The Sign of Four (TV 2001)

Greed, betrayal and vengeance set the stage for this Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic. Mary Morstan, a young governess, has been receiving a rare and lustrous pearl annually from an anonymous... See full summary »

Director:

Rodney Gibbons

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel), Joe Wiesenfeld

Stars:

Matt Frewer, Kenneth Welsh, Sophie Lorain

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Frewer	...	Sherlock Holmes
Kenneth Welsh	...	Dr. Watson
Sophie Lorain	...	Miss Morstan
Marcel Jeannin	...	Thaddeus / Bartholomew
Michel Perron	...	Inspector Jones
Edward Yankie	...	John Small
Kevin Woodhouse	...	Williams
Cas Anvar	...	Sikh #1
Samir Mallal	...	Sikh #2
Ganesha Rasiah	...	Sikh #3
Johni Keyworth	...	Major Sholto
Kathleen McAuliffe	...	Mrs. Hudson
Fernando Chien	...	Tonga
Una Kay	...	Mrs. Bernstone
Chimwemwe Miller	...	Achmet

Storyline

Greed, betrayal and vengeance set the stage for this Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic. Mary Morstan, a young governess, has been receiving a rare and lustrous pearl annually from an anonymous benefactor. This mysterious person now wants a meeting. Anxious and bewildered, Miss Morstan enlists Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to escort her to this meeting. Together they go to the home of an eccentric novelist, Thaddeus Sholto, who recounts to them a tale of secrecy, hidden treasure and sudden death. Thaddeus reports that his father, Major Sholto, was in the army in India with Miss Morstan's father where the two had come to possess a fabulous treasure. Subsequently, her father mysteriously disappeared without his promised share. A guilt-ridden Major Sholto hid the treasure and sent Miss Morstan the annual gift of pearls. Years later, a letter arrives which leaves Major Sholto in a state of shock and despair. On his deathbed, Major Sholto prepares to tell his twin sons about the treasure's ...

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Plot Keywords:

sherlock holmes | based on novel | number in title

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Taglines:

Sworn in Secrecy. Signed in Blood.

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le signe des 4

Company Credits

Production Co:

Muse Entertainment Enterprises, Sign of Four Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

While bluffing to get information from Mrs. Smith about the Aurora, Holmes says "Judge Jeffereys and Dr. Crippen have beaten us to it". This is clearly intended as a joke, as well as perhaps a nod to Holmes' encyclopedic knowledge of crime. Of the two, the only one Holmes would have known about is Jeffereys, a seventeenth century judge famous for handing down executions. Dr. Crippen was an alleged murderer who was accused of poisoning his wife, caught, tried, and executed. However, this event did not happen until 1910. "The Sign of the Four" takes place in 1890, a good 20 years before Crippen's name would have hit the papers.

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Connections

Version of The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (1932)

User Reviews

Lighthearted Modern Take On a Classic

I bought the four movie mini series from my local DVD store. I didn't watch it for about 5 months. It sat on my table collecting dust. I threw out my back and had nothing to do but watch movies. When I popped this in i expected an okay movie. I was treated to a very humorous take on the classic character. When I read Sherlock I always had the vision of him prancing around baker street very restless. Doyle even refers to him as feline at several points. In my opinion there hasn't been a more fun version of Holmes done yet, though I haven't seen them all. Serious fans don't seem to enjoy it because of the humor brought to the film, yet in his stories Holmes always seems to be on top of things and has a very slight dry sense of humor which they magnified in this movie. All together a enjoyable film. In response to the person who thinks watson is too old, remember that watson had time to go to med school, finish it up and go to a war, come back and live in a bottle for a while before he met holmes who was still at school if i remember correctly.