Murder by Decree (1979)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers:

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

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | 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:

Jack The Ripper | Sherlock Holmes | Murder | Asylum | Conspiracy

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

Visual Effects by
Cliff Culley	....	visual effects supervisor

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
Marilyn Clarke	....	production coordinator
S.C. Dacy	....	publicist
Robert A. Goldston	....	presenter
Bob Halliday	....	police liaison
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)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Magnetic Video (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1981) (USA) (TV)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Studio Canal (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Filmways Australasian Distributors (Australia) (theatrical)
• BMG Video (UK) (VHS)
• Embassy Video (video)
• Globo Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

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:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | 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:

According to Bob Clark, the budget was less than $4 million.

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: [Reacting to the tardiness of the Prince of Wales] I suppose since, after all, he's only the Prince of Wales, we should not expect the same degree of courtesy.
Dr. John H. Watson: And since you are the Prince of Detectives, Holmes, I don't think you should presume to criticize a man who one day will be King of England.
Sherlock Holmes: [amused] Well done, Watson! You have cut me to the quick. Hmm! Only the Prince of Detectives, you say? Then who, pray tell, is the King?
Dr. John H. Watson: Lestrade, of course.
[Holmes laughs]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemania: Oi pio diavoitoi dolofonoi: Alithines istories!" (2009)

Soundtrack:

God Save the Queen

The Ultimate Holmes/Ripper Meeting

"Murder By Decree" is the ultimate meeting between the two greatest figures of Victorian mystery: Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper. There have been other meetings between the two (including a terrible novel in which Holmes WAS the Ripper), but none quite as satisfying to devotees of both Holmes and the Ripper case.

There is widespread speculation, among those of us who consider Sherlock Holmes a very real person, as to his possible role in investigating the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. Given Holmes's passion for unsolved mysteries, it seems unlikely that he would not have taken up the Ripper case. And if he did, it seems very unlikely that Holmes would NOT have solved it. So why does the Ripper's identity remain a mystery? Is the Ripper case one of those "unpublished" cases that Dr. Watson occasionally refers to in the Sherlock Holmes stories? If so, who did Watson choose not to publish an account of Holmes's involvement in the Ripper investigation.

"Murder By Decree" answers these questions with true Holmesian style. Christopher Plummer, as Holmes, is a deductive reasoner with an ounce of compassion and a sharp sense of justice. James Mason, as Watson, is not a bungler but an active, intelligent aide to Holmes's investigation. And we have scenes that are mainstays of the classic Holmes tales, including the chase through dark, foggy, gaslit streets, and a visit by hansom cab to a dark foreboding asylum, which resembles Baskerville Hall.

And then there's the Ripper, the ultimate unsolved mystery. The movie places Holmes among real-life characters in the Ripper drama, such as Charles Warren, Robert Lees, Mary Kelly, Annie Crook, and Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. It re-creates the murder scenes with historical accuracy. It shows us the East End as it was (and more or less still is): A horrific maze of alleys that is the perfect stalking ground for a predator like the Ripper. The shots from the Ripper's POV, moving through a maze of dark, foggy alleys, accompanied by ominous footsteps and heavy breathing, are particularly scary. This air of mystery surrounding this unknown fiend is partially why the Ripper murders are remembered even today.

The movie takes one of the more imaginative Ripper theories (the "Prince Eddy/Annie Crook" conspiracy) as its explanation for why Holmes and Watson kept silent about their involvement in the case. The movie becomes exceptional when Holmes himself becomes a victim of the conspirators. Holmes discovers to his horror that his deductive reasoning has been used. The conspirators have purposely set him on the Ripper's trail, knowing that he will lead them to the elusive Mary Kelly, who becomes the Ripper's last victim.

Is the "Annie Crook" theory true? Probably not, but it still refuses to die. (The NEXT Ripper movie, "From Hell" starring Johnny Depp, uses the "Annie Crook" theory as its base.) But who cares if it's fiction! It's STILL a terrific "conspiracy theory." And it makes for a case worthy of Holmes, one which he solves but cannot win. He stops the conspirators, but emerges from the case outraged and grief-stricken over having led the murderers to Mary Kelly. A more flawed, more human Holmes we have rarely seen, outside of Jeremy Brett.

But Watson reminds Holmes that Mary Kelly died willingly to protect the bastard child of Annie Crook and Prince Eddy, the source of the Ripper conspiracy. And Holmes, through his investigation of the conspiracy, has insured the child's safety. There is still decency in the world. The closing credits, played to music from Holmes's violin, give a sense that, with the Ripper nightmare over, Holmes and the city of London will emerge into the light once more.