Better Holmes And Gardens

Everything’s elementary on today’s episode of The Video Archives Podcast! Jacqueline Coley from Rotten Tomatoes joins Quentin and Roger to discuss one of the final works of master filmmaker Billy Wilder, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. From there, it’s a long trip from London to the southern tip of South America for Kevin Billington’s Jules Verne adaptation The Light At The Edge Of The World, before the Video Archives crew is taken captive by René Cardona Jr.’s Hostages. I’ve got VHS covers and some Sherlock thoughts on today’s Counter Talk, so let’s get into it…

The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes is a hidden gem in Billy Wilder’s filmography, but Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts (often called “Holmesians”) were among the first to unearth it, some of whom have drawn inspiration from it for their own depictions of the detective. Holmes has been a famous character for as long as movies have existed, and every era of cinema has its own signature Holmes, from Basil Rathbone and Peter Cushing to Robert Downey Jr and Will Ferrell; not to mention, practically every detective story from the 20th century on has drawn from Conan Doyle’s work.

Wilder was a lifelong Holmesian who dreamed of making his Sherlock epic for a decade, before United Artists cut it to pieces at the last moment. Despite the disappointing performance of the film, he succeeded in fusing the traditional and deconstructed takes on Holmes, revealing hidden depths in the character in a way that purists could still love. (He later admitted he wished he had gone further in making the queer subtext of the film text.) It’s not surprising that the creators of the most famous 21st century Holmes, played by Benedict Cumberbatch on BBC’s Sherlock, saw this film as the template for their series.

This was a big week for adaptations of 19th century superstar novelists, as we move from Arthur Conan Doyle to Jules Verne for 1971’s The Light At The Edge Of The World. For those of you following along with the After Show clues, trying to guess the new films before each episode – it’s not so easy when you can’t cheat and look at the New Beverly calendar, is it? Gala writes most of these clues, but I contribute a few, including this teaser: “A film that takes place in a fiery land, featuring a previous Video Archives leading lady.”

Fiery land…land of fire! Or, in Spanish, “Tierra Del Fuego,” the archipelago at the southernmost part of Argentina where the story is set. I think this confused some listeners because Tierra Del Fuego is actually quite chilly, with glacial winter winds blowing from nearby Antarctica. It was named after the bonfires set by native Fuegians…anyhow, the movie is a ripping adventure story, and our beloved Samantha Eggar is a key player in the most thrilling scenes (along with a menacing Yul Brynner).

The Video Archives discussion on The Light At The Edge Of The World touched on the history of animal cruelty in film production; the director of this week’s final feature, René Cardona Jr., sadly developed a reputation for indulging in this as well. A shark was killed during the filming of his Jaws ripoff Tintorera, and live birds were thrown through glass windows in his 1987 film Beaks: The Movie (known as “The Birds 2” in some markets). There are no animal attacks in Hostages, however - it’s simply a showcase for his high-octane thriller direction, with a heist-gone-wrong setup and a nail-biting ending.

As you heard at the start of the episode, even though we released Eli Roth’s American Giallo episodes earlier, Jacqueline was the first guest we recorded with, and remains the first Video Archives customer! She was so fun to have in the studio, and everyone should go check out her work at Rotten Tomatoes and elsewhere on the internet. While you’re at it, follow us on Twitter and Instagram – there’s even a Facebook fan group you can check out! Then go to videoarchivespodcast.com for merch, podcast news and movie facts. Next week we’ll be cracking open the Video Vault on the After Show…see you then!

–Josh