''The Return of the World's Greatest Detective'' is a 1976 American made-for-television

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring Larry Hagman as an inept motorcycle cop named Sherman Holmes, who, after sustaining a head injury, became convinced that he was actually Sherlock Holmes and as a result of his injury acquired formidable powers of observation and deduction.

Dean Hargrove Dean Hargrove (born July 27, 1938 in Iola, Kansas) is an American television producer, writer, and director. His background includes graduating the St. John's Military School, Wichita State University, and attending the UCLA Film School as a gr ...

and Roland Kibbee wrote the film's story directly for television, intending it to be a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for a series that would have been titled ''Alias Sherlock Holmes.'' The film originally aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on June 16, 1976. The genres into which ''The Return of the World's Greatest Detective'' fits are comedy-drama and mystery-suspense.

Synopsis

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

officer Sherman Holmes ( Hagman) is an inept motorcycle cop who cannot keep his police motorcycle from falling over on its side. He is lying on the ground, reading a copy of ''The Complete Sherlock Holmes,'' when his motorcycle again falls over on its side—but this time on his head, causing a cranial injury that leaves him comatose. When he regains consciousness, Sherman Holmes has come to believe that he is actually Sherlock Holmes, the civilian consulting detective of literary renown. He also has acquired formidable powers of observation and deduction that he did not possess as a motorcycle officer. Holmes adopts the habits and mode of dress (houndtooth-gray

Inverness cape The Inverness cape is a form of weatherproof outer-coat. It is notable for being sleeveless, the arms emerging from armholes beneath a cape. It has become associated with the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. History The garment began in ...

, and "full-bent" meerschaum smoking pipe) of the literary detective, along with a stylized UK English dialect. The social worker and psychiatrist assigned to work with Holmes is Dr. Joan Watson (

Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...

), the psychiatrist who had actually given Holmes the copy of the Sherlock Holmes "canon" in the first place. Her superior (Ivor Francis) warns that her job is at risk because of the situation. LAPD Detective Lt. Nicholas "Nick" Tinker (

Nicholas Colasanto Nicholas Colasanto (January 19, 1924 – February 12, 1985) was an American actor and television director who is best known for his role as "Coach" Ernie Pantusso in the American television sitcom ''Cheers''. He served in the United States Nav ...

) is somewhat skeptical of what has happened to Holmes, but Watson points out that this Holmes wants anonymity as much as the literary Holmes did. She likewise arranges for him to move into Apartment 221B in an apartment complex located on Baker Street. These strange occurrences take place at the same time of a case that has been baffling the LAPD: scandals that appear to involve a judge, the Honorable Clement Harley (Charles Macauley). Among these are the murder of an embezzler and a series of smoke-bombings. Holmes manages to solve both these cases—and expose an instance of judicial corruption in the process.

Partial production history

Dean Hargrove, who directed the film and jointly wrote and produced it with Roland Kibbee, loosely re-made the 1971 feature film '' They Might Be Giants'' in producing it. He and Kibbee both hoped it would become the pilot of a series titled ''Alias Sherlock Holmes,'' but NBC-TV declined to pick up that option.

Cast

* Sherman Holmes: Larry Hagman * Dr. Joan Watson:

* Lieutenant Nick Tinker:

* Himmel: Woodrow Parfrey * The Landlady: Helen Verbit * Spiner: Ivor Francis * Judge Clement Harley: Charles Macauley * Dr. Collins:

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...

* Vince Cooley: Sid Haig * The Psychiatrist: Booth Colman * Mrs. Slater:

Lieux Dressler Lieux Dressler (born Louise Aldrich; February 7, 1930 – February 8, 2018) was an American film and television actress. Life and career Before becoming known as an actress, Dressler worked as a nightclub singer in Dallas. During this time, she wa ...

* The Detective: Fuddle Bagley * Klinger:

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

* The Manager: Robert Snively * The Caretaker: Jude Farese * The Sergeant: George Brenlin * The Bailiff: Al Dunlap * The Delivery Man: Jefferson Kibbee

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of the World's Greatest Detective 1976 television films 1976 films 1970s comedy mystery films American comedy mystery films NBC network original films Sherlock Holmes pastiches Sherlock Holmes films Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series 1970s American films American mystery television films

Synopsis

Partial production history

Cast

See also

External links