(Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes, 1962)
It was in 1964 that Christopher Lee first crashed into my consciousness, initially via photographs in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND which presented him as something of a modern Man of a Thousand Faces, as well as a few television broadcasts - UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE, and his ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR "The Sign of Satan" rush to mind. 1964 was also the year when THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HORROR OF DRACULA were first theatrically reissued, and the first time I was old enough to catch them; surely a life-changing, game-changing experience. As I think back to that initial flood of images and my dawning awareness of this important figure, one particular image stands out because the film it represented took so long to see. It showed Lee, in period wardrobe and a mustache, raising the glass lid of a mummy lying in state. The caption said the film was called THE VALLEY OF FEAR, which I immediately committed to memory. Alas, no film of this title ever came to my local theaters; however, sometime in 1971, it appeared in the middle of the night on one of my local television stations as SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE. I've enjoyed the film several times since and, to this day, when it reaches that scene in the museum, I get a real charge from seeing that memorized photo come to life - though now a big part of that charge comes from recognizing the influence of Louis Feuillade's FANTÔMAS serials in the moment when Holmes unwittingly releases a snake from a hidden compartment in the display case and must strangle it to death in his own hands like Inspector Juve.
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| The photo I am talking about. |
Directed by Terence Fisher, of all people, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE - which is indeed loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's final Holmes novel, THE VALLEY OF FEAR (1915) - is one of the ultimate "neither fish nor fowl" pieces in the annals of fantastic cinema. Though directed by Fisher, it was made apart from his accustomed support system at Hammer Films by Artur Brauner's Central Cinema Company Film (CCC Filmkunst) in West Germany, so much of the flavor and atmosphere we associate with his masterly touch is missing - and slippery when found. The film does present two of Fisher's favorite actors, Christopher Lee and Thorley Walters, in the roles of Holmes and Dr. Watson, but - even though they both look terrific and comport themselves comfortably - they are dubbed by other actors in post-productions, which leaves them both present yet strangely absent. (Lee appears to have been dubbed by the same actor who voiced his role in Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY - he's not bad really; he's just not Lee.) Though Fisher's 1958 THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, with Peter Cushing as Holmes and Lee as the male ingenue, gives both actors the greater measure of sumptuous support, I'm in the minority who find Lee a more convincing Holmes than Cushing. Cushing is eccentric, busy, and something of a show-off extrovert in the role, whereas Lee clearly has the most occupied inner life, not to mention a closer resemblance to the original Sidney Paget illustrations. In terms of his personal presentation, the film only errs when it dares to present him in the classic deerstalker cap and cape which, when added to his 6' 6" height, must make him the single most conspicuous sleuth on the continent, especially as the large check fabric of these accouterments lend his cape the unfortunate appearance of a shower curtain.
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| Thorley Walters with Christopher Lee. |
In their lively audio commentary, Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw - both published Doyle/Holmes authorities - give much the same run-down and come up with similar totals: it's hardly perfect, but it packs immense eccentric charm and cannot be completely denied. On the whole, I'm pleased to say they like it. Aside from the two leads, the movie's greatest saving grace may be Hans Söhnker's winningly smug performance as Holmes' nemesis, Professor Moriarty - which nearly steals the picture. (The film actually gives our villain's name as Moriarity, extra syllable near the end, except on one printed sign and in the subtitles.) The somewhat untidy story finds Holmes and his most deadly enemy both in pursuit of a fabled jewel-studded golden necklace once owned by Cleopatra. One of the few proofs we're given that Fisher directed this film is a spontaneous after-dark meeting of Holmes and Moriarity, on a park bench near the docks, where the two rivals appear to have a spontaneous, defenses-down, yet highly suspenseful conversation - which anticipates the Satanic priest Mocata's unexpected visit to the defenseless Marie Eaton in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT/THE DEVIL'S BRIDE (1968).
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| Hans Söhnker (center) as Professor Moriarity. |
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| Senta Berger and Ivan Desny as the film's engaged young lovers. |
Adding to the film's enjoyment are supporting roles for Senta Berger (quite early in her career), Ivan Desny (who essayed the role of OSS 117 in 1957), and the marvelous character actor Leon Askin (whose intermittent work in US TV encompassed THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE OUTER LIMITS "The Inheritance", THE MONKEES, and a recurring role on HOGAN'S HEROES). DEADLY NECKLACE is also the most impressive looking of the set's first four discs, heroically vaulting out of public domain mediocrity into a revelatory 2K scan from the original German camera negative. It helps that the movie was shot by one of Germany's most distinctive lighting cameramen, Richard Angst - whose career spanned from the silent and later sound versions of THE WHITE HELL OF PITZ PALU to Fritz Lang's 1959 Indian diptych to THE PHANTOM OF SOHO. In some shots, you can actually see around Lee's nostrils the delicate puckers of a false nose appliance that accentuates his resemblance to Sidney Paget's original illustrations for THE STRAND magazine.
In addition to the Newman/Forshaw commentary, the disc includes a half-hour Zoom interview with Tony Dalton about his new book TERENCE FISHER: MASTER OF GOTHIC CINEMA, and a 12m audio sampling of one of Dalton's early interviews with the man himself.
Included in Severin Film's box set, available here.
(c) 2021 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
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