, aristocratic and graceful like a giant cat.

Colin Jeavons was an excellent choice for Lestrade, and in the later episodes we can see a kind of friendship between him and Holmes. David Burke is as good as always, and the supporting cast is fine too.

I highly recommend this Holmes tale, it is worth watching!

A young man named McFarlane is a solicitor who is wanted by the police for murder. But before he's arrested, he calls for Holmes to tell him he's innocent and he wants Sherlock to investigate the case. It seems that a rich architect recently arrived at his office to draw up a most unusual will. It seems the man wants to leave McFarlane EVERYTHING...even though he doesn't know the man. According to Jonas Oldacre, he was in love with McFarlane's mother. But when she married another man, he decided to give the money to her son in a gesture indicating Oldacre is a lovely person...which he certainly was/is NOT!! What happens next involves a fire, Inspector Lestrade (who, despite other movies making it seem like he was often in the Holmes stories was not).

Overall, this is a pretty easy to figure out crime...even though the crime is very complex and interesting. This does not mean it's bad in any way...just one that seems more obvious than others. The solution is well done and I am happy to see that although Lestrade was a bit cocky, he was not the blithering idiot he's often shown to be in movies. Well worth your time.

John McFarlane is sought by the police for the murder of Jonas Oldacre. Shortly before he is arrested he approaches Sherlock Holmes detailing the events of the evening in question and protesting his innocence. Once Inspector Lastrade arrests McFarlane, Holmes and Watson gather evidence but things don't look good for McFarlane.

Not a famous Sherlock Holmes mystery but it should be. Very clever plot with a surprising twist. Very intriguing.

As always the performance of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes takes the episode to another level. His facial expressions, mannerisms, everything are just perfect for the role.