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Young Sherlock Holmes
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Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explicitly states in the first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet that Holmes and Watson had not previously met, meaning the film cannot be considered part of the Holmes canon.
film is denoted as being a “fanciful imagining” of a possible first meeting of Holmes and Watson (who actually met for the first time as adults in Arthur Conan Doyle’s canon) as boys at a prestigious London prep school.
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Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explicitly states in the first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet that Holmes and Watson had not previously met, meaning the film cannot be considered part of the Holmes canon.
Plot Synopsis
This film is denoted as being a “fanciful imagining” of a possible first meeting of Holmes and Watson (who actually met for the first time as adults in Arthur Conan Doyle’s canon) as boys at a prestigious London prep school. The pre-credits note that the story is not based on any particular story by Doyle, and is not considered part of the Holmes Canon.
On a cold December evening in Victorian London, a wealthy gentleman of business, Mr. Bentley Bobster departs from his lodgings for a quiet dinner out. Unseen by Bobster, a mysterious hooded figure (who produces a peculiar “jingling” noise as he walks) follows a close distance behind. As Bobster examines the menu at one of his favorite eateries, the hooded figure shoots a small blowgun, injecting Bobster with a tiny thorn. Bobster brushes off the sudden brief sharp pain, and enters the restaurant. The waiter serves Bobster a specially prepared stuffed pheasant, “Your favourite…” But as he prepares to feast, Bobster suddenly experiences a horrifying vision of the bird coming to life and attacking him with its beak and talons. As quickly as it came, the vision ends, leaving a stunned Bobster being surveyed by the eyes of all the other restaurant patrons, as though he were mad. Bobster dashes from the restaurant in stunned and embarrassed silence, and races home to his lodgings, ignoring his chamber maid and locking himself in his room. But then a terrifying new vision of Bobster’s coat hook coming to life, entangling him, and gas lamps exploding in balls of fire, causes the terrified Bobster to escape by leaping from his third floor window… to his death in the street below. Satisfied, the hooded figure, who has been observing Bobster since hitting him with the thorn, walks away as the opening credits roll.
John Watson, a teenage boy from the North of England, arrives in the heart of London for his first day at the prestigious Brompton Academy, where he is introduced to his bunkmate; a tall, gangly youth named Sherlock Holmes, who is attempting to master the violin (and having a bit of difficulty after three days’ practice). Holmes astounds Watson by immediately discerning, through deductive reasoning, his new friend’s name, place of origin, favourite hobby, father’s employment, and favourite snack food. As they proceed to their morning classes, Holmes explains to Watson the importance of fine-tuning the mind, through mathematical equations, puzzles, riddles, and other exercises. He presents to Watson by example a riddle in which Watson is seated in a room with an all-southern view. A bear walks past the window, and Holmes challenges Watson to discern what color the bear is. Watson will return repeatedly to the riddle through the course of the film, attempting to figure out the correct answer.
During science class, Holmes receives a note from Elizabeth, a friend and romantic interest, who is the niece and ward of a retired schoolmaster, living on the school grounds. Holmes meets Elizabeth later in the library, interrupting her attentions by another school boy, the pompous Dudley. Holmes deliberately shows up Dudley in front of Elizabeth, by correctly discerning that Dudley’s expensive new Swiss timepiece is actually a cheap fraud (Italian in origin). As Elizabeth playfully chides Holmes for being late (as always), Watson explores the library. His attention is drawn by a particular “jingling” sound, and as he attempts to locate its origin, he inadvertently slips, and knocks over a whole shelf of books. Unseen by Holmes or Watson, the hooded figure who was responsible for Bobster’s death, looks on before quietly exiting the library.
Watson is introduced to Elizabeth’s uncle, Rupert T. Waxflatter; a mathematician and inventor who has taught Holmes “more than all of my other schoolmasters put together.” Waxflatter has completed (and failed) six separate attempts at self-propelled, heavier-than-air flight in a contraption of his own invention, and resolves to build his seventh device out of more sturdy material. Holmes mentions the difficulty inherent in rebuilding the entire device from the bottom up; Waxflatter replies, “Elementary, my dear Holmes.” Holmes is intrigued as he departs the lab, noticing a news-clipping that Waxflatter has saved, detailing the recent death of Bentley Bobster.
