At first Matt Frewer's Holmes portrayal is irritatingly precise and priggish. But then we see a warmth not very often seen in the detective especially towards his friend Watson at the end of this production. I enjoy watching Frewer's wide letterbox mouth that he works a little bit like old British comedy star Will Hay. He also has a habit of lifting his eyebrows like Hay. Frewer's Hound of the Baskervilles had been too comic so it was good to see a more sober production in this Sign of Four follow-up. There are a couple of prize harridan types that briefly entertain us in this one. Mrs Benstone scrutinizes Holmes through her pince-nez glasses as though he is an imposter. Mrs Smith comes later in the lengthy anachronistic Dr Crippen joke. There are some good horse and carriage in foggy gas-lit sequences that are classic Holmes mystery scenarios. The usual riverboat chase scene of the Sign of Four story is forsaken for a stand-off on fogbound dockyard jetties. Even though this is not the best version of Sign of Four it entertained me enough to want to see it again sometime.
17 Reviews
second tier
SnoopyStyle26 September 2018
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.
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.
very entertaining
film-guy16 May 2005
Matt Frewer has played Sherlock Holmes in four TV movies: The Hound of the Baskevilles, The Sign of Four, The Royal Scandal, and The Whitechapel Vampire. I purchased a DVD set of all four of Frewer's Holmes films to share with friends and family. We planned to watch only one movie per evening, but we ended up watching all four in one weekend. It was just too much fun! Matt Frewer's performance as Sherlock Holmes is extremely humorous and Kenneth Welsh is the perfect straight-man for Frewer's highly eccentric Holmes. These are fun adventures for the entire family. Frewer and Welsh should make more movies as Holmes and Watson. They are a blast!
Betrayal, greed and revenge at their most bloodless
TheLittleSongbird20 April 2018
Love Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, the best of which among the masterworks of the crime fiction genre. Have always had a soft spot for 'The Sign of Four', not just for the iconic characters and duo of Holmes and Watson and the compelling story but also for the ingenious denouement, one of Conan Doyle's most fascinating antagonists and one of his greatest climaxes.
Didn't care for the first Sherlock Holmes Hallmark film featuring Matt Frewer 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. Like their adaptation of 'The Sign of Four' even less. And no, it's not only because Frewer has more screen time and the film is longer, those are the least of its problems. It really doesn't do this fabulous story justice and is a strong contender for the worst adaptation of 'The Sign of Four', which hasn't been adapted as much as 'The Hound of Baskervilles' but the Jeremy Brett Granada adaptation is especially great, actually one of my personal favourites of the Brett Sherlock Holmes adaptations.
'The Sign of Four' is not without its good spot. The best thing about it is Kenneth Welsh, whose Watson is the more faithful loyal, sympathetic and intelligent one rather than the buffoon that has been seen in other Watsons. Marcel Jeannin's suitably eccentric Thaddeus Sholto is the only other good performance.
It starts fairly promisingly. Also found some of the locations suitably atmospheric, if perhaps not authentic, and the adaptation shot competently enough.
Sadly, that is it for the good things. Other than Welsh and Jeannin, the acting, as has been said (there is not much new that hasn't been said already), is awful. Not just from Matt Frewer's far too arrogant, manic and too over-reliant on hammy humour Holmes, but even worse were Sophie Lorain's all over the place Mary Mortstan and Michel Perrin's over-acted Jones. It has been noted that the accents are atrocious, with Lorain and Perrin's accents being a mishmash of at least three different accents apiece and all done badly.
For such a good story, 'The Sign of Four' is poorly adapted here. It's dull thanks to the lack of terror, tension or suspense (all completely absent after the promising beginning) and the pedestrian direction. Once again, the costumes are cheap. The editing is sometimes choppy and the music strives for authenticity but comes over as contrived and often unnecessary, especially in the flashbacks. The dialogue is stilted, over-emphasises the humour to hamminess and fails to bring intrigue and life to something as good as 'The Sign of Four'. The story is generally dull here and told in a vague manner at times.
Never thought it would be possible to foul up 'The Sign of Four's' ingenious denouement, the antagonist's back story that while difficult to adapt and often criticised for being overlong (don't agree personally) shows brilliantly how he came to be that way and the ruthlessness, the suspenseful climax and the fascinating character of Jonathan Small.
