Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Carbuncle and Some Podcast Recommendations
This blog post spoils the solution of the mystery
It is entirely possible that I will post again around Christmas because I have a few things running round in my head that may come out in the form of blog posts, but nonetheless this is my official post for the holidays.
For a time this post was going to be about an episode of The Steam Video Company focused on Holmes and Watson in which Watson's wife keeps begging him to spend the evening with her and Holmes goes on their honeymoon with them. However I've plumped for this short story adaptation because it is at least Christmassy. Of course I don't need to tell readers that it is an episode from the hugely wiped 1968 series starring Peter Cushing as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson. Cushing is my favourite Holmes: in my opinion he gets the cerebral nature of Homes exactly right and there isn't a trace of the sado-masochistic dynamic Brett's Holmes has with his Watson. To me, this is the adaptation that best represents the characters and atmosphere of the books.
One of the things I like best about The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is that we see a distinctly ethical and nonforming Holmes: he will have nothing to do with the force and power of the Countess of Morcar. He also makes his own decision to let Ryder escape from the justice of the law. He even explicitly says that he is doing this because it is Christmas. This isn't the Holmes we're used to! In addition to the scene where Watson and Holmes make their deductions from the hat, we also get another sparkling impression of Homes's personality from the scene where he manipulates the man selling geese to tell him where he got it, by fibbing that he's got a bet on. This is what I mean about this series: that I think it brings out a very distinct personality that in my opinion is actually what the 'real' Holmes would have been like in the books, very different from the depiction by any other actor.
It's not just the actual plot that is so perfect about this. Despite the show obviously being completely studio-set, I love the atmosphere and feel of the London it depicts. It accurately brings up the poverty of Victorian London, how the rich were vile and the poor desperate. I love the London village feel of the smallholding where the geese are raised, and the way they make their way through the commerce of the city. It's not just Holmes who is cerebral here, intelligent thought has been given into the way to depict the world in which the story takes place, and it shows.
There are even hints of the different world in which this series was made, and they are delightful. Obviously we have the completely studio-bound production, but I'm specifically thinking of the way you can hear that the incidental music in a couple of places is being played on what we used to call a record. To me, this is delightful, bringing up the obvious picture of the record being played. Unless it was specific to the show, I really don't think you would get music played on a record in film or TV nowadays, do you?
There is a possible criticism of this show if you want, although it's of the plot so is a criticism of Conan Doyle if my memory that the attempted suicide is in the original story is correct. The nature of the set-up, attempted suicide, and Holmes letting the guilty man flee, are rather unsatisfactory in justice and tidiness terms. I have no criticism of the actual production.
Here, have a Christmas pudding recipe from Mrs Beeton because this blog aims to instruct as well as entertain. I am perfectly certain that despite Mrs Beeton's insistence on translating all her dishes into French, pouding de Noel is not a phrase which usually passes through many French lips.
Two Podcast Recommendations
If you're at a loose end over the holidays I have two recommendations for podcasts.
The first is The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour. This is actually about TV, and mainly TV of an age which I remember and you may or may not see here. These guys are hilarious and swear so much that it's actually like meeting me in person. My favourite line was 'You get to thinking, "I'm too old to watch this". No you're fucking not, sit down and watch The Flumps, ya bastard.' Don't listen to it while shopping, like I did, unless you don't mind strange looks. You can hear it here: https://www.peggymountpod.com
The other is The Roys Report Podcast. Julie Roys is an evangelical Christian and a veteran investigative reporter who got the push from her church-related job after asking too many questions, with the inevitable result that she then took a specific professional interest in church abuses and what to do about them. It's fascinating. You can hear it here: https://julieroys.com/podcast/
Happy Holidays to all my readers! Unless you vote Tory, in which case you don't get wished a happy anything.
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