The RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (2016)

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Alpha New Video) DVD-r. Region 0. Released March ,2017. $ 7.98. 69 Min. Color. BONUS:  Lost in Limehouse (1933) B&W. 20minutes 33 seconds.

http://www.oldies.com/product-view/1103D.html
Sherlock Holmes continues to be popular with fans of mysteries ever since his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual ,1887. Stage plays, movies, radio, television shows, books continue to explore and exploit the Master Detective’s adventures in both canonical and original works. New fans discover the tales of Holmes and his Boswell, Dr. Watson, and celebrate his tales.
One of those is 22-year-old Joshua Kennedy. Beginning at the tender age of five, Kennedy has made a dozen projects, including this his latest. Kennedy is obviously a true classic movie buff, as his previous efforts have been inspired by the output of Ray Harryhausen ,1950s science fiction, and Hammer films. The director has been twice nominated for a Rondo Award.

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is perhaps his most accomplished piece of cinema. The opening titles and uncredited music suggest the great Holmes adventures like THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (U.A.,1970). The cinematography and editing throughout the film are first rate. Camera set ups reference THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Hammer,1959) and the Jeremy Brett series (Granada ,1984-94). The choice of locations (shot on or around Pace University, NY) for the most part suggest Edwardian London. The costuming is serviceable, considering the ultra-low budget under which that the film was shot. The story is a good one that weaves in elements of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Empty House” (1903) and “The Adventure of The Six Napoleons (1904), both later part of the collection The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905).

Where the film fails for me is a common bugaboo in no and low budget films is one of the most important- the acting. Joshua Kennedy gives himself the lead role, and acquits himself quite nicely. He is energetic, quirky, and holds the viewer’s attention with his portrayal. Sadly, the rest of the cast is defeated by British accents, often cockney, that would make Dick Van Dyke wince.

(‘Oi!”)

 

The range of performances go from monotonic to wildly gesticulating. The best actor in the film, Mark Redfield, appears in a blink or you’ll miss it cameo as Professor Moriarty. Dr. Watson is played by actress Bessie Ellis. Having a female Watson follows the precedent set by James Goldman’s stage play THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (London,1961, later the basis for the 1971 Universal film) and more recently delightfully played by Lucy Liu on TV’s ELEMENTARY (C.B.S./Paramount ,2012-). Interestingly, all the women Dr. Watsons are intelligent companions to Holmes, often providing essential information to the Master Sleuth.
I wish that these films would take that extra step and audition performers who can perform. For me, a grating performance takes me out of a film faster than an ineffective special effect.

It would have been nice had there been a commentary track on the making of the film, as I am sure that many like myself would be interested in the director/writer’s process. There is a blooper reel (8 minutes 23 seconds) that shows that the cast and crew had an appropriate time making the movie, as well as how carefully shots had to be set up or modern traffic would be shown rolling by.

An interesting extra is the two-reel comedy short LOST IN LIMEHOUSE or LADY EMSERELDA’S PREDICAMENT (Masquers Club ,1933). The Masquers Club is an L.A. group founded in 1925 by former Broadway actors who moved West to make motion pictures and would be instrumental in helping to form The Screen Actors Guild in 1933.Their motto is “We Laugh to Win” and they would often put on skits or “Revels “of which proceeds went to various charities. From 1931 to 1933 the Masquers produced a series of comedy shorts that were co-produced by R.K.O. Radio Pictures. Their best remembered work is THE STOLEN JOOLS (1931) which had a large cast of major film stars, such as Laurel & Hardy.The Masquers,note Boris Karloff

LOST IN LIMEHOUSE is a broad spoofing of Victorian melodramas with British Stiff Upper Lip clashing with cads and dastardly Tongs. Lady Esmeralda (Laura LaPlante, best known for Universal’s 1927 silent THE CAT & THE CANARY and 1929’s SHOWBOAT (released silent and sound)) seeks help from Sheerluck Jones (Olaf Hytten, later to appear in a small role in Universal’s 1942 SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE VOICE OF TERROR) and Hotson (Charles McNaughton). Her father, the Duke of Dunkwell (Ivan F Simpson) is held captive by mustache twirling Sir Marmaduke Rakes (John Sheehan). The trail takes them to Limehouse, where they meet tongs led by a Fu Manchu like evil mastermind.

