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kjrwe
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« #18 : April 07, 2017, 07:16:41 PM » |
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I'll watch 'The Naval Treaty' tonight. I hadn't got your list hand so it was pot luck which one I picked last night. I opted for 'The Dancing Men' which doesn't get a mention from you. I'm not really surprised at that because I think the story is weak overall.
At first 'The Dancing Men' suggests a subtle supernatural influence like a lot of the Holmes stories. But the mystery soon turns more mundane with a fairly obvious cypher. Just a creepy little scene in it is when some apparent vagrant is drawing the dancing men on the Baker Street pavement as Cubitt has just taken his case to Holmes. But generally the interest doesn't sustain.
Regarding The Dancing Men: it's a decent story, but I've always been a bit disturbed by who the victim is in this case. I know that these are thrillers and that sometimes there will be victims (or theft, or whatever), but somehow this one always hit a nerve with me. I might try The Blue Carbuncle and The Greek Interpreter tonight. I seem to recall not enjoying those at one time, but I'm willing to give them another fair chance. I'm skipping The Speckled Band because I have a bizarre fear of snakes.
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kjrwe
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« #20 : April 08, 2017, 09:00:22 PM » |
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I'll join you in 'The Blue Carbuncle' and 'The Greek Interpreter' tonight. Even though I was interested in 'The Naval Treaty' I fell asleep towards the end last night so I will have to run that one again some time.
I might run the Peter Cushing version of 'The Blue Carbuncle' as well. As I watch Jeremy Brett in the first series I can see a faint resemblance to Peter Cushing. Brett isn't so lantern-jawed as Cushing but there is a similarity. I think perhaps Brett would have studied Cushing's portrayals of Holmes even though he does predominately bring his own screen personality to the role.
It's a shame you have an aversion to snakes as 'The Speckled Brand' is a cracker. I've got the early 1930s version of that story with Raymond Massey on DVD. It's really creepy with the high-ceilinged rooms in an old gothic house.
Ugh...I can't stand The Blue Carbuncle. What on earth was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle thinking when he wrote that? Was it his feeble attempt at humor? Personally, I recommend you finish The Naval Treaty instead. It's a much better story. Now I'm getting curious about those Peter Cushing Sherlock Holmes mysteries... Maybe I should give that early 1930s version of The Speckled Band a chance. At least I'll know what to expect. I don't want to give up seeing an old gothic house with the high ceilings...that's what mysteries are all about!
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kjrwe
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Posts: 299
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« #26 : April 09, 2017, 01:07:24 PM » |
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I watched 'The Blue Carbuncle' last night and I was actually repulsed this time. I'm a veggie and I love all birds so the sight of those poor geese has really offended my sensitivities for sure now. I'm blacklisting that story from my viewing from now on.
'The Greek Interpreter' is much better. The villain with the glasses seemed to be impersonating Peter Lorre. He had got Lorre's voice to a T.
The Blue Carbuncle is such an idiotic story. And didn't the author think that doing this to a goose would KILL the goose? Seriously. Usually I have no problems with far-fetched mystery plots, but this was just ridiculous. I think the author should have stayed away from stories where animals play a big part of the plot. For example, in The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Copper Beeches, the characters should have just FED those beasts! Interesting observation about the villain in The Greek Interpreter....
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