The Eligible Bachelor (10 Feb. 1994)

Sherlock Holmes' problem with disturbing dreams proves to be both an impediment and an aid in the search for a missing woman.

Director:

Peter Hammond

Writers:

T.R. Bowen (screenplay), Arthur Conan Doyle (based on "The Noble Bachelor")

Stars:

Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke, Rosalie Williams

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Brett	...	Sherlock Holmes
Edward Hardwicke	...	Doctor Watson / Dr Watson
Rosalie Williams	...	Mrs Hudson
Geoffrey Beevers	...	Inspector Montgomery
Simon Williams	...	Lord Robert St. Simon
Paris Jefferson	...	Henrietta Doran
Anna Calder-Marshall	...	Lady Helena / Agnes Northcote
Mary Ellis	...	Lady Florence
Phillida Sewell	...	Lady Mary (as Phillada Sewell)
Elspeth March	...	Lady Blanche
Heather Chasen	...	Hon. Amelia St. Simon
Bob Sessions	...	Aloysius Doran
Joanna McCallum	...	Flora Miller
Myles Hoyle	...	Thomas Floutier
Bruce Myers	...	Gallagher

Storyline

Sherlock Holmes is unwell and suffering from intense, disturbing dreams. He is also bored with little to do and only the most routine cases being offered to him. Mrs. Hudson is so worried that she summons Dr. Watson who suggests that Holmes consider a trip to Vienna to visit a new doctor who seems to specialize in interpreting dreams, Sigmund Freud. He is soon approached by Lord Robert St. Simon over the sudden disappearance of his wife, Hettie. They had only recently married at his new bride was deeply disturbed as they left the church. He admits to having had actress Flora Miller as his one-time mistress. He was also previously married, on two occasions, with his first wife dying and the second marriage being annulled. It's not until he receives a visit from Lady Helena Agnes Northcote that he fully realizes the extent of Lord St. Simon's barbarity. When he learns the true reason for Hettie's mood on leaving the church, the solution to the mystery is at hand.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | sherlock holmes | sequel | detective | based on short story | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1994 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Eastnor Castle, Eastnor, Ledbury, Herefordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Oscar Wilde quote comes from his 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest and reads: "To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sherlock Holmes: This is the asylum at Varnish.
Dr Watson: The misery there must be behind those walls. Hm.
Sherlock Holmes: There's no escape from the terrors of the mind.
Dr Watson: Indeed. Well, another case concluded.
Sherlock Holmes: Pah! I needn't have left Baker Street. An observant child could have solved it.

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Connections

Follows The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: The Last Vampyre (1993)

User Reviews

seriously weird stuff

Re-watching this feature-length episode from the Granada Holmes series after a long gap I was struck by its extreme strangeness when compared to even the most off-the-wall episodes of the 50 min serial episodes. Simon Williams plays a much-married cad with a murky past and a gothic house which doubles as a dangerous private zoo ... he's about to marry an American heiress who disappears as soon as they are married.

Sherlock Holmes is bored, mentally unstable, and has a recurring nightmare in which images of insanity, spider's webs, and empty rooms merge to form a traumatic whole. All this of course is given extra resonance in terms of Jeremy Brett's portrayal given his own obvious decline around the time this was filmed, and he puts across this facet of the great detective brilliantly. Dr Watson comes to the rescue and helps to solve the mystery of Hattie's disappearance. Another solid performance from Edward Hardwicke.

Another point of interest within this confused jumble of a plot is a rare TV appearance of Mary Ellis, the actress/singer who collaborated on a number of Ivor Novello musicals in the 1930s and 40s. Spot her in a couple of key scenes.

Although 'The Eligible Batchelor' is titled as such, it is the tale of a number of women linked by circumstance. It - despite it's faults - is one of the best episodes of the whole series, and worth persevering with through all its weird and wonderful conceits.