 
The film is pure silliness, full of lines like: “It was then I realized my dear Hotson that the victim was dead.” “How did you deduce that?” “His head was missing.” Plus, when someone sneezes at one point, they are clearly saying “Hashish!”. The film ends with everything blowing up (via some stock footage). Silly but fun.

 
How much you enjoy this disc depends on how much you are willing to overlook budgetary constraints (I was) and the mixed acting (I couldn’t for the most part). That said, Kennedy has a loyal fan base and I am sure that this disc will be well received.

 

 

See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47tddDo8UA

Kennedy already has another film finished (his last as a Pace University student, a remake of THE OMEGA MAN, W.B.,1971) and was doing a Kickstarter campaign to do a tribute to Harryhausen in an upcoming story of THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR.
I understand that Kennedy is planning on moving to England. Perhaps when there, Kennedy will do a Holmes sequel using actual London locales and a stronger cast.

–Kevin G Shinnick
–
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BLOOD BATH

BLOOD BATH (Arrow) Limited Edition 2 disc Blu Ray (b&w,1963-67) released May ,2016. $33.97
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-2-Disc-Limited-Special-Blu-ray/dp/B01BIEHMHA/189-2814066-0356520?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Arrow Video has become one of the premier companies for uncovering rare and unusual cult films and going the extra effort to not only to clean up the films for release, but tracking down the best possible elements worldwide, as well as a bevy of extras that boggles the mind. One suspects that the team at Arrow not only wishes to keep their wonderful company going, but are also film geeks extraordinaire themselves.

This is proven by their limited release edition of BLOOD BATH (AIP ,1966). BLOOD BATH is a fun little vampire film by way of A BUCKET OF BLOOD (Alta Vista/AIP,1959) along with imagery that harkens to THE THIRD MAN (London Films ,1949) as well as foreign locales that add to the production values.

(The Third Man ,Dutch Angles in a Viennese Street)

                                                                  (OPERATION TITIAN, the shadow knows)

 

It was therefore surprising that BLOOD BATH was in fact a Shapeshifter of a film, or at least, was just one variation of a total of four different edits and incarnations with reshoots and redubs. Patrick Magee goes from major character to minor while Sid Haig suddenly appears. Bill Campbell goes from looking for a lost art masterpiece to crazed madman to a vampire played by another uncredited performer who looks nothing like him.

All the existing variants (Jack Hill’s BLOOD BATH remains lost) are presented here in fine restorations.
The original OPERATION TITIAN (1963, aka Operacija Ticijan) was a Yugoslavian thriller that ran 95 minutes. Roger Corman, while scouting for new foreign films that he could redub and resell to the American market, was approached with a proposition, invest $20 grand and provide the American (or at least, English speaking leads), and Corman would have the U.S. rights the finished product. The idea of such a small investment for a finished film intrigued Corman, and so he provided two actors already in Europe and had worked with him on DEMENTIA 13 (Filmgroup,1963), William Campbell (perhaps today best known for his brilliant turn in the classic STAR TREK episode, “The Squire of Gothos” (Paramount/NBC ,1967). Irish actor Patrick Magee is best known by his turn in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (WB,1971) as the vengeful Mr. Alexander. The final film was considered unreleasable by Corman and so he set about trying to save his investment.

 

 

PORTRAIT IN TERROR – was the first variant. Stephanie Rothman shot some new footage, approximately 10 minutes, basically adding some violence (one murder is padded out by five minutes!) , the original musical score is replaced with music from LAST WOMAN ON EARTH (Filmgroup,1959) and DEMENTIA 13 (Filmgroup,1963). Still the main body of the film was trimmed and so the film still ran only a little under 82 minutes. It was sold in 1967 by AIP Television as part of a package and received no theatrical release.

BLOOD BATH – Corman still felt there was possibilities in his property, and so invested even more dollars into trying to make a film that would make him a return on investment. Jack Hill got to shoot a new film as long as he used at least 30 minutes of footage from OPERATION TITIAN. He had about 5 days for shooting the project. Actor Campbell was brought back at a higher salary to shoot what he was told was new footage but instead was shocked to discover the plot had turned him into a mad killer! Hill finished his cut but left to film another project instead.

