#the seven per cent solution

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

Note: There have been....A Lot of versions of Sherlock Holmes. Like a LOT. Obviously this is only a fraction of the possible adaptations and retellings that are out there. A second part with further versions will be published at some point in the future.

Further notes:

Apparently Sherlock Holmes may be the most prolifically portrayed character in film ever? So like I really do want to emphasize. There's WAY more versions I could and will put on a poll.

Also some of these are somewhat loosely grouped/are presented together despite slight continuity breaks. Like, the Rathbone films were overseen by two different companies (20th Century Fox, then Universal, though Universal did almost all of them) but they're definitely a series with each other because they're configured around him and his version of Holmes.

Peter Cushing also portrayed Holmes in a 1968 series, but for this poll I've just included his Hound of the Baskervilles film.

Also, not all of these are adapting specific Holmes stories directly. I am counting adapting the characters as enough to count for this poll.

It's the original novel version of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution that's on this poll. A film adaptation was made, and may go on a later poll. I might do a separate poll comparing just those two against each other at some point, as well.

[hrshl-hlms]

anyway

[sondheims-hat]

1976

[annlarimer]

Dig 70s Holmes, baby. This was some good shit. 

[cinemaquiles]

ALAN ARKIN EM 10 FILMES PARA MARATONAR NO STREAMING!

[holmesoverture]

[Image text: He was fond of appearing impassive, austere, and somewhat aloof: a thinking machine not in direct contact or communication with what he considered the sordid realities of physical existence. In truth, this reputation for coldness was deliberately and completely of his own manufacture. It was not, moreover, his friends--he admittedly had few--nor yet his biographer whom he sought to convince regarding this aspect of his character. It was himself.

The ten years since his death have provided me with ample time for reflection upon the question of Holmes's personality, and I have come to realize what I always really knew (but did not know that I knew)--that Holmes was a deeply passionate human being. His susceptibility to emotion was an element in his nature which he tried almost physically to suppress. Holmes certainly regarded his emotions as a distraction, a liability, in fact. He was convinced the play of feelings would interfere with the precision demanded of his work and this was on no account to be tolerated. Sentience he eschewed; those moments during his career when circumstances forced open floodgates of his reserve were rare indeed, and always startling. The observer felt he had witnessed a brilliant flash of lightning on a darkling plain.]

The Seven Percent Solution - Nicholas Meyer

[flammentanz]

Nicol Williamson as Sherlock Holmes and Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson in "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" (1976)

[randomnessoffiction]

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

I'm reading Nicholas Meyer's The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and I thought tumblr would enjoy

✨️Holmes's vanilla extract shenanigans✨️:

"As you know, however, it is not my habit to go after the small fish while the big ones are at large. Mind the vanilla extract!" [Holmes] yelled suddenly and pulled me backwards from the two paces or so I had taken in the direction of the house. "You might have fallen in," he gasped, holding on to me to regain his balance.

[...]

"I may write a monograph on it," Holmes said, referring to the vanilla extract.

[...]

There he stopped dead before the empty tracks as Gloucester stopped at the edge of his cliff. The vanilla extract ended here.

[...]

"There were at least three choices, any one of which would have served my turn. Without vanilla extract," [Holmes] added, smiling.

[...]

"But I place my faith in vanilla extract. I have conducted experiments - and, well, if it proves false, Watson, this is one case your readers will be amused instead of amazed to read."

I thought it would be funnier if I left it out, but the context for Holmes’s sudden obsession with vanilla extract is that he made Professor Moriarty step into a puddle of it without Moriarty noticing. He could then trace Moriarty all the way across the continent with the help of Toby, the dog. Holmes decided to use vanilla extract because the creosote he had used in The Sign of Four turned out to be too common a smell, so Toby got confused.

[geeoharee]

Oh thank you!! I knew I'd seen the line before - I have the paperback somewhere.

[twistedtummies2]

Top 10 Portrayals of Mrs. Hudson

The last time I did a list related to the “supporting cast” of the Sherlock Holmes universe, I did a Top 10 of my favorite takes on Inspector Lestrade. Today we’ll be going over the other member of the “Baker Street Family,” Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hudson is a character whom I often feel gets overlooked in the grand pattern of Holmes’ cast. She’s not really a major player in most of the original stories, but her presence is a fairly constant one. Like Watson and Lestrade, she essentially acts as an anchor, bringing some semblance of sanity into the wild madness that is Holmes and his world. Some adaptations barely make use of her, but a lot of my favorites play up the relationship between herself and her tenants in some fun ways. Mrs. Hudson is usually shown to be a sort of surrogate mother to Holmes, in more ways than one: she loves him dearly, but she’s also always in a tizzy over his hijinks, and forever put off by his rude behavior. 