Professor Rathe, one of the younger instructors at the school, instructs a fencing class. Following a slight injury of one of his students, Rathe instructs the school nurse, Mrs. Dribb, to see to the boy while the lesson continues, with Holmes fencing Rathe. The two are evenly matched, until Holmes allows his aggression to take over, and stumbles, allowing Rathe to win. He reminds the class to “never replace discipline with emotion.”
During dinner that evening, the school boys idly discuss future career options. Dudley wishes to be a military man, and Watson wishes to be a doctor. Holmes only states that he wants “never to be alone…” as he longingly watches Elizabeth, walking her dog Uncas on the quadrangle. Uncas suddenly breaks free from Elizabeth, chasing the hooded, jingling figure across the quad and over the wall of the school. Uncas tears a small scrap of clothing from the figure’s robe before Elizabeth scoops him up and carries him back to her room. The hooded figure slinks away into the night.
Later that evening, the hooded figure arrives at a London chapel, where Rev. Duncan Nesbitt is lighting the candles for evening service. The hooded figure again uses the blowgun, this time to inject Nesbitt with a thorn, before silently departing. Nesbitt continues about his business, until he catches sight of a stained glass window high above the pews, on which there is a figure of a knight with a sword, and a holy pilgrim. A second glance at the window reveals that now the knight has slain the pilgrim. Suddenly, the knight “leaps” from the window and lunges at the terrified Nesbitt. In a raging panic, Nesbitt runs out into the snowy evening, and is killed when he is inadvertently trampled by the horses of a passing hansom cab.
The following week, Dudley challenges Holmes to a test of ingenuity. Having hidden the school’s fencing trophy, he gives Holmes sixty minutes to locate it, and return it to him in the main drawing room, Holmes accepts the challenge, announcing “the game is afoot!” After thoroughly examining the trophy case with his signature magnifying lens, Holmes spends the next hour running back and forth, criss-crossing the campus, examining the school kitchen, art room, and other locations. All of the school boys and teachers look on in amusement as Holmes follows a seemingly invisible trail. Rathe wagers a guinea against a fellow teacher that Holmes (who is viewed as far too arrogant by the rest of the faculty) will find the trophy in time. The other professor eagerly accepts, suggesting that Holmes needs to be taken down a peg. As the final seconds tick away, Holmes kicks snow from his boot, and suddenly connects the dots. He meets Dudley in the drawing room, and proceeds to smash a “priceless ceramic vase” (actually a cheap forgery created and painted by Dudley), revealing the stolen trophy. Holmes wins, Rathe collects his bet, and Dudley is once again humiliated.
Professor Waxflatter attempts to fly again, and again crashes (without injury). Again, Holmes and company help him collect the pieces and return them to his loft, this time as they are observed by a mysterious, seemingly-nervous man in a top hat; one Chester Cragwitch. Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth are ushered out of the loft by Waxflatter, when he recognises Cragwitch. Holmes notes the sudden change in demeanor of Waxflatter, and notes that Waxflatter has also saved another news-clipping, detailing the death of Rev. Nesbitt.
Holmes takes the news-clippings to the local constabulary, where he attempts to show them to Mr. LeStrade, a low-level police investigator. LeStrade repeatedly rebuffs Holmes’ attempts to link the two deaths, which he views as merely a suicide and a carriage accident. But Holmes persists, pointing out that both men graduated from the same school, and neither of their deaths fit their personalities. LeStrade again dismisses Holmes’ “wild imaginings” and ushers him out.