Believe it or not, this adaptation fouls up all the above. The denouement couldn't been less tense and more dull than it is. The back-story actually suffers and worse for what it's criticised for in the story and feels anti-climactic. The climactic scene that is one of the highlights of the story is rushed and staged in a way that even a B-movie western would reject, absolutely no need or excuse for straying so drastically from something so perfect and doing so so amateurishly. Jonathan Small is very underdeveloped and there is very little of his menacing ruthlessness or the slight sympathy one feels when it is revealed how he came to be the way he does, here he is a caricature and Edward Yankie not only comes over as not very charismatic he plays the character too broadly, none of the nuances seen in John Thaw's brilliant portrayal (by far the best Jonathan Small of all the adaptations) in the Brett version. Tonga is not scary at all here either.
Overall, very disappointing. 3/10 Bethany Cox
Didn't care for the first Sherlock Holmes Hallmark film featuring Matt Frewer 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. Like their adaptation of 'The Sign of Four' even less. And no, it's not only because Frewer has more screen time and the film is longer, those are the least of its problems. It really doesn't do this fabulous story justice and is a strong contender for the worst adaptation of 'The Sign of Four', which hasn't been adapted as much as 'The Hound of Baskervilles' but the Jeremy Brett Granada adaptation is especially great, actually one of my personal favourites of the Brett Sherlock Holmes adaptations.
'The Sign of Four' is not without its good spot. The best thing about it is Kenneth Welsh, whose Watson is the more faithful loyal, sympathetic and intelligent one rather than the buffoon that has been seen in other Watsons. Marcel Jeannin's suitably eccentric Thaddeus Sholto is the only other good performance.
It starts fairly promisingly. Also found some of the locations suitably atmospheric, if perhaps not authentic, and the adaptation shot competently enough.
Sadly, that is it for the good things. Other than Welsh and Jeannin, the acting, as has been said (there is not much new that hasn't been said already), is awful. Not just from Matt Frewer's far too arrogant, manic and too over-reliant on hammy humour Holmes, but even worse were Sophie Lorain's all over the place Mary Mortstan and Michel Perrin's over-acted Jones. It has been noted that the accents are atrocious, with Lorain and Perrin's accents being a mishmash of at least three different accents apiece and all done badly.
For such a good story, 'The Sign of Four' is poorly adapted here. It's dull thanks to the lack of terror, tension or suspense (all completely absent after the promising beginning) and the pedestrian direction. Once again, the costumes are cheap. The editing is sometimes choppy and the music strives for authenticity but comes over as contrived and often unnecessary, especially in the flashbacks. The dialogue is stilted, over-emphasises the humour to hamminess and fails to bring intrigue and life to something as good as 'The Sign of Four'. The story is generally dull here and told in a vague manner at times.
Never thought it would be possible to foul up 'The Sign of Four's' ingenious denouement, the antagonist's back story that while difficult to adapt and often criticised for being overlong (don't agree personally) shows brilliantly how he came to be that way and the ruthlessness, the suspenseful climax and the fascinating character of Jonathan Small.
Believe it or not, this adaptation fouls up all the above. The denouement couldn't been less tense and more dull than it is. The back-story actually suffers and worse for what it's criticised for in the story and feels anti-climactic. The climactic scene that is one of the highlights of the story is rushed and staged in a way that even a B-movie western would reject, absolutely no need or excuse for straying so drastically from something so perfect and doing so so amateurishly. Jonathan Small is very underdeveloped and there is very little of his menacing ruthlessness or the slight sympathy one feels when it is revealed how he came to be the way he does, here he is a caricature and Edward Yankie not only comes over as not very charismatic he plays the character too broadly, none of the nuances seen in John Thaw's brilliant portrayal (by far the best Jonathan Small of all the adaptations) in the Brett version. Tonga is not scary at all here either.
Overall, very disappointing. 3/10 Bethany Cox
An absolute shocker, completely hammy...
the_wombles28 November 2007
Watched this film today while off work sick, and even in these circumstances where you normally wouldn't expect much, this film was a stinker. Every line of dialogue is delivered in a hammy, "Gor blimey guv'nor" attempt at an English accent. The actors are Canadian, and I think one or two attempted Welsh or Scottish accents, but they are all uniformly stilted and abysmal. The female lead's accent in particular is atrocious, she sounds more Russian than anything.
The villains are caricatures, the plot is poorly explained, pyrotechnics during a gunfight are as convincing as using a cap gun, and every possible cliché has been lovingly adopted by the producers. In its defence, the costumes and sets are quite good and authentic.
