The Sign of Four (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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

sherlock holmes character | dr. john watson character | four word title | based on novel | number in title | 

---

Taglines:

Sworn in Secrecy. Signed in Blood.

---

Genres:

Mystery

---

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A négyek jele

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Muse Entertainment Enterprises, Sign of Four Inc.

Technical Specs

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.

---

Connections

Version of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four (1968)

User Reviews

second tier

This is an adaptation of the second Arthur Conan Doyle novel featuring Sherlock Holmes. In 1856 India, there's a Sepoy rebellion near Agra. Prince Achmet with a box of jewels seeks protection from a trusted British Captain. Three Indian auxiliary soldiers and British soldier John Small murder the prince and hide the box. They are questioned by Captain Sholto. Back in London decades later, Mary Morstan seeks help from Sherlock Holmes (Matt Frewer) and Dr. Watson (Kenneth Welsh). Her father Captain Morstan had vanished in 1881 six years earlier after his supposed return to London. She began receiving individual pearls and finally a letter claiming that she had been wronged. Dr. Watson finds an obituary for Captain Sholto who was the source of the mysterious gifts.

The production is cheaper. It's a TV movie and not theatrical level. Frewer is a bit light for the role. His personality leans more towards the humorous side and he doesn't have the needed intensity for a darker movie. I'm not sure how closely this follows the Arthur Conan Doyle classic. This one story does have fewer adaptations. This seems to be trying to be faithful but it's a struggle. The production, the directing, the acting are all second tier level.