The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Now here's an example of a Holmes adaptation that is almost precisely as in the story. Inspector Lestrade is substituted by a more gentle fellow for some reason, and a key clue (the cry of "Cooee") is absent. But by and large this contains every element of the story and nearly every line of dialog.

And its pretty bad storytelling. If there was ever an example of how the detective mechanics of books and film differ, its here. This isn't the worst of the Brett adaptations. But it lacks energy. And Brett of course is in a funk himself.

What makes it truly pleasant is the sets. Everything about this is ordinary except the sets which someone really made into complex, clever, interesting and beautiful spaces. Every shot is set is a wonderful place shown wonderfully.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

I enjoyed this episode more than I was expecting to, based on some of the other reviews here. The reviews are incorrect however - this story is from EARLY in The Canon (1891), not late - so it came as no surprise that the conclusion of the reviews was well, a matter of opinion. The fact that Granada chose to mix and match stories from 'The Adventures..' into 'The case-book..' was odd, but does not change the order in which the author wrote the originals!

The episode featured the usual remarkable performance from Jeremy Brett and an excellent supporting cast. Peter Vaughan was wonderful as Turner. The silent exchange of glances between him and Holmes was glorious, moving and superbly executed by both actors, even if not quite true to the original (where Holmes 'reads' Turners weary look, rather than having an 'eyes only' conversation with him!).

Odd that a screenplay so faithful to the original should omit both the coooeee and the 'grey cloth' clues. Why? It made no sense! I'm sure Holmes himself would struggle to explain THAT decision....especially as it robbed him of the 2 of the strongest links in his chain of events.

Still, the wonderful acting, superb sets and still generally excellent production values (notwithstanding the above) were enough to make this episode worth watching and nearly as good as the earlier ones, despite dear Jeremy's failing health.

Sherlock Holmes is contacted by Alice Turner. The man she loves, James McCarthy, has been arrested for the murder of his father, William McCarthy, an Australian who made his fortune in the goldfields of Victoria. Ms Turner is convinced that Mr McCarthy is innocent.

A fairly intriguing, interesting and entertaining episode of Sherlock Holmes. It is not obvious who the murderer is and Holmes needs to use all his abilities at clue-gathering and deduction to get to the solution. Towards the end you can work it out by elimination though. The last few scenes also feel a bit clumsy though, like the writers didn't know how to wrap it up properly.

The episode is noteworthy for the appearance of James Purefoy as James McCarthy. Purefoy was making only his second on-screen appearance.

I enjoy this episode, it's a good solid mystery with a love story narrative running through the episode. It's not an episode with a striking story, or a particularly unique plot, but there is enough quality, with incredible production values to make this a particularly enjoyable watch.

A fresh faced James Purefoy is very good, but it's Peter Vaughan he makes it, he is terrific in it. It's just a shame it takes so long for us to see him, his Aussie accent was pretty good.

It is later in the series for Brett, but he still has huge command in the role, he's wonderfully sarcastic, and physical, the amusing way he lands on the floor.

It's nice to have a change from Leatrade, it at least adds something a little different.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery is an enjoyable enough episode, but I don't consider it among the best of the Sherlock Holmes episodes. The story does feel cobbled together sometimes but it is at least interesting. The adaptation is however unevenly paced at times, with some scenes in the middle feeling a little saggy, and the omission of the clue that has been pointed out previously was disappointing as that could have added to the mystery more. The episode however is beautifully shot with evocative period recreation, and the music sets an appropriately haunting atmosphere. The script and direction are mostly solid, Jeremy Brett(even if you can see him visibly ailing at times) and Edward Hardwicke are excellent and Peter Vaughan also plays his role perfectly. All in all, I enjoyed it but something was missing to make it even more than that. 7/10 Bethany Cox