The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)
Nicholas Meyer (novel)

Release Date:

2 June 1977 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

To treat his friend's cocaine induced delusions, Watson lures Sherlock Holmes to Sigmund Freud.

Plot Keywords:

Cocaine | Sigmund Freud | Sherlock Holmes | Kidnapping | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Alan Arkin	...	Dr. Sigmund Freud
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Lola Deveraux
Robert Duvall	...	Dr. John H. Watson / Narrator
Nicol Williamson	...	Sherlock Holmes
Laurence Olivier	...	Professor James Moriarty
Joel Grey	...	Lowenstein
Samantha Eggar	...	Mary Morstan Watson
Jeremy Kemp	...	Baron Karl von Leinsdorf
Charles Gray	...	Mycroft Holmes
Régine	...	Madame
Georgia Brown	...	Mrs. Freud
Anna Quayle	...	Freda
Jill Townsend	...	Mrs. Holmes
John Bird	...	Berger
Alison Leggatt	...	Mrs. Hudson
Frederick Jaeger	...	Marker
Erik Chitty	...	The Butler
Jack May	...	Dr. Schultz
Gertan Klauber	...	The Pasha
Leon Greene	...	Squire Holmes
Michael Blagdon	...	Young Holmes
Ashley House	...	Young Freud
Sheila Shand Gibbs	...	Nun
Erich Padalewski	...	Station Master (as Erich Padalewsky)
John Hill	...	Train Engineer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Fielder	...	Drunk Man (uncredited)
Drewe Henley	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Herbert Ross

Writing credits
Arthur Conan Doyle		(characters)
Nicholas Meyer		(novel)

Produced by
Stanley O'Toole	....	associate producer
Herbert Ross	....	producer
Arlene Sellers	....	executive producer
Alex Winitsky	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Addison

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris

Film Editing by
Chris Barnes

Casting by
Rose Tobias Shaw

Production Design by
Ken Adam

Art Direction by
Peter Lamont

Costume Design by
Alan Barrett

Makeup Department
Colin Jamison	....	hair stylist
Janet Jamison	....	hair stylist
Bill Lodge	....	makeup artist
John Webber	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Michael Guest	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andy Armstrong	....	third assistant director
Scott Wodehouse	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ernest Archer	....	assistant art director
Ivor Beddoes	....	sketch artist
Charles Bishop	....	assistant art director
Peter James	....	set dresser
Ron Quelch	....	production buyer
Michael Redding	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Gordon K. McCallum	....	dubbing mixer (as Gordon McCallum)
Regina Mullen	....	post-production sound intern
Terry Poulton	....	sound editor
Cyril Swern	....	sound recordist
Graham V. Hartstone	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Mel Zelniker	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Diamond	....	stunt double
Chris Webb	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Arnold	....	assistant camera
Mike Fox	....	camera operator: second unit
Mike Fox	....	second camera operator
John Golding	....	focus puller: second unit
Cedric James	....	assistant camera
David James	....	still photographer
Alex Thomson	....	photographer: second unit
Jimmy Turrell	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gillian Dods	....	wardrobe
Richard Pointing	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Michael E. Polakow	....	assistant editor
William Reynolds	....	supervising editor
Larry Richardson	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Addison	....	conductor
Stephen A. Hope	....	music editor

Other crew
Hunt Downs	....	unit publicist
Brian Doyle	....	publicist
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Ray Freeborn	....	location manager
Howard Jeffrey	....	production associate
Howard Jeffrey	....	second unit supervisor
Nora Kaye	....	assistant: Mr. Ross
Christopher Newman	....	production runner
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Tony Webb	....	production runner
Nat Weiss	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Herbert Ross Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1976) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MCA Home Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• CIC Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1978) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1977) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Future Film (2012) (Finland) (DVD)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2013) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• TV3 (1988) (Finland) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Universal Vault Series)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2010) (2011) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Anvil Film and Records Group  music recorded at

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | Australia:M (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Herbert Ross Productions

Trivia:

"The Madame Song" heard in the film was written by mystery buff-composer Stephen Sondheim who actually once also co-wrote a mystery movie himself which was The Last of Sheila (1973) made and released around three years before this film. The tune was later re-recorded under the new title "I Never Do Anything Twice" and featured on Sondheim's "Side By Side By Sondheim" cast recording.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the railroad pursuit, the trains are seen on two tracks that are about to merge. Holmes states that there are no points left to switch. However, the coming together of the two track lines necessarily involves a switching point. And, in fact, that set of points is visible soon thereafter.

Quotes:

[as Holmes' boat pulls away]
Dr. John H. Watson:But how will you live?
Sherlock Holmes:When my arm is better, you would do well to follow the concert career of a violinist... named Sigerson!
Dr. John H. Watson:But your readers - my readers - what will I tell them?
Sherlock Holmes:Anything you like! Tell them I was murdered by my mathematics tutor; they'll never believe you in any case!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Designing 'Salon Kitty' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Valse Sentimental

A Perfect Tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

From the opening to the closing credits, filled with illustrations that originally accompanied Doyle's stories in the Strand, the details of the movie are painstakingly accurate when compared to those in the canon. This is one non-canonical Holmes story that exists in the same world as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The movie takes the liberty of assuming that all of Dr. Watson's accounts of Sherlock Holmes are true, except for one. That would be "The Final Problem", in which the great detective supposedly dies at the hands of his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty. The movie suggests that this story is merely a cover up for a period in time in which Holmes was getting help with his cocaine addiction from none other than famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.

The settings and characters ring true to both Doyle's mysteries and the Sydney Paget illustrations that accompanied them. Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker and cloak, though never mentioned by Doyle, look more like Paget's illustrations than ever before, more rugged than in most film interpretations. American actor Robet Duvall, despite sometimes struggling with the British accent, portrays Watson as an intellectually and physically fit comrade for Holmes, not a bumbler. Laurence Olivier's Prof. Moriarty matches the vision of Doyle and Paget rather than the cliché mustache twirler of other movies. Only now, Moriarty isn't really a criminal mastermind. He's Holmes' childhood math tutor.

Alan Arkin depicts Freud as a man of intelligence, insight, and above all, honor.

The inclusion of lesser known characters like Mycroft Holmes and Toby is a plus. There are also references, both direct and sly, to canonical Holmes stories.

While Nicol Williamson's performance as Sherlock Holmes lacks the vigor and spark of Basil Rathbone or Christopher Plummer, Williamson succeeds in showing Holmes as a troubled individual rather than a god. The movie mixes drama, subtle humor, mystery, and even action, finally showing Holmes as the capable fighter he was in the canon. The end of the film strays from the books in order to explore the uncharted territory of Holmes' childhood, providing a deeply moving climax.

This may come truer to Sir Arthur's original vision than any other pastiche written for film so far, largely thanks to the efforts of writer/director Nicholas Meyer. It's obvious in every scene that Meyer has a great love for the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle.