The Devil's Foot

Memorable episode from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" volume in the Granada series as well as one of the better adaptations in the series overall. Holmes and Watson go to the Cornish coast to recuperate, only to face bizarre double murders. The story is unique and leads to an unexpected conclusion. One moment that really stands out in this adaptation is it's acid dream sequence when Holmes has to put himself under hallucination to find out the solution to the mystery. Also notable in the story is Holmes giving up his habit of cocaine. Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke give their best performances and the atmosphere, photography, production values, and music are superb. Definitely a must watch for fans.

The other comments for Devil's Foot are about how bad it is.I do not know anything about dramatization and technical details.What I know is, that for me this episode is about the great friendship between Holmes and Watson.You can see it in every episode, but generally the investigations are more important than friendship. In Devil's Foot the situation is reversed, the emphasis is on the Holmes-Watson relationship. Edward Hardwicke gives one of his best performances as the caring and worried, loyal doctor. Jeremy Brett portrays a very contemplative Holmes, who overcomes his cocaine addiction - it is symbolized by the scene where he buries his syringe on the coast.The filming location, Cornwall suits well the atmosphere of the story.I like this episode very much, it is one of the best from the Return series.

Holmes is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and needs his fix: a really interesting case. It comes when a trio of people, playing cards are suddenly stricken with catalepsy. One, the woman, dies and there is no explanation for it. This leads to a big game hunter who appears on the scene. He has had experiences in parts of Africa. A logical candidate for what has happened. We know that a writer or director doesn't throw this in if there isn't some significance. The key to it all is motive. If someone is responsible, who and why? This is well done. Brett is at his best in putting together the critical issues of time and opportunity and the conclusion is valid. Once again Holmes is faced with a moral dilemma, one which he has faced many times.

This is an engrossing episode from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" series--THE DEVIL'S FOOT. It starts out as possibly being a tale of the supernatural but instead the vacationing Sherlock Holmes uses reason to figure out who did the murders and why.

Brett and Hardwicke are well cast as the sleuth and his doctor friend, vacationing on the Cornish coast after the famous detective has suffered a nervous breakdown. They should have known better than to go this lonely locale expecting to find peace and solitude in the great outdoors far away from Baker Street.

Of course, it doesn't take long before a man turns up at their door with a story about three brothers and a sister enjoying a quiet game of cards, with one brother leaving after a brief quarrel. In the morning, the sister is found dead of apoplexy and the brothers are in a state of acute dementia with their faces frozen in horror. Holmes has to find out what caused the tragic occurrence--and why.

I found it one of the more interesting, if less baffling of the Holmes stories, but effectively produced with the proper atmosphere and settings. The explanations seemed credible and satisfying enough for any mystery fan. Well worth watching.

I was just about to abandon watching this series as too shouty and manic, and because of the drab-looking Sherlock jumping around like an ageing hipster in the previous few stories. Then came the Devil's foot and made all my grouses go away. Sherlock is convalescing hence not jumping up and down, thankfully. He is also sporting a dashing haircut which makes him look 10 years younger. Instead of the charming but by now slightly tired and claustrophobic Baker Street digs we are treated to sweeping Cornish vistas - and a good old "murder at the vicarage" mystery. If you're an Anglophile in the classical mould, you may well find yourself shuddering with delight.