The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother
After co-writing and starring in Mel Brooks’ smash hit Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder graduated to his own directing debut with another spoofy take on a cultural icon. The 1975 Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother gives Wilder some great trademark meltdowns, even if the movie doesn’t sustain its initial comic energy. Wilder plays Sigerson Holmes, third (and bitterly resentful) brother to the more fabled Sherlock and Mycroft. Two Young Frankenstein co-stars help bring t…
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November 10th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
While some have ridiculed this Sherlock Holmes’ parody, I love it and rejoice at its long-awaited DVD release. Made in 1975, funny man Gene wilder wrote, directed and starred in the film, which also boasts the incomparable talents of the late and truly lamented Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It also stars Dom DeLuise and Leo (Rumpole of the Bailey) McKern.
Wilder, a well-schooled actor in parodies having starred earlier in his career with Kahn and Feldman in Mel Brooks’ classic and beloved “Young Frankenstein,” turned is considerable skills to create this loving send-up of the world’s most famous sleuth. Wilder was well-equipped to do so as he is a life-long Conan Doyle fan and bonafide member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a famous real-life Sherlockian scholarly society whose members include Christopher Morley. (In this film, Brooks has a cameo role, but he is heard and not seen.)
In this Victorian era film, Wilder portrays Sigerson Holmes, the “smarter” but very jealous younger brother of the brilliant Consulting Detective, whom he derisively refers to as “Sheer-luck.” (In the Conan Doyle canon, “Sigerson” was an alias Sherlock Holmes used during his “missing years” after his falsely believed death-plunge at the Richenback Falls at the hands of his evil nemesis, Professor James Moriarty; while Mycroft Holmes was actually Sherlock’s smarter brother.)
In the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, Sigerson begins an investigation, at the request of Sherlock, into the disappearance of a vital cache of government documents. Sherlock and Dr. John Watson leave England to travel to the Continent on another assignment, apparently confounded by the missing document mystery.
Kahn, who in her life was a classically trained singer, was given the opportunity to showcase her impressive vocal talents as Jenny Hill/Bessie Underwood/Opera singer, a compulsive liar and Sigerson’s love interest. The film is well worth watching if for nothing else than a zany drawing room musical scene when Sigerson and Jenny first meet, which culminates in the truly unforgettable, “Kangaroo Hop.”
Feldman is Sigerson’s Watson, Sgt. Orville Sacker of Scotland Yard who possesses “photographic hearing,” and who, along with Jenny, help Sigerson recover the documents and thwart Moriarty (with some invaluable behind-the-scenes assistance from Sherlock Holmes!)
McKern is wonderfully evil as the new Moriarty, while DeLuise is a bumbling blackmailer.
This film is fun, wacky, sweet and very off-beat. Kudos to Wilder for choosing to enlist his old partners Kahn and Feldman, providing yet another permanent chapter in their unforgettable and immortal careers!
November 10th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Gene Wilder’s “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” has a unique snap & sparkle, with a thread of insanity, that makes it one of my favorite film comedies. While very funny and often irreverant, the film pays affectionate tribute to the wonderful Conan Doyle franchise of Holmes’ stories. It is also well-produced, with brooding photography and honest depictions of period London settings. But perhaps the best thing about “Holmes’ Smarter Brother” is its zany cast, from Marty Feldman, Madelaine Kahn and Wilder himself, to wonderfully crazed performances by Leo McKern as the infamous Dr. Moriarty and Dom DeLuis as a bizarrely-affected opera impressario. This film is first rate FUN and should become a classic in the comedic vein of Mel Brooks’”Young Frankenstein”, “Blazing Saddles” and “High Anxiety”. I highly recommend “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” and hope we can all soon add it to our DVD collections.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
This is by far Gene Wilder’s funniest movie. I can’t believe that the studios haven’t released this on DVD yet. I have never laughed so hard as I did watching this film. If you like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, you will go nuts for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother. I have been waiting not so patiently for Amazon to notify me that it is out on DVD. HURRY, Please!