The Six Napoleons

To me and clearly a great many others, Jeremy Brett was the man born to play Holmes. No-one else can or will ever come close.

The point that struck me about this particular episode above all others, is perhaps the most 'singular' moment of the entire Granada series....Holmes's tear.

If you somehow missed it, re-watch it. If you've seen it, did it not affect you? It goes way beyond the, 'softer human emotions' mentioned by the author. It seemed to come straight from Brett's heart.

That he allowed this definitive portrayal of Holmes to be so very human (and caused me to shed a tear in the process) was quite simply, extraordinary.

As a footnote, I wasn't sure about the overtly 'Mafioso' theme of this episode. Though there are clear Mafia references in the original, I felt the screenplay became just a bit too G-dfatherly. Didn't spoil it though, still 10/10!

In passing, Inspector Lestrade mentions to Holmes a series of minor vandalisms that have taken place: three busts of Napoleon have been destroyed for no apparent reason. Holmes is initially disinterested but his interest is piqued when the next vandalism involves a murder.

An excellent episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes, probably the best in the series thus far (The Musgrave Ritual being the only other contender for that title). Quite intriguing: why would anyone want to smash small busts of Napoleon?

The opening few scenes do give a clue of the Italian connection but this still doesn't explain much. We then get to see Holmes put the puzzle together, piece by piece.

Speaking of the opening scenes, that would be the only negative: the overacting in those scenes. For a moment I thought those scenes were some sort of overblown, over-animated theatrical play within the episode.

This is one of the very best performances by Mr. Jeremy Brett. We usually see Sherlock Holmes cold as ice with no emotions to the persons involved in any case and merely treats them as subjects. However, human side of Holmes surfaces at the end of this episode when Inspector Lestrade Played nicely by Mr. Colin Jeavons admires him from the bottom of his heart that moves Holmes almost to watery eyes. Many have played Sherlock Holmes ; but Mr. Brett lived Sherlock Holmes with equal contribution by Mr. Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson and their on screen chemistry was flawless. I understand in real life too, they were good friends.

I can hardly believe it. I actually guessed where the end solution was going before Holmes announced it to Watson and Lestrade, suspecting all along the reason for the smashing of the six Napoleons.

All the proper atmosphere is here, and of course the acting is top notch. Particularly enjoyable in this episode is the relationship between Lestrade and Holmes, each playing cat-and-mouse games with each other with Holmes always coming out ahead.

The back story is interesting too--all the mayhem that was involved before the Napoleons began being smashed. Jeremy Brett seems to be enjoying himself immensely as the great detective.

I wonder how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would feel about his works being done on this TV series.

This is one of the better known stories. A number of plaster figures of Napoleon have been smashed by someone. It would appear to be burglary, but nothing much has been taken. It's not a fetish. No one has been harmed until one day that ends with a murder. The best part of this offering is the byplay between Holmes and Inspector LeStrade who plays Hamilton Burger to Holmes' Perry Mason. He's always wrong, but he has the best of intentions. Holmes is perpetually disappointed by the police and their ineptness, but not as bad in the original stories as they are in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Holmes episodes. In this, while LeStrade comes up with some pretty preposterous theories, Holmes doesn't overtly abuse him. They actually work together well and LeStrade actually pays him a great compliment, telling him how significant his contributions are to Scotland Yard. The problem at this time, of course, is that the fine points of detection had not been really used. Scotland Yard was as much a political entity as a police force. That aside, Holmes suspect that the Napoleon bust must have some existence beyond the mere acts of vandalism. Apparently, LeStrade all but disappears from the canon after this story. He is a much more human character in the Granada series (as is Watson) and as a true fan, I really appreciate that.