A few days later, Dudley gets the better of Holmes, when he makes it appear that Holmes has cheated on a crucial exam. Holmes is expelled from the Academy, and is expected to leave immediately. Rathe argues vehemently for Holmes, but is ignored. Saddened by the loss of such a promising student, he and Holmes share a final fencing match, which Holmes loses only because of a distraction with reflection off of Rathe’s ring. Mrs. Dribb is also saddened to see Holmes leave, as she dresses a small cut on Holmes’ face from Rathe’s rapier. As Holmes arranges to depart for the home of his brother Mycroft Holmes, Dudley enters, enraged that Holmes (who “accidentally” dropped his science experiment into Dudley’s tea) is responsible for turning Dudley’s hair a chalky white.
Waxflatter, still on the search for components for his flying machine, visits a local curio shop. But the hooded figure, hiding in the shadows nearby, uses his blowgun to hit Waxflatter with a thorn just as he enters the shop. In moments, Waxflatter is fighting for his life against small metal gargoyles that he imagines are attacking him. Waxflatter gets hold of a dagger and, attempting to kill the imaginary beasts, inadvertently stabs himself in the chest.
As Watson and Holmes bid their goodbyes, (and Elizabeth writes “I Love You” on a window for Holmes) they are interrupted by the police wagon hurrying by and realise there is a commotion at the curio. The robed figure runs past Watson, and Watson catches sight of the figure dropping the blowpipe. He tries to stop the figure but is unsuccessful. Holmes breaks through the crowd and sees his mentor die in front of him, but not before Waxflatter utters his final words, “Eh Tar, Holmes… Eh Tar…” Lestrade arrives at the crime scene and has a constable usher the boys away from the scene.
The funeral for Waxflatter is held a few days later, and Holmes is not allowed to publicly attend, so he is forced to watch the proceedings from a distance. He catches a glimpse of Cragwitch, also watching from a distance, and gives chase, but is unable to catch him. That evening in the loft, Watson and Elizabeth discuss the death of her uncle, concluding that it could not have been a suicide, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Holmes, who should have left campus already, has returned, and announced that there “is a very clever murderer on the loose.” Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth form a partnership, with Holmes secretly remaining in the loft/lab, while Watson secretly runs errands and otherwise assists him to investigate the crime. As a tribute to her uncle and his mentor, Elizabeth presents Holmes with Waxflatter’s cherished deerstalker cap.
The three young sleuths begin to piece together clues: the jingling sound heard multiple times on campus, the piece of cloth retrieved by Uncas, and the blowpipe Watson discovered. Holmes and Watson visit a curio shop in a seedy area of London to learn the origins of the blowpipe. The proprietor tells Holmes that it is Egyptian in origin, and tells him the name of the man who bought up other Egyptian curio items… but only if Watson will purchase an item from the shop. Watson settles on a Meerschaum Pipe because it “looks distinguished” and promises to learn to smoke it someday.
Holmes and Watson arrive at an Egyptian-themed bar to question the owner about the blowpipe. Upon seeing the blowpipe, the man suddenly is enraged, shouting “Rame Tep” to all of the patrons, and ordering the boys out of the bar under threat of bodily harm.
That evening, Holmes and Watson secretly visit the school library, where Watson leads Holmes to the section where he had heard the jingling noise the previous week. The section contains several volumes on Egyptology, and Holmes discovers one volume detailing the Rame Tep, a strange cult of Osiris Worshippers, who were shunned by traditional Egyptian society. The Rame Tep would attack their enemies by using a blowpipe and thorns dipped in a mysterious concoction that would cause frighteningly realistic hallucinations in their victims, and result in either apparent suicides or accidental deaths.
Examining the cloth scrap Uncas had collected, Holmes discovers that it is stained with paraffin manufactured exclusively at a Wopping-area manufacturer, Froggett and Froggett. Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth, under cover of darkness, pay a late-night visit to the manufacturer. On entering, they find a small pyramid-like sculpture with Egyptian runes and carvings. As they examine the sculpture, a section of the floor gives way, and the three fall several feet, sliding down the side of the pyramid, now revealed to be several hundred feet along each side, deep underground. Chanting is heard from inside, and the three discover a cult of Rame Tep, led by a mysterious high priest wearing a golden mask of Anubis. Holmes sneaks down into the temple, and pickpockets a small box from the belt of one of the worshippers. A young girl, wrapped as a mummy, is about to be sacrificed by being buried in molten wax. As she screams in pain, Holmes realises she is still alive, and yells for them to stop. The high priest orders his followers to capture Holmes, and the three youths run for their lives.
