The Last Vampyre 

Sherlock Holmes investigates strange and tragic happenings in a village that appear linked to a man who seems to be like a vampire.

Director:

Tim Sullivan

Writers:

Jeremy Paul (screenplay), Arthur Conan Doyle (segment) (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Stars:

Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke, Roy Marsden

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Brett	...	Sherlock Holmes
Edward Hardwicke	...	Doctor Watson
Roy Marsden	...	John Stockton
Keith Barron	...	Rob Ferguson
Yolanda Vazquez	...	Carlotta (as Yolanda Vasquey)
Maurice Denham	...	Reverend Merridew
Richard Dempsey	...	Jack
Juliet Aubrey	...	Dolores
Jason Hetherington	...	Michael
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Mrs Mason
Peter Geddis	...	Mr Gresty
Kate Lansbury	...	Mrs Gresty
Maria Redmond	...	Vera Gresty
Freddie Jones	...	Pedlar
Hilary Mason	...	Miss Ruddock

Storyline

Sherlock Holmes agrees to investigate suspected murders in a village whose ancestors had killed a prominent family a century ago that they thought were vampires. These deaths appear to be linked to a descendant of that family, a man who seems to have something malevolently supernatural about him, much like a vampire itself.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | peruvian woman | death | infant | blacksmith | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1994 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television,WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The building on fire at the start of the episode is Guys Cliffe House in Warwick. Unfortunately the pyrotechnics were too powerful and gutted the famous landmar.

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Goofs

There was no Sherlock Holmes story called 'the last vampire' there was one called the 'Sussex vampire' which this story is loosely based,

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: Please, you must excuse my frankness, but it is necessary that we confront the truth about ourselves if we are to reach the heart of this matter.

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Connections

Follows The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: The Master Blackmailer (1992)

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Soundtracks

Ring a Ring o' Roses
or "Ring Around the Rosie" (uncredited)
Traditional
Sung to Jack by Children on the Street

User Reviews

Disappointing

I haven't read the story in a long time, but I do remember it being better and a little more interesting, even if I preferred other Sherlock Holmes stories. This adaptation while not absolutely awful was a disappointment.

Starting with the good things the visual detail is excellent as always and the production values are top-notch. The music is beautiful and haunting, and the acting is not too bad, it's been better but it was certainly one of the better assets of this mystery. Jeremy Brett does look ill here, but he is solid as Holmes, while Edward Hardwicke is a dignified Watson and Roy Marsden is decent in his role.

However, the direction is a little too stodgy, but I have to say the biggest let downs were in how the story was told, the pacing and the script. The pacing is very pedestrian here, consequently the story is quite uninteresting and dull, while the final solution didn't do anything for me as it was too predictable. The writing was disappointing too, it was quite turgid and clumsy, with occasional flashes of intelligence and sophistication.

Overall, watchable but disappointing. It is worth watching for the production values and the acting, but the story and writing could have been much more. 5/10 Bethany Cox