The two flip-flop between genuine affection and sniping at one another constantly…but no matter how often they fuss and fume, each genuinely couldn’t imagine being without the other. She is just as valuable a member of the team as Watson, or any member of Scotland Yard, and just as persistent a character. Very few Sherlock Holmes adaptations are without her, even if she’s just there for a few moments. For, as one version of Holmes rightly stated: “Mrs. Hudson leave Baker Street? England would fall.” Picking my favorite versions of Mrs. Hudson was really quite difficult, but I think I managed to arrange and choose some winners from the bunch. With that said, let’s see those winners now! Help yourself to some tea and muffins: these are My Top 10 Favorite Portrayals of Mrs. Hudson!

10. Alison Leggatt, from The Seven Per-Cent Solution.

Honestly, I mostly chose this one because of the actress. It’s hard for me not to enjoy the Queen of Hearts as Mrs. Hudson.

9. Candis Cayne, from Elementary.

An interesting modern interpretation of the character to say the least. In this series, Miss Hudson - rather than Missus - is a slight latecomer to the show, and acts as a maid rather than a landlady. She’s a recurring character throughout the show, but ultimately not as prominent as one might expect after her initial appearance.

8. Mrs. Judson, from The Great Mouse Detective.

Voiced by Diana Chesney. While her role is very small, her brief scenes have always been quite memorable to me, and I felt this list wouldn’t be complete without this rodent reimagining.

7. Geraldine James, from the Guy Ritchie Films.

By far the most snarly relationship between a Holmes and Hudson of practically any version. I wish there had been some more genuine warmth between the two, but I will say that their banter is quite amusing.

6. Pat Keen, from Without a Clue.

In this film, Watson and Holmes effectively swap out, as it’s revealed the doctor is the real mastermind with Sherlock as his bungling sidekick. Mrs. Hudson is one of the few people who knows the truth, which is only fitting.

5. Mary Gordon, from the FOX/Universal Films.

While Mary Gordon didn’t really DO much throughout these movies - nor in the radio show with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce, where she was also a constant presence - something about her was just so memorable. She brought a sort of befuddled warmth to her scenes, and it’s worth noting that she was the only character, aside from the original Dynamic Duo, to appear in every single movie to some degree or another.

4. The Version from Moriarty the Patriot.

Much like Elementary, this version of the character is called “Miss” Hudson, and is depicted as much younger than usual. She’s something of a comic relief figure, but she still manages to work as an excellent take on the character. I love the sort of big sister/little brother relationship she has with Sherlock, and while, again, she rarely actually DOES much, she’s always fun to see in action.

3. Rina Zelyonaya, from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson.

It was hard to choose between my top three takes on Mrs. Hudson, as all of them are pretty close together, and could all be considered arguably the definitive takes on the character, in my opinion. In this Russian series, Zelyonaya’s Hudson is a wonderfully experienced old lady. You get the feeling she’s known Holmes since he was still VERY young, and knows him better than anybody, even Dr. Watson.

2. Rosalie Williams, from the Granada Series.

This is one of the most “motherly” versions of Mrs. Hudson, in my opinion, in the way she interacts with both Holmes and the good doctor. I love her moments of temper and authority, but I also love her moments of genuine concern and care when they come out. I think one of my favorite parts of the show was all her scenes in “The Empty House,” and how excitedly she gets involved once she realizes Sherlock is still alive.

1. Una Stubbs, from Sherlock.

Much like Rosalie Williams, this version of Mrs. Hudson has one of the most overtly motherly demeanors of any version. I love how she’s so sweet and bubbly on the outset, but then as the show goes on you realize there is a real steel underneath that seemingly frail surface. Like most of the other major cast members, it was neat to see her go from the modern world to period Victoriana in “The Abominable Bride,” and I was very sad to learn of her recent passing. A marvelous depiction overall.

[lexie-squirrel]

- Never let them say you were merely my Boswell, Watson, - he gasped when he could speak. - Never let them say that.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer

[hrshl-hlms]

Yeesh, the Sigmund Freud addition...

[sondheims-hat]

October 24, 1976: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (dir. Herbert Ross) is released.

[annlarimer]

Watch "The 7 Percent Solution" on YouTube

"GIVE MY CREATURE LIIIIIIIFE!!!"

[everythingvanessaredgrave]

Vanessa Redgrave in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)