MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 140 this week

Without a Clue (1988)

6.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.8/10 from 5,011 users  
Reviews: 55 user | 29 critic

A drunken Sherlock Holmes is really just a cover for the real detective - Dr Watson.

Director:

0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 3627 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 53 titles created 22 Jun 2011
 
a list of 100 titles created 03 Feb 2012
 
a list of 586 titles created 16 Oct 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Without a Clue (1988)

Without a Clue (1988) on IMDb 6.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Without a Clue.
1 win & 1 nomination. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Lawrence and Freddie are con-men; big-time and small time respectively. They unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this town (on the French Mediterranean coast) aint big... See full summary »

Director: Frank Oz
Stars: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

"Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Director: Joel Coen
Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore
Fletch Lives (1989)
Comedy | Mystery | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

Fletch is a reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper, but he acts more like a detective. When an obscure relative leaves him a Louisiana mansion in his will, Fletch is naturally curious. ... See full summary »

Director: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.

Director: Paul Flaherty
Stars: John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts
Comedy | Crime | Musical
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

The younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal Sherlock's glory by solving an important case assisted by an eccentric Scotland Yard detective and a lovely but suspicious actress.

Director: Gene Wilder
Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Inspector Clouseau is put on the case when the Pink Panther diamond is stolen, with the Phantom's trademark glove the only clue.

Director: Blake Edwards
Stars: Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer, Catherine Schell
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime.

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Stars: André Vippolis, Joey Kern, Jay Chandrasekhar
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

An insurance investigator and an efficency expert who hate each other are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist with a jade scorpion into stealing jewels.

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: John Tormey, John Schuck, Woody Allen
Fletch (1985)
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, Los Angeles journalist, really lives for his profession. As Jane Doe, he publishes articles that have caused several heads to roll in the past. Now, Fletch is at it... See full summary »

Director: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Comedy | Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.

Director: Robert Moore
Stars: Eileen Brennan, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness
Clue (1985)
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Stars: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn
Comedy | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.1/10 X  

Inspector Clouseau disappears, and the Surete wants the world's second best detective to look for him. However, Clouseau's enemy, Dreyfus, rigs the Surete's computer to select, instead, the... See full summary »

Director: Blake Edwards
Stars: David Niven, Robert Wagner, Herbert Lom
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Leslie Giles
...
...
Lord Smithwick
Pat Keen ...
...
Norman Greenhough
Tim Killick ...
Matthew Savage ...
Wiggins
John Warner ...
Peter Giles
...
Mrs. Giles
Harold Innocent ...
Lord Mayor Gerald Fitzwalter Johnson
George Sweeney ...
John Clay
Murray Ewan ...
Archie
Edit

Storyline

This is a Sherlock Holmes story with a difference. Here Dr Watson is the ace detective and has been using an actor to play the part Holmes. Holmes is a drunken actor and gets on Watson's nerves. When Watson tries to go it alone, he doesn't have much success, so he is forced to let Holmes take all the credit once more. Written by Rob Hartill

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

He's got his hat, He's got his pipe...but he hasn't got a clue! See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Sherlock and Me  »

Box Office

Gross:

$8,539,181 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Cook, who plays Norman Greenhough, the Editor of the 'Strand' magazine (in which Watson's accounts of the Sherlock Holmes cases appear) himself played Sherlock Holmes in a 1978 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". See more »

Goofs

Holmes grabs a lamp off of the wall and puts it down by the hole in the floor. A short while later the lamp is back on the wall, but a short while after that it's back on the floor in time for Watson to trip over it. See more »

Quotes

Local #1: A toast to the greatest detective in all the world.
Holmes: Thank you, gentlemen. I am touched.
Watson: I can vouch for that!
See more »

Crazy Credits

The opening credits are superimposed over still images of Victorian London. The final shot of Holmes and Watson form the backdrop for the end credits. See more »

Connections

Featured in Time Shift: A Study in Sherlock (2007) See more »

Soundtracks

"Where Did You Get that Hat?"
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph J. Sullivan
Performed by Sarah Parr-Byrne
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Unexpected gem turns Holmesian lore on its head
16 May 2005 | by See all my reviews

WITHOUT A CLUE

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

'Sherlock Holmes' turns out to be a ham actor (Michael Caine), hired by brilliant detective Dr. John Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play a character whose adventures are dramatized by Watson and published in a popular weekly magazine. But the two men are forced to set aside their differences when Prof. Moriarty (Paul Freeman) hatches a fiendish plot to destabilize the British Empire.

An unexpected gem. Thom Eberhardt's clever revision of Holmesian lore foregoes puns and sight gags for character-based comedy, and a wonderful cast of experienced British thesps plays it with just the right degree of reverence and mockery (Caine and Kingsley, in particular, make a formidable comic team). However, the script - by Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther - is entirely faithful to the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation: Despite Holmes' incompetence and Watson's escalating outrage, the central mystery is genuinely skillful and engrossing, the clues are delightfully outlandish, and the Victorian atmosphere is conveyed with elegant simplicity, thanks to stylish art direction (by Brian Ackland-Snow) and costume design (by Judy Moorcroft). However, the writers aren't afraid to poke gentle fun at the established conventions, particularly Holmes'/Watson's uncanny ability to draw conclusions from even the most obscure scraps of evidence, and the climax manages to combine warm-hearted comedy and genuine thrills during a final showdown with Moriarty in an abandoned theatre. Highly recommended.


17 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Favorite Character and Scene WPP-author
This Film Changed My Life jeffhowardmeade
what about 'arty morti'? adam16184
Could That Work? ortegatwins
Widescreen DVD emailtb-1
An undiscovered jewel denholcroft
Discuss Without a Clue (1988) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?