Without A Clue

Directed By: Thom Eberhardt
Written By: Larry Strawther, Gary Murphy
Produced BY: Marc Stirdivant
Starring: Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jeffrey Jones, Lysette Anthony, Paul Freeman
Music By: Henry Mancini
Production: ITC Entertainment Group
Release Date: October 21, 1988

Plot: Sherlock Holmes is a fictional creation, the central character in a series of short stories written by Dr John Watson and published in The Strand Magazine. Watson conceives of Holmes as a way for him to solve crimes incognito, as he views detective work as merely a hobby and does not want the attention it would bring to his medical career. However, when the reading public demand to actually see "Holmes", Watson hires a washed-up stage actor, Reginald Kincaid, to play the part. Kincaid slowly learns to memorise the doctor's exacting, detailed instructions every step of the way and manages to convince the public that he is indeed "Holmes".

After a major case, Kincaid oversteps his boundaries with Watson, who fires him. Realising that he should have been honest from the start, Watson decides to write Holmes out of his stories and replace him with a new character, "The Crime Doctor", based on himself. Unfortunately, the idea of a physician rather than a detective solving crimes is rejected by the public, and when Watson attempts to investigate a crime of arson at a paper warehouse, he quickly finds that no one is willing to share information or co-operate with his inquiries.

Soon after, the British government contacts Watson, requesting that "Holmes" solve a major theft. A government mint recently reported the disappearance of printing plates for £5 banknotes, with the printing supervisor, Peter Giles, having gone missing on the night of the robbery. The counterfeiting of these notes would cause the inevitable collapse of the economy if they were allowed to circulate. Watson is therefore forced to hunt down a drunken Kincaid and clean him up before accepting the case.

Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade is jealous of "Holmes" and refuses to let him or Watson participate in the official investigation. Rather than relying on the regular police, therefore, Watson turns to the twelve-year-old street urchin, Wiggins, the leader of a street gang that he calls the "Baker Street Irregulars", paying them to keep an eye on people and locate evidence. One line of enquiry leads Watson to the printer's daughter, Leslie, whom he and the womanising "Holmes" invite back to their quarters to recover from the shock of false evidence of her father's death.

Review: In this masterful creation we enjoy the perfect match of Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. The two actors balance each others unique skills and attributes as they lead you on a fun retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Over the years there have been many variations and versions of the Sherlock Holmes adventures. Yet they tend to stick to the same concept of Holmes being the somewhat gifted and tormented sleuth with Watson is long suffering side kick.

In this addaptation we fin the roles switched.Where Watson is the brain behind the many cases that are solved and Holmes a likeable yet bumbling actor inlisted by Watson to play the part of Watson's heroic investgator. With such wonderful lines as;

Holmes: An occasional libation enables me to stiffen my resolve.
Watson: Your resolve should be pickled by now.

The plot is truely a foot and filled with fun twists, surprises and turns to make you enjoy the film to the very end.

M J Flack