Matt Frewer (of Max Headroom fame) plays Holmes, and is annoyingly smug and twee in his portrayal of the famous detective. He over-enunciates every line, and hams it up at every opportunity.
The use of mock-Indian music during every flashback is ridiculous and contrived.
Overall, this is an abysmal film. It is like English pantomime, with ridiculous villains and over-the-top attempts at acting. Best avoided.
The villains are caricatures, the plot is poorly explained, pyrotechnics during a gunfight are as convincing as using a cap gun, and every possible cliché has been lovingly adopted by the producers. In its defence, the costumes and sets are quite good and authentic.
Matt Frewer (of Max Headroom fame) plays Holmes, and is annoyingly smug and twee in his portrayal of the famous detective. He over-enunciates every line, and hams it up at every opportunity.
The use of mock-Indian music during every flashback is ridiculous and contrived.
Overall, this is an abysmal film. It is like English pantomime, with ridiculous villains and over-the-top attempts at acting. Best avoided.
Trash - plain and simple
royl666-119 May 2008
I only caught the last 40 minutes or so of it on TV thank goodness. The accents are appalling, the acting wooden and artistic license has meant that the plot deviates from the original book in too many ways. I doubt very strongly that there was a dialogue coach - but if there was then he was taking money under false pretences.
Matt Frewer was an awful choice for Holmes - it's almost as though he plays the part for laughs. The best actor who has played the part was Jeremy Brett - he was a manic-depressive and so fitted the part quite well.
So far as I'm concerned this insult to a good story should never have been released and quietly burnt!
Matt Frewer was an awful choice for Holmes - it's almost as though he plays the part for laughs. The best actor who has played the part was Jeremy Brett - he was a manic-depressive and so fitted the part quite well.
So far as I'm concerned this insult to a good story should never have been released and quietly burnt!
An abomination
MichaelJohnMartin16 May 2004
Myself,being a huge fan of vintage Detective Stories, namely Agatha Christies "Poirot",immaculately played by David Suchet, and of the detective in question here Sherlock Holmes,previously played with particular vim and vigour by Basil Rathbone,and later (albeit with perhaps a smidgen too much eccentricity) by the effervescent Jeremy Brett.
Matt Frewers Holmes is quite frankly....a shambles.
Although to be fair his fellow cast members do little to help the film to get off its knees.
Particularly appalling were the two "actors",playing Miss Morstan and Inspector Jones,Sophie Lorain and Michel Perron respectively.
I can say in all honesty,that throughout the entire length of this preposterous production that these two actors had about them an air of mystique,chiefly for the reason that I could'nt make head nor tail of their accents!!
Inspector Jones, 'I presume' was supposed to be Scottish,well,his Scottish accent was risible,and made Mel Gibson's in Braveheart sound like an absolute triumph!!
As for Miss Morstan,there were elements of French,English and American accents in her voice,and it seemed to fluctuate with each sentence,appalling.
As for Holmes,the phrase "Camp as Christmas" would sum it up to a tee,Frewer is quite simply the worst Holmes ever to grace celluloid, whomever commissioned this dreadful film(and I see from his biog on this very website that a series of these films have been made with him cast as Holmes)should not have the distinction of working in film or television ever again.
My rating * out of *****.
And that is simply for the locations,which were quite authentic looking of that time I suppose.
Matt Frewers Holmes is quite frankly....a shambles.
Although to be fair his fellow cast members do little to help the film to get off its knees.
Particularly appalling were the two "actors",playing Miss Morstan and Inspector Jones,Sophie Lorain and Michel Perron respectively.
I can say in all honesty,that throughout the entire length of this preposterous production that these two actors had about them an air of mystique,chiefly for the reason that I could'nt make head nor tail of their accents!!
Inspector Jones, 'I presume' was supposed to be Scottish,well,his Scottish accent was risible,and made Mel Gibson's in Braveheart sound like an absolute triumph!!
As for Miss Morstan,there were elements of French,English and American accents in her voice,and it seemed to fluctuate with each sentence,appalling.
As for Holmes,the phrase "Camp as Christmas" would sum it up to a tee,Frewer is quite simply the worst Holmes ever to grace celluloid, whomever commissioned this dreadful film(and I see from his biog on this very website that a series of these films have been made with him cast as Holmes)should not have the distinction of working in film or television ever again.
