''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film industry, Canadian film history such ...

. It features the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1888 Whitechapel murders committed by "

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Aw ...

plays Holmes and James Mason plays Watson. Though it features a similar premise, it is somewhat different in tone and result to '' A Study in Terror''. It is loosely based on ''The Ripper File'' by Elwyn Jones and John Lloyd. The film's premise of the plot behind the murders is influenced by the book '' Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution'' (1976), by Stephen Knight, who theorised that the killings were part of a

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

plot. The original script contained the names of the historical suspects, Sir

William Gull Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet (31 December 181629 January 1890) was an English physician. Of modest family origins, he established a lucrative private practice and served as Governor of Guy's Hospital, Fullerian Professor of Physiology a ...

and John Netley. In the actual film, they are represented by fictional analogues: Thomas Spivy (Gull) and William Slade (Netley). This plot device was later used in other Jack the Ripper-themed fiction, including the graphic novel '' From Hell.''

Plot

After the Metropolitan Police fail to apprehend the serial killer Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes is approached to investigate the recent murders of prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of London. Helped by Dr. Watson and the medium Robert Lees, Holmes discovers that all the victims were companions of Annie Crook, a woman locked in a mental institution. Members of the police hierarchy and several politicians, all Freemasons, seem to be protecting one of their own. Furthermore, Inspector Foxborough, the policeman who is in charge of the case, is in fact the secret leader of the radicals, a political movement waiting for the British government to fall because of its inability to solve the Whitechapel murders. Holmes must rely on his skills to find and confront the murderer.

Cast

Production

The film was directed by

and written by playwright John Hopkins, who scripted the Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). The script partially was inspired by Elwyn Jones's book ''The Ripper File''. Hopkins referenced Conan Doyle's work, particularly Holmes' deduction and science skills but downplayed other aspects of the characters, such as Holmes' drug use, in favour of making them more likeable and human. The film stars

and James Mason as

and Dr. Watson respectively, and presents a largely different version of Holmes from the Basil Rathbone movies of the 1940s, with the aesthete still prevailing, yet tinged with humanity and emotional empathy. Plummer stated that he tried to make Holmes more human and caring, saying "This is a passionate and caring Holmes." James Mason's Watson is also a departure from previous incarnations; although he may appear at first to resemble the bumbling Nigel Bruce version of the character, he soon shows his level head and scientific and medical training to be as valuable assets as they were in the original stories. Like Plummer, Mason wanted to play up Watson's skills and avoid the buffoonish way the character had been portrayed before. Mason received especially good reviews for his performance. Plummer had earlier portrayed Holmes in 1977's '' Silver Blaze''. The supporting cast includes

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut in the 1967 drama film ''Banning (film), Banning'' and the following year played the female lead in the crime thriller ''Coogan's Bluf ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

, Anthony Quayle,

David Hemmings David Leslie Edward Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor, director, and producer of film and television. Originally trained as a boy soprano in operatic roles, he began appearing in films as a child actor in the ...

and Geneviève Bujold.

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

plays Inspector Lestrade, a part he had portrayed in the similar film '' A Study in Terror'' (1965), in which Quayle also played a supporting role. Finlay continued his association with Holmes by appearing in an episode of

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

's ''

'', starring

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994 in 41 episodes of a Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV ...

. The film was shot on location in London in 1978. The interior sets, including a vast Victorian era street, were created at Elstree Studios. The docks set was built at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...

. $3 million of the budget came from Canada, $2 million from the UK.

Reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the film "a good deal of uncomplicated fun, not in a class with Nicholas Meyer's '' The Seven Percent Solution'', but certainly miles ahead of many other current movies that masquerade as popular entertainment". A review in '' Variety'' called it "probably the best Sherlock Holmes film since the inimitable pairing of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in the 1940s series at Universal. Unfortunately, it also shares some of the defects of those films, i.e. slow pacing, an improbable story line, and an undue emphasis on odd characters."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that its "biggest problem is its script, which runs on for a full 120 minutes with no place to go. We see a couple of murders, meet a psychic (Donald Sutherland) and a long-suffering woman trapped in a psychiatric prison (Genevieve Bujold), then the story doubles back with recapitulation after recapitulation. The film has at least two false endings. I mistakenly put on my coat with one reel to go. All of this is a shame, because the cast is excellent." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote, "Unfortunately, under Bob Clark's uninspired, plodding direction, Hopkins' elaborations make for a slow and ponderous film, despite a starry cast and some scary moments. Not helping matters is Christopher Plummer's rather colorless Sherlock Holmes. The one real joy in the film is James Mason's warm, loyal, sometimes dense Dr. Watson." Lawrence O'Toole of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' declared, "If you were to look for the right word to describe ''Murder By Decree'' you would have to go into the archives, lift it lightly from its resting place, and dust it off. The word? Splendid." Gary Arnold of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' stated, "While never as playful or ingenious as Nicholas Meyer's screenplay for 'The Seven Per-Cent Solution,' Hopkins' mystery is crisp and chilling right up to the denouement. At that point it might be wise to edge toward the exits, since the solution leaves much to be desired." David Ansen of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' wrote that the film was "not a new idea" but declared it "a decided success. Christopher Plummer and James Mason seize their roles like a couple of happy musicians handed prize antique instruments: their duets are by turns droll, lyric and touching." The film was nominated for eight

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

s in 1980, of which it won five, including Best Achievement in Direction (Bob Clark), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Geneviève Bujold) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Christopher Plummer). The film was the fourth highest-grossing film ever in Canada, with a gross of $1.9 million. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it holds a rating of 81% from 16 reviews.

References

External links