Murder by Decree (1979)

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)
John Hopkins (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sherlock Holmes unveils the secrecy of Jack the Ripper - clue by clue - murder by murder.

Plot:

Sherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.

Plot Keywords:

Sherlock Holmes | Asylum | Jack The Ripper | Carriage | Docks

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Christopher Plummer	...	Sherlock Holmes
James Mason	...	Dr. John H. Watson
David Hemmings	...	Inspector Foxborough
Susan Clark	...	Mary Kelly
Anthony Quayle	...	Sir Charles Warren
John Gielgud	...	Prime Minister Lord Salisbury
Frank Finlay	...	Inspector Lestrade
Donald Sutherland	...	Robert Lees
Geneviève Bujold	...	Annie Crook
Chris Wiggins	...	Doctor Hardy
Tedde Moore	...	Mrs. Lees (as Teddi Moore)
Peter Jonfield	...	William Slade
Roy Lansford	...	Sir Thomas Spivey
Catherine Kessler	...	Carrie
Ron Pember	...	Makins
June Brown	...	Anne Chapman
Ken Jones	...	Dock Guard
Terry Duggan	...	Danny
Hilary Sesta	...	Catherine Eddowes
Anthony May	...	Lanier
Betty Woolfe	...	Mrs. Dobson
Iris Fry	...	Elizabeth Stride
Geoffrey Russell	...	Home Secretary Henry Matthews
Peggy Ann Clifford	...	Lees' Housekeeper
Ann Mitchell	...	Jane
Katherine Stark	...	Molly
Elaine Ives-Cameron	...	Ellen
Stella Courtney	...	Betty
Judy Wilson	...	Emily
Roy Patterson	...	Carroll
Victor Langley	...	Prince of Wales
Pamela Abbott	...	Princess Alexandra
Robin Marchall	...	Duke of Clarence 'Eddy'
Richard Pescud	...	Doctor (as Richard Pescuid)
Pat Brackenbury	...	Nurse
Dan Long	...	Constable Long
Michael Cashman	...	Constable Watkins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Dean	...	Police Constable (uncredited)
Jim McManus	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Bob Clark

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Arthur Conan Doyle		characters
John Hopkins		screenplay
Elwyn Jones		co-author (book "The Ripper File")
John Lloyd		co-author (book "The Ripper File")

Produced by
Bob Clark	....	producer
René Dupont	....	producer
Robert A. Goldston	....	producer
Len Herberman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Paul Zaza
Carl Zittrer

Cinematography by
Reginald H. Morris

Film Editing by
Stan Cole

Casting by
Karen Hazzard

Production Design by
Harry Pottle

Art Direction by
Peter Childs

Set Decoration by
Denise Exshaw

Costume Design by
Judy Moorcroft

Makeup Department
Peter Robb-King	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Peter Davis	....	production manager: UK
Ted Rouse	....	production manager: Canada

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ariel Levy	....	assistant director
Ken Roch	....	second assistant director
Guy Travers	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Percy Godbold	....	production buyer
Adrian Start	....	art stand-by

Sound Department
David Appleby	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dave Appleby)
Dennis Drummond	....	sound editor
Patrick Drummond	....	sound editor
Wayne Griffin	....	sound editor
Joe Grimaldi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kenneth Heeley-Ray	....	supervising sound editor (as Ken Heeley Ray)
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist (as John Mitchell)
Don White	....	foley recording mixer

Special Effects by
Michael Albrechtsen	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Gillett	....	gaffer
Jimmy Turrell	....	camera operator (as James Turrell)
David Wynn-Jones	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ron Beck	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Ian McBride	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Frank Morrone	....	music recordist

Other crew
S.C. Dacy	....	publicist
Robert A. Goldston	....	presenter
Marjorie Lavelly	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) (produced with the assistance of)
• Famous Players (produced with the assistance of)
• Highlight
• Murder by Decree Productions

Distributors

• Ambassador Film Distributors (1979) (Canada) (theatrical)
• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• BMG Video (UK) (VHS)
• Embassy Video (video)
• Filmways Australasian Distributors (Australia) (theatrical)
• Globo Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  lighting
• MGM Laboratories  release prints
• Medallion Labs  answer print
• Pathé Sound and Post Production Center  post-production facilities
• Rank Film Laboratories  processing

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes and Saucy Jack (USA)
Sherlock Holmes: Murder by Decree

Runtime:

124 min | Sweden:110 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

The Masonic signs Holmes makes to the Chief Inspector are: the Duegard of the Entered Apprentice (right hand palm down over left hand palm up), the Sign of the Entered Apprentice (drawing the right hand from left to right across the throat), a variation of the Real Grip of a Master Mason(the handshake with the thumb and little finger extended), and finally the Sign of a Fellow Craft (drawing the right hand across the body from the left breast to the right hip). The Signs all refer to the penalties associated with the divulging of the Order's secrets to outsiders, i.e., having the throat slit and the chest opened and the heart torn out. The Duegard refers to the gesture of holding the Bible during the initiation ritual in the left hand, with the right resting upon it.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Watson questions the ladies in the Black Horse Tavern a Salvation Army band is playing "Onward Christian Soldiers" in the street. But the tune "St. Gertrude" was not composed and published by Sir Arthur Sullivan until after the purported time setting of the film (1888).

Quotes:

Sherlock Holmes: We've unmasked madmen, Watson, wielding scepters. Reason run riot. Justice howling at the moon.

Movie Connections:

Version of From Hell (2001)

Soundtrack:

Preludio

Forget the later versions -- this one is the best.

I happened across this film recently and found it to be a superb forerunner to FROM HELL which was filmed many years later. To be frank, this version is a lot more believable. It impressed me deeply because of the excellent depiction of the cramped, narrow, damp and winding back streets of Whitehall, all shrouded in permanent fog, and with a queasy, chromatic musical score to alert you that not all is well and dark deeds await.

The characters are believable and well played: Plummer underplays Holmes when so many other actors take him over the top: James Mason is an earthy, skeptical Dr. Watson whose blusterings are amusing without ever become a pain in the tail; we have a cooperative and good-natured Lestrange, a suitably shell-shocked Mary Kelly, and Anthony Quayle puts in not only an incredibly gruff and abrasive performance as Scotland yard's Charles Warren, but also wins the movie's bizarre-makeup award. Donald Sutherland also modestly underplays his role as the sickly psychic with a mustache that Wyatt Earp would have envied. And of course, the unmasked villains are suitably sinister and reek of the madness being perpetrated on the panicky London slum.

Also deserving a nod are John Gielgud and others who play high government officials with the proper stuffy condescension and total disregard for "inferiors" of whatever class or religion, putting the stability of the monarchy far above those the ruling class are supposed to be caring for. It's hard to visualize Holmes an an insurrectionist, but if this was not the appropriate situation, nothing would be.

This film would merit a 10 out of 10 except for the peculiar character played by David Hemmings, who seemed out of place to begin with and brought too much attention to himself as someone to keep an eye on, as if he were a walking clue for the more inattentive viewer. Good performance, just an awkward and blatant addition to the story characters.

Forget the drug-hazed and farcical Johnny Depp character of FROM HELL: rather, watch the clear-headed relentless Holmes take on Saucy Jack with such a fervency that he overlooks more hidden, sinister forces attempting to steer him towards satisfying their own ends....