My rating * out of *****.
And that is simply for the locations,which were quite authentic looking of that time I suppose.
Excellent film for and Sherlock Holmes lover
Kateina_King20 July 2004
The Sign of the Four was wonderfully filmed and excellently acted. Matthew Frewer has a new, fresh take on Holmes that is different from Jermey Bret's serious almost depressed character of Holmes. Frewer's Holmes knows he's smart and has a bit of fun with it. He makes jokes about other characters without them even knowing about it and he has a fun sense of "Yes I know I'm brilliant .... I'm Sherlock Holmes" to his acting.
The character of Holmes is kept true to the original stories and the film has you intrigued with this Holmes character until the credits role. wonderful I would recommend the series to any one who enjoys Sherlock Holmes. Superb.
The character of Holmes is kept true to the original stories and the film has you intrigued with this Holmes character until the credits role. wonderful I would recommend the series to any one who enjoys Sherlock Holmes. Superb.
Pure rot & drivel
smokehill retrievers13 October 2002
Banal, pedestrian treatment that ranks among the worst ever filmed -- perhaps equal to Charlton Heston's appalling effort some years ago. Imagine Holmes played by Dr.Zachary Smith of "Lost in Space" -- this will give you some idea of the abysmal casting of this grotesque mockery. We've seen many attempts at the Holmes character over the years, from quite good (Brett) to Godawful (Heston), but this is truly near the bottom of the barrel. The accents are ghastly, and all of Frewer's effete prancing and posing only invite comparison to a Fire Island production based on Gillette's humorously dated caricature of the Holmes character. Not one of the major characters was decently cast. Watson appeared to be 20-30 years older than Holmes, at least, and hardly a likely candidate for his eventual marriage to Mary Morstan. Probably a lot of the 30-60 female demographics will find this version palatable, but certainly no one else. Holmes buffs and serious film fans will detest it, as I did. I flipped the channel during the last half hour, just to keep from having to bring barf bags for my guests.
A real shocker
gtbarker19 March 2009
There is no other word to describe this debacle than absolutely shocking! And yet another remake/adaptation for the why bother bin? It seems to me that remakes are getting worse all the time.
Sherlock Holmes is like Shakespeare - done well it's brilliant, done badly it's as bad as it gets and this one really is as bad as it gets.
It's also one of those - do the Americans really believe the British all either talk either like the Queen or Dick Van Dyke?
Anyone with any appreciation of film at all would be well-advised to stay well clear of this turkey, it's a real stinker.
Ignore this advice at your peril and don't say I didn't tell you so.
Sherlock Holmes is like Shakespeare - done well it's brilliant, done badly it's as bad as it gets and this one really is as bad as it gets.
It's also one of those - do the Americans really believe the British all either talk either like the Queen or Dick Van Dyke?
Anyone with any appreciation of film at all would be well-advised to stay well clear of this turkey, it's a real stinker.
Ignore this advice at your peril and don't say I didn't tell you so.
highly entertaining fun for the kids
lotsafun8 November 2005
The four Sherlock Holmes movies by Hallmark are just good fun versions for kids. Don't even try to take 'em seriously folks. Don't expect them to be artistic masterpieces based on literary classics. These TV movies were made for a family audience and there's plenty of comedy for kids in these things. Frewer's Holmes must be seen to be believed! He's a hoot! He's the most eccentric Holmes EVER! Kids will love this guy! Kenneth Welsh is much more traditional in his role and he makes a very fine Watson. These Frewer Holmes flicks are sure to entertain the kids and will hopefully encourage them to read more about The Master Detective. They certainly wont get bored watching any of these with the ultra-intense and comedic Frewer on the screen.
"My name is Mr. Sherlock Holmes..."
KatharineFanatic24 April 2001
Sherlock Holmes is idling in his London flat once again in this masterful new adventure based on the classic part of the Canon "The Sign of Four." This time with Matt Frewer as the languid and yet surprisingly agile Sherlock Holmes, the film is well-placed, excellently-filmed, and any true Sherlockian will enjoy it. A few liberties have been taken from the original script, but are lost in the excellent dialogue and London fog as they follow the notorious murderer, Jonathan Small, and his strange and unearthly savage to uncover a twisting tale of deception, secrets, lies, betrayal, and murder.