As they escape the pyramid and the warehouse, Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth are all struck by thorns blown by their pursuers. They duck into a graveyard to elude pursuit, but one of the worshippers follows them. As they hide among the elaborate tombstones, the horrifying hallucinations begin to affect them all. Elizabeth imagines being buried alive by her late uncle, and sees a horrible figure etching her name on a tombstone. Watson and Holmes tie her down with a scarf to help her avoid injuring herself. But Watson then wanders off and begins imagining a great assortment of dessert foods coming to life and attacking him. And Holmes finds himself inside a crypt, being admonished by his father for discovering his indiscretions and the subsequent hurt visited on his mother by these revelations. At that moment, the lone worshipper attacks Holmes and snaps him back to reality. They are all saved by the graveyard caretaker scaring off the worshipper with a shotgun.
The following morning, the three youngsters are admonished by the angry Mr. LeStrade, who has had to iron out the problems with the caretaker, and instructs the children to go back to the school. He refuses to listen to Holmes’ list of clues and evidence, and his suggestion that the Rame Tep may also be responsible for the recent disappearances of four girls. Holmes is disgusted by LeStrade’s lack of investigative skills. “Based on what, Holmes,” he asks, “your imagination?” Holmes points out that a great detective relies on perception, intellect and imagination; a framed slogan hanging on the wall behind LeStrade’s desk. Before being curtly dismissed, Holmes gives LeStrade the box he had taken off the worshipper in the temple. As they leave, LeStrade sweeps the box (filled with thorns) from his desk, inadvertently sticking himself with one of them.
The three return to the loft, where Holmes and Watson discover a picture of four men in their youth; Bobster, Waxflatter, Nesbitt, and the unknown man, now identified to Holmes as Chester Cragwitch. Holmes realises that Cragwitch is the only man in the picture who remains alive, and that he is the key to the mystery. Unfortunately, before they can depart to investigate, they are caught by Professor Rathe and Mrs. Dribb.
Rathe orders Holmes to return home as planned, and also informs Watson that he is to be expelled as well. Worse, Elizabeth is to be taken by Mrs. Dribb, and Uncas will be sent to the local dog pound, much to Elizabeth’s chagrin. Rathe is angry that Holmes has abused his trust and friendship, and suggests that it is now time to remove all of the items in the loft. Holmes vehemently protests, as it is Waxflatter’s entire life’s work. Rathe sternly admonishes Holmes and reminds him again to not replace discipline with emotion, as he and Watson are locked in a separate bedroom for the night.
As soon as Rathe and Mrs. Dribb are out of sight, Holmes and Watson break out of the room, free Elizabeth, and explain the need to locate Cragwitch. Holmes asks her to return to the lab and salvage as many of her uncle’s inventions as possible, and they will rendezvous there later.
Holmes and Watson proceed to the residence of Chester Cragwitch, who, realising he is the only one left, cowers in his home with a shotgun, prepared to attack any who come near. Holmes and Watson identify themselves and ask Cragwitch for information. Unseen by any of them, the hooded figure hovers nearby, and successfully hits Cragwitch with a thorn.
Cragwitch explains to Holmes and Watson that when he and his friends were in their youth, they were financed by their fathers to establish a hotel in Egypt; at the time a land of ripe opportunity for the British. But when ground was broken, they discovered a major archaeological find; an underground pyramid of the Rame Tep, with the tombs of five princesses. The local populace was outraged at the desecration of the tomb, and they revolted. The British army intervened, and countless numbers of Egyptians were slaughtered. Cragwitch, Bobster, Nesbitt and Waxflatter escaped with their lives, went their separate ways, but promised to remain in contact. Six months later, the men each received a letter from a boy named Eh Tar, who, along with his sister, had lost their parents in the uprising. The boy swore that he would take revenge and replace the bodies of the five princesses. The letter was adorned with the symbol of the Rame Tep.
