''The Hound of London'' is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Peter Reynolds-Long and starring Patrick Macnee as Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes.

Plot

At the request of

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...

, Sherlock Holmes investigates a double murder at the Strand Theatre, with the assistance of Dr John Watson.

Cast

* Patrick Macnee – Sherlock Holmes *John Scott-Paget –

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

*Colin Skinner –

*Jack Macreath – Moriarty *Craig Bowlsby – Lance Sterling *Sophia Thornley – Mrs. Hudson *Carolyn Wilkinson – Irene Norton *Drew Kemp – Campbell *Ned Lemley – Stonegrimble *Ed Belanger – Striker *Dale Kelly – Gadsby *Rob Vanderbrink –

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman E ...

*Colleen Bignell – Queen of Bohemia *David Wood – The Body

Production

The screenplay was derived from a play written by Craig Bowlsby and first performed in September 1987 in

Burnaby, British Columbia Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard ...

. For the film version, it was entirely recast with the exception of Colleen Bignell who played Irene Norton in the play and the Queen of Bohemia in the film. Patrick Macnee was cast as Sherlock Holmes. Previously, Macnee had portrayed Watson three times: once to Roger Moore's Sherlock Holmes in a 1976 TV movie, ''

Sherlock Holmes in New York ''Sherlock Holmes in New York'' is a 1976 American made-for-television mystery film about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, played by Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee respectively. Despite the film's title the production was shot entirely in So ...

'' and twice with Christopher Lee (''

Incident at Victoria Falls ''Incident at Victoria Falls'' (also known as ''Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls'' and ''Sherlock Holmes: The Star of Africa'') is the 1992 sequel to ''Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady'', and the second and final film in the ...

'' and '' Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady''). This film made Macnee one of only a small number of actors to have played both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. According to Allen Eyles, actors who played both roles include

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

(Watson in the 1932 film '' Sherlock Holmes'', and then Holmes in 1933's ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title der ...

''), Jeremy Brett (Watson on stage in ''

The Crucifer of Blood ''The Crucifer of Blood'' is a play by Paul Giovanni that is adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle novel ''The Sign of the Four.'' It depicts the character Irene St. Claire hiring the detective Sherlock Holmes to investigate the travails that her ...

'' and Holmes on television in ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

''),

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (1952–1969), ...

(who played both roles in British radio adaptations), and Howard Marion-Crawford (who played Holmes on radio and Watson on television). There are also other actors who played both roles such as H. Lawrence Leyton, who played both on stage.

Reception

Author Alan Barnes claimed the film was "Cheap, nasty and painful to watch", and he described Macnee's Holmes as "a truly dreadful Holmes, wheezing out every line while resembling nothing less than an unshelled tortoise poured into a monkey suit."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hound of London, The 1993 television films 1993 films Sherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan Doyle Canadian mystery television films English-language Canadian films 1993 in Canadian television 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films