Silver Blaze

I would have been bored if this turned out to be a racetrack story, but SILVER BLAZE is a very clever mystery about a missing horse who disappears from his stable and goes somewhere on the moors. It takes Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

Not overly complicated with baffling clues, it's one of the better Holmes stories. Little by little Holmes puts together pieces of what might have happened by questioning servants and stable boys and dealing with the owner of a nearby estate who knows something about the whole episode.

The usual good photography, especially for the outdoor settings on the moors and a nice performance by PETER BARKWORTH as the owner of Silver Blaze.

What happened to the famous race horse Silver Blaze on the eve of a significant race? Sherlock Holmes must find out who took the horse, where the horse is, now, and who brutally murdered its trainer.

This is one of the great Brett episodes.

To be honest, knowing nothing about racing or horses, the story left me cold in the book.

This story does contain one of the most famous Holmesisms, but I won't spoil it.

The Brett version keeps everything clear. And as the stable owner, Colonel Ross, guest star Peter Barkworth is perfectly cast and even brings a touch of humor to an unpleasant role.

We Brett fans despaired when Burke left the role of Doctor Watson. In this episode Edward Hardwicke proves why he was such a readily-accepted replacement. It was not the actor but the perception of Watson that mattered. And Hardwicke was the more common perception of what Watson looked like in the mind's eye.

The Granada Holmes episodes are hit and miss. This is a hit.

For this to work, you have to have a backbone that's strong. In this case, it is because Holmes is depicted here as an actual detective, someone who figures things out. No tricking, no undercover work, just thinking.

On that, you hope the adapter hangs appropriate cinematic storytelling. This isn't great, but compared to other episodes is refreshing.

This is the famous episode where an important clue is that the dog didn't bark.

This is the series where Holmes is depicted as the detective that does bark. It works, after a fashion.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

One of the best episodes from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" volume of the Granada series. Holmes and Watson visit Dartmoor (the setting of "The Hound of the Baskervilles") to investigate the disappearance of a missing horse with a winning streak named Silver Blaze. Along the way the Horse's keeper is brutally killed. The story manages to be really clever as it is fun to watch as Holmes is able to little by little piece together all of what happened. The solution to it all is satisfying as well. Jeremy Brett as usual reminds us yet again as to why he is the perfect actor to play Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary sleuth and Edward Hardwicke makes for a Dr. Watson of equal perfection. The photography and location work is excellent here too. I definitely recommend it.

Silver Blaze is a very clever mystery, it holds a fair amount of intrigue and has an excellent, unexpected conclusion. If I'm honest it's not one of my favourites, I definitely think the story benefits from being produced during a purple patch for the Granada show, having just put out The Devil's Foot, the show was very much on form. I feel the story is elevated by the superb production values, and the excellent performances, particularly from Peter Barkworth, a much missed, tremendous actor.

I like the story, I just prefer most of the others from The Return series. It's clever, well made, and definitely worth a watch. 7/10