Suddenly, Cragwitch, now under the influence of the thorn poison, attacks and nearly strangles Holmes, who is only saved by the timely intervention of Mr. LeStrade. LeStrade nearly threw himself out of a window after being stuck by the thorn earlier in the day. He curtly dismisses Holmes and Watson after thanking him for “getting me started on the case…” There is nothing for Holmes and Watson to do but return to the school.
Elizabeth works to rescue her uncle’s inventions, when she is surprised from behind by an intruder, making the now-familiar jingling noise. Elizabeth is shocked to discover that the assassin is… Mrs. Dribb! As the two fight, Mrs. Dribb’s wig is pulled from her head by Uncas, revealing Mrs. Dribb’s head is shaved with a ponytail in the manner of the Rame Tep. Rathe enters the room, and admonishes Elizabeth for discovering their secret…
As they walk back to the campus, Watson continues to muse on the riddle of the bear. While they discuss the method for solving the riddle, Holmes suddenly has an epiphany and realises that the villain of this whole affair with the pyramid is Professor Rathe. They run as fast as they can to return to the campus to rescue Elizabeth. At that moment Rathe is hypnotising Elizabeth to discern the whereabouts of Holmes and Watson. She resists his questions, but he places her in a trance and tells Mrs. Dribb that she will make a suitable “fifth princess”. Holmes and Watson arrive, too late to stop them from departing with Elizabeth. The two hurry to the loft, and launch themselves with Waxflatter’s flying machine (which Holmes had repaired and modified) to try and catch up to them.
They land rather bumpily on the partially frozen Thames River, and race to the nearby warehouse with the pyramid. Elizabeth is wrapped, mummy-like, to be sacrificed as the fifth princess, as Rathe leads his followers in their worship service. Holmes and Watson, watching from nearby, devise a plan to create a diversion by displacing the support beams and bringing down the entire pyramid. Holmes climbs onto the overhead chandelier. Just before Elizabeth is sacrificed, the chandelier comes down, and all of the support beams begin to crumble, igniting fires from overturned braziers and boiling wax.
Holmes and Watson race to rescue Elizabeth, but Rathe escapes with her in tow, knocking Watson flat in the process. Holmes wrestles with Mrs. Dribb, who tries desperately to stick Holmes with another thorn; but he turns the tables on her and she ends up swallowing the insidious thorn herself. Her robe catches fire, and she is presumably killed in the inferno.
Holmes is knocked unconscious by falling debris, and Watson watches helplessly as his friend is trapped with flames all around, even as Rathe attempts to escape in a carriage with Elizabeth. Watson quickly devises a plan to raise the chandelier (on which Holmes is lying) while simultaneously stopping Rathe’s carriage, pulling the very axle out from beneath it.
Holmes quickly recovers, and the two race to Elizabeth’s side. The three friends begin to make their way back to the school, but suddenly Rathe appears on an overhead pass, and shoots at Holmes with a small pistol. Elizabeth jumps in front of her love, and takes the shot herself. Enraged, Holmes takes a sword and pursues Rathe, who, similarly armed, reminds Holmes that he is once again allowing his emotions to get the better of him. The two fight fiercely, baiting and toying with one another all the way, and this time, it is Holmes that cuts a small gash across Rathe’s face. The duel makes its way down onto the frozen Thames, where Rathe suddenly slips and falls through the ice, presumably to his doom.
Holmes races back to Elizabeth, and the two bid a tearful good bye, promising to meet again in another world; a better world. Elizabeth consoles the grieving Holmes by telling him she will be waiting, and he will be late again.
A few days later, Holmes prepares to return home, unsure as to whether he will be returning to Brompton again. He explains to Watson that Rathe had sought to keep Waxflatter on the campus (to keep an eye on him while he prepared his revenge and took the time to build the pyramid and recruit his network of followers, made up of the poor and indigent citizens of London). Mrs. Dribb was identified as the chief assassin, and was also, it is revealed, Rathe’s younger sister. Rathe (Eh Tar) had completely erased his earlier life, and became a well-respected school master and member of London society. Watson also pointed out that Rathe, in fact, is “Eh Tar” spelled in reverse.
