It’s just a shame that the original film sequences no longer exist (as the telecine process has made the images rather murky). The story benefits from location filming in Cornwall (the jagged cliffs and stormy seas are particularly photogenic). But although making the series wasn’t always a happy one, he’s still got a sharp sense of humour and this helps to stop the commentary track from simply being a long list of complaints. Overall, he doesn’t seem to have enjoyed himself at all – which is a pity, partly because it’s still an impressive series (despite whatever was happening behind-the-scenes) but also because it’s the programme he’ll always be best remembered for. He seems to have had problems with the producer, some of the directors (who he considered to be far too inexperienced) as well as several of the adaptations. Although his dissatisfaction with some parts of the series was well known (this was the reason he didn’t do a second series) I wasn’t quite aware just how unhappy he was. I won’t reveal what he says, but it’s not terribly complimentary! The comm track on this episode is a must listen as though Wilmer is 95, he’s still as sharp as a tack. This is mentioned in the BFI booklet, so there must be some credence to the story, but it’s hard to understand why the actors had to do this (rather than script-editor Anthony Read).ĭouglas Wilmer does give his opinion about what Anthony Read was doing at the time (via the highly entertaining commentary track).
With a very limited number of suspects it’s not really a whodunnit, rather it’s a howtheydunnit.Īccording to legend, when the script was delivered it was found to be dramatically under-running, so both Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock intensively worked on it and were able to bring it up to the correct length. Originally published in 1910, The Devil’s Foot was one of Conan-Doyle’s favourite Sherlock Holmes stories (he ranked it ninth out of twelve favourites).
Holmes and Watson risk their own sanity to solve this devilish puzzle …. A fourth Tregennis sibling, Mortimer (Patrick Troughton), was present with them the previous evening, but he insists that when he left all was well. Three members of the Tregennis family have been struck down in a most inexplicable way – the sister is dead whilst the two brothers have been driven quite mad. Holmes, naturally enough, abhors inactivity and is keen to seize on any distraction – so when the vicar (John Glyn-Jones) bursts into their cottage early one morning with a tale of death and madness, he’s immediately interested. Stress and overwork have affected Sherlock Holmes’ iron constitution, so both he and Dr Watson have decided to take a holiday in Cornwall.
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