Hill’s cut was never released and is unavailable but we do have the version that Stephanie Rothman shot using 4 minutes from OPERATION TITIAN and 37 minutes from Hill’s. The original mad killer plot of Hill’s version was changed now to a vampire who looks nothing like Marshall. This is explained by having that he is possessed! Magee is nonexistent in the new film, save for one shot of him from the original film of him covered in wax. New characters were added, new footage, some with doubles and redubbing’s ensued and this is the version which we now know. This was released theatrically with QUEEN OF BLOOD (AIP ,1966). Corman must have been seething, as the movie had by this point probably more than films had shot himself completely. Still, he finally had a version that was released to U.S. theatres and later to television.

         (Who IS this uncredited actor who plays the Vampire?)
However, since in its current state, BLOOD BATH was deemed too short (under 70 minutes) for sale to television, so once again new footage along with outtakes from OPERATION TITIAN (restoring Magee somewhat to the storyline) added 15 minutes to the movies running time, along with a new title, TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE (AIP,1967). Strangely ,it was released as part of the same tv package as PORTRAIT IN TERROR, so in effect, tv stations were buying the same film twice!

The print and picture quality are superb throughout, especially given the movie(s) strange history. There is some speckling on OPERATION TITIAN, due to what appears to tape marks that could not be removed from the master print. Watching the films’ back to back is an interesting experience, one that left me wondering which film was I now viewing! However, it is also an exercise I recommend for any budding filmmakers that show how important editing is to a film.

 

Subtitles follow the dialogue fairly well, as well as noting key sound effects (piano plays)
Now if all this wasn’t worth getting this set, ARROW has added some wonderful extras.

First up is ‘The Trouble with Titian Revisited”, a brand new documentary on the muddled history of the film, running 81 minutes, or as long as most cuts of the film!! This brilliant piece, which I feel will be a leading contender for the Rondo Awards next year, is an expansion and video essay of the three-part examination by Tim Lucas from Video Watchdog issues 4,5, and 7. Indeed, it was that series of articles from which many of us first became aware that the film had undergone so many incarnations. Lucas himself narrates.

 

Next, Sid Haig speaks for under 5 minutes on his remembrances of the film, giving most of the credit to Jack Hill, plus how his beard changed length over the course of filming.

A 3-minute video interview with the Jack Hill recalls has the director recall his involvement with the project and how it changed.
Finally, there is a short still gallery which includes some interesting behind the scenes shots of shooting Jack Hill’s version as well as the QUEEN OF BLOOD / BLOOD BATH press book. The address given for AIP in NY ,165 W 46th Street, NY NY 10036 is now the home of ACTORS EQUITY, which is a bit ironic when you consider how often Corman and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) clashed.

Included is a reversible Blu Ray cover featuring original art by Dan Mumford ,with the other side using original lobby card art for BLOOD BATH .  There is also a reversible poster of both .

Also ,an informative collectible  booklet that provides nice information on stars Haig ,Magee & Campbell ,as well as a nice little piece concerning he films.

If you are interested at all in how films can be made remade and changed (currently the major motion picture SUICIDE SQUAD (WB,2016) is undergoing major reshoots months after it wrapped initially in an attempt to change the tone of the film), then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you buy this limited edition set.

–HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
-Kevin G Shinnick

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
•Limited Edition collection of the complete ‘Blood Bath’

•High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of four versions of the film: Operation Titian, Portrait in Terror, Blood Bath and Track of the Vampire

•Brand new 2K restorations of Portrait in Terror, Blood Bath and Track of the Vampire from original film materials
•Brand new reconstruction of Operation Titian using original film materials and standard definition inserts

•Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all four versions
•The Trouble with Titian Revisited – a brand new visual essay in which Tim Lucas returns to (and updates) his three-part Video Watchdog feature to examine the convoluted production history of Blood Bath and its multiple versions
•Bathing in Blood with Sid Haig – a new interview with the actor, recorded exclusively for this release
•Outtakes from Track of the Vampire, scanned from original film materials
•Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artworks
•Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford

•Limited edition booklet containing new writing on the film and its cast by Peter Stanfield, Anthony Nield, Vic Pratt and Cullen Gallagher