Holmes has taken the Inverness cape of Professor Rathe as a trophy, “much like the skin of a leopard”, and he still maintains the deerstalker cap. Watson presents Holmes with an early Christmas gift; the Meerschaum pipe that Watson had difficulty smoking. Holmes seems to take to it much better. Finally, Watson successfully solves the riddle of the bear, and Holmes remarks that his friend has the makings of a great detective. The two part the best of friends, and Watson is certain they will meet again. Watson regrets that he forgot to thank his friend, as Holmes greatly enhanced Watson’s self-confidence and thirst for adventure, and he knew that many more adventures with his friend lay ahead.
As the closing credits roll, A different carriage is seen working its way across a snowy rural landscape. The passenger, a man in a cloak and top hat, checks into a remote country inn. He signs the register “Moriarty”. And as the camera reveals his face, we see that “Moriarty” is in fact, Professor Rathe.
Riddle of the Bear
Holmes suggests a riddle to Watson, and Watson puzzles over it for much of the film.
"You are seated in a room with an all-southern view. Suddenly a bear walks past the window. What colour is the bear?"
The answer is white. The only room with an all-southern view would be at the North Pole, meaning that the bear in question must be a polar bear.
Production
Tagline — "Before a lifetime of adventure, They had the adventure of a lifetime"
The film is notable for including the first fully computer-generated character, a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window. The effect was created by Lucasfilm's John Lasseter (now executive vice-president at Pixar Animation Studios) before Pixar was sold the next year. Lasseter would go on to create Toy Story 10 years later.
In Britain the film was re-titled Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear, in a nod to the previous year's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Awards
1985 - Academy Award for Visual Effects (nominated)
Music
The film music was composed by Bruce Broughton who has a long-standing history of scoring orchestral film soundtracks. The music for the film was nominated for Grammy and also received a Saturn Award. Among the memorable themes are the suspenseful main title theme with the flute and string sections, the "Holmes Triumphant" theme which closed the film, and the "Waxing Elizabeth" piece which accompanied the scenes of the gruesome ceremonies of the Rame Tep. The film soundtrack is currently unavailable on CD, but earlier audio tape and vinyl editions may be found online.
Illusionist David Copperfield (illusionist) used the music from the soundtrack for several segments of his David Copperfield: Orient Express television special, in which he levitated an entire train car from the famed Orient Express.
Cast
Memorable Quotes
John Watson: "My name is..."
Sherlock Holmes: "Wait... Let me. [pause] Your name is James Watson. You're from the North of England. Your father is a doctor. You spend a considerable amount of leisure time writing. And you have a particular fondness for custard tarts."
John Watson: "My name isn't James... It's John."
Sherlock Holmes: "James/John... What's the difference?"
Waxflatter: "Elementary, my dear Holmes… elementary."
Sherlock Holmes: "Sherlock Holmes, jealous? My dear, that word does not enter my vocabulary."
Elizabeth Hardy: "Neither does punctuality."
John Watson: "That was a girl."
Sherlock Holmes: "Brilliant deduction, Watson."
Rathe: "Holmes, remember what I always taught you — control your emotions or they will be your downfall."
John Watson: "Holmes, wait. What if the murderer is inside?"
Sherlock Holmes: "Then I shall introduce myself to him."
John Watson: "What have I gotten myself into?"
Sherlock Holmes: "The adventure of a lifetime, Watson."
Sherlock Holmes: "Someday we'll be reunited. In another world, a much better world."
Elizabeth Hardy: "I'll be waiting. And you'll be late… as always."
John Watson: "No Mr. French Pastry, I have nothing whatsoever to say to you. I trust the feeling is mutual..."
Reunion
Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox and Roger Ashton-Griffiths were reunited in Margaret a 2008 British mini-series concerning the life of Margaret Thatcher.
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