The Case of the Perfect Husband

Janet Partridge thinks she has an idyllic marriage and a perfect husband in Russell Partridge. An art collector who is highly regarded by society at large.

One evening Russell tells his wife that he plans to murder her the next evening at 9 O'Clock. That he has killed six other women in the past and got away with it.

Janet goes to see Inspector Lestrade who views her as a hysterical woman. Russell has tipped him off about what she might say.

She then goes to see Sherlock Holmes but is again put off when Doctor Watson tells her what a wonderful chap Russell Partridge is.

Holmes though thinks that Janet's story has some validity. Russell Patridge just might be a psychopath and Holmes wants to know where the bodies of his other victims have been buried.

A good opportunity to see a younger Michael Gough as Russell Partridge. I do wonder what would Lestrade have made of it when Janet would have turned up dead. Would he still had not suspected her husband.

I've seen every one of these episodes, in many cases, multiple times. I originally viewed them on local American television in the early 1980s. The plots are interesting, the acting is good, and many of the same actors appear in multiple episodes. Holmes is portrayed as human rather than as an obsessive-compulsive, and Watson, while being a foil for Holmes, makes a physical contribution from time to time. Inspector Lestrade is played clueless for the most part, often for the sake of humor and to give Holmes an opportunity to demonstrate his talent for sleuthing. I especially like the intro and closing theme music.

This is about a psychotic who has a foot in the Bluebeard stories and another in Gaslight. The victim is his current, quite beautiful wife. He announces to her after a party that he has killed seven other women and she is going to be the eighth. He even announces when he will kill her. Unfortunately, her pleas are seen as female hysterics (it's another time). Also, the man is an art collector of great repute and he is admired everywhere. He sets her up so that no one will believe her story; no one, that is, except Sherlock Holmes. His keen insights make him suspicious and although he screws up a couple times, he maintains his relentless bloodhound mentality. This is quite suspenseful and the young woman is a very sympathetic heroine. A good mystery and pretty well presented.