Overall, the film's a lot of fun. It gives a new angle to Sherlock Holmes - a comical one, while never overdoing Holmes' brilliance. A friend had never been "interested" in Holmes before now - she liked Frewer's serious and yet proud adaptation. The costuming is standard fare - that of the older version, with Ian Richardson as Holmes, was better done as far as the heroine's wardrobe - and it has enough excitement to keep you entertained, while adding a touch of romance and strain between Watson and Holmes; the result being Holmes' famed speech on the "dangers of women."
An excellent second installment in the series of four by Hallmark Entertainment. I hope the rest of the miniseries is as eventful and imaginative as this one.
Overall, the film's a lot of fun. It gives a new angle to Sherlock Holmes - a comical one, while never overdoing Holmes' brilliance. A friend had never been "interested" in Holmes before now - she liked Frewer's serious and yet proud adaptation. The costuming is standard fare - that of the older version, with Ian Richardson as Holmes, was better done as far as the heroine's wardrobe - and it has enough excitement to keep you entertained, while adding a touch of romance and strain between Watson and Holmes; the result being Holmes' famed speech on the "dangers of women."
An excellent second installment in the series of four by Hallmark Entertainment. I hope the rest of the miniseries is as eventful and imaginative as this one.
Lighthearted Modern Take On a Classic
StnrWrknHvc29 August 2006
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.
Conan Doyle will be spinning in his grave
gordywright10 October 2004
This was the worst Holmes film I have ever seen, and I see there are more of the same to come.
The Main players, with the exception of Thaddeus Sholto were badly miscast, Frewer, who I quite like, and who was excellent as the Trash Cam Man in The Stand, borough a silly zany quality to Holmes that just shouldn't be there.
Watson, who is about the same age as Holmes, appeared old enough to be his father.
THe accents were somewhere between poor and awful, especially inspector Athenly Jones, he seemed to be a cross between English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish Jewish and Red Indian, it was awful.
In all, a wasted Exercise, and down there with 'The evil beneath Loch Ness' in the really crappy film stakes.
The Main players, with the exception of Thaddeus Sholto were badly miscast, Frewer, who I quite like, and who was excellent as the Trash Cam Man in The Stand, borough a silly zany quality to Holmes that just shouldn't be there.
Watson, who is about the same age as Holmes, appeared old enough to be his father.
THe accents were somewhere between poor and awful, especially inspector Athenly Jones, he seemed to be a cross between English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish Jewish and Red Indian, it was awful.
In all, a wasted Exercise, and down there with 'The evil beneath Loch Ness' in the really crappy film stakes.
Fun and fresh adaption of Doyle's Sign of Four
dogma-5366812 June 2020
It's always welcomed to have someone fresh Play Sherlock Holmes. Every actor does really well in their interpretation and Matt Frewer is no different. It's an enjoyable romp and a fun adaption that is anything but boring. Just sit back and enjoy especially if you're a Holmes fan.
Simply awful acting and movie
ctyankee118 August 2013
I like the Sherlock Holmes movies and about 18 people have played Sherlock Holmes.
Matt Frewer was just awful in this movie. He kept making faces smiling, looking like he was trying to be humorous but he looked like a jerk.
I have to say the one of the best actors played Dr Watson in this movie. Kenneth Welch played Watson and he was serious and believable. He reminded me of David Suchet who plays Poirot.
There were twin brothers in this movie. One is dead killed by a poison dart and the the one wearing a cap, dressed like a man from India and really poor make up and acting.
Some of Matt Frewer's movies were produced by Muse Entertainment Production. The opening of this movie said a Hallmark Presentation. I always respected Hallmark but in this case they were wrong, the movie stinks.
I am getting ready to watch The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire 2002. This movie also has the same producer Muse and is also presented by Hallmark. I hope this movie is better.
Matt Frewer was just awful in this movie. He kept making faces smiling, looking like he was trying to be humorous but he looked like a jerk.
I have to say the one of the best actors played Dr Watson in this movie. Kenneth Welch played Watson and he was serious and believable. He reminded me of David Suchet who plays Poirot.
There were twin brothers in this movie. One is dead killed by a poison dart and the the one wearing a cap, dressed like a man from India and really poor make up and acting.
Some of Matt Frewer's movies were produced by Muse Entertainment Production. The opening of this movie said a Hallmark Presentation. I always respected Hallmark but in this case they were wrong, the movie stinks.
I am getting ready to watch The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire 2002. This movie also has the same producer Muse and is also presented by Hallmark. I hope this movie is better.
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