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#Eric Porter
sarnie-for-varney · 6 months
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We see one of the very rare moments where Holmes is afraid, in the Granada Holmes episode The Final Problem. And it is in the presence of Professor Moriarty.
He shields himself with his robe and is clearly shaken, judging by his breathing. But there's also a look of anger and disgust when he clenches his teeth for just a moment.
Then he begins to speak. His voice falters at "You..." and there are odd pauses between "You... have... paid me", as though he's attempting to gather his courage again to say one last thing to Moriarty before he walks out the door.
Not to mention that Moriarty could kill him at any time, there being a deadly weapon concealed as a cane right there in Moriarty's hand which he had literally cocked and aimed directly at Holmes moments prior to this clip.
Holmes isn't afraid of death, but Moriarty has such a sense of menace about him that it's no surprise that Holmes is scared. In this episode, Mrs. Hudson even compares Moriarty to the 'devil himself'.
However, Holmes still has the suaveness to insult Moriarty by not even calling him by the correct title. Moriarty is a professor, but Holmes refers to him as simply "Mr. Moriarty". While we call our professors 'Mr.' nowadays, it was actually a sign of scholarly prestige in those times. So it's safe to say that Holmes doesn't stay stunned for very long.
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weirdlookindog · 11 months
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Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Spanish Poster
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suspiria76 · 11 months
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HANDS OF THE RIPPER
UK
1971
Directed by Peter Sasdy
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zippocreed501 · 4 months
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Eric Porter as Professor Moriarty
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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shesnake · 2 years
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final problem x cellophane for @abbaskiarostami
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Watching Granada Holmes: The Final Problem
See my other granada holmes recaps here. 
So I had a choice this week. Either watch two episodes in the one week and watch FINA before a planned trip - or wait until next week. Obviously I chose the first option, so am now forced to wait to see Empty Hearse until after I get back. It feels poetic. I like it. 
This will be a LONG recap - when I first watched this episode last night I was almost incoherent with feels and these recaps have always been a way for me to process those as I re-watch. 
The first thing about this episode is that, of course, it’s not your usual story. No case, really. (The thing about the Mona Lisa is mostly window dressing.) No, the focus is the Moriarty Problem. 
The Doylian reasons for this are well established, and Granada makes it all the more heartbreaking. The moments where the (ACD canon) narrative stretches thin are given new context, and painful purpose. 
For example, the Doylian reasoning behind this story demands that Holmes and Watson do things that feel slightly OOC for a Granada story. Holmes doesn’t tell Watson some things - deliberately hides them, in the case of the spyglass moment. Watson doesn’t act or ask questions about some things. After all the time Granada’s spent building up the Holmes and Watson Team dynamic, it feels a bit Odd. 
Yet in the same breath, the script, Brett and Burke’s body language and dialogue delivery, all of it, gives the answer as to why. Holmes was scared, and wanted to protect Watson. Watson wAs allowing that, humouring (caring for) Holmes and hoping that some time away might do them both good (protective of Holmes in turn). Granada’s shift in positioning of their dynamic makes this episode all the more tragic. It makes the ending hurt all the more. 
Also, remember how in my review of Resident Patient, I railed against  “voiceover flashbacks”? Well. My position was tested this episode. There are decent chunks of the narrative that are told via those here. Most of the time, however, it actually works. 
Why? It’s simple. The voiceovers for this episode are Watson and Holmes, no one else. Granada TV has spent the episodes leading up to this one establishing “Watson as narrator” by inserting a Watson voiceover at various points over the top of some scene from Baker St. So we’re primed for it to feel more real than some of the other voiceover flashbacks did. We are then further primed by the way Watson’s introduction in this episode is by one of those narration scenes ... and what he says in that voiceover: “it falls to me now to tell the story of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty”. 
We are directly told that we are listening to Watson recount the story. A story that has already happened. And that becomes one HELL of a gut-punch in the feels by the end. 
Onto the actual recap. 
The music in this show is EXCELLENT - the ending music last time was more sinister, and this episode’s opening tune is more frenetic. It made me sit up and take notice instantly. 
Very “!!” intro - split second of confusion that resolves into Holmes fending off three attacks in quick succession. No slow start this time. Also the title card coming after the intro as an actual card is an emphasis in itself 
Ominous music again... very spooky tinkly music. 
And yay, Watson! ... hang on, that’s a view from a scope, like a sniper gun or something. Thus, the tension continues to build. Only increasing at what Watson says in the voiceover, and what he finds inside 221b. 
Bless Mrs Hudson. She knows more than she lets on, and in this scene we catch a glimpse of one such thing. The change in her demeanour from exasperated but fond housekeeper into worried friend (of sorts) and back again is beautifully done. “... I didn’t like the look of him...” 
Watson’s expressions, too, are excellent - he knows Something Is Up. Though not everything. 
 AHHHH! The juxtaposition of Watson’s “safe and secure as ever” with the scope and the “blind” man!! And that bloody tinkly music again! It’s an obvious framing thing, but it works for me. 
Holmes’s entry... and here we are with the scene-setting of “Holmes is bloody scared (and very tired) about all this.”
That request for a match was not just because Holmes’s hands were sore. He wanted Watson’s closeness for comfort. 
Holmes’s flashback was the most boring part of the episode for me. I know it’s setting up Moriarty’s desire to get rid of Holmes, but it’s just not as interesting as what happens after it. 
Knowing me, it’s probably because it’s Holmes rather than Watson narrating. Holmes doesn’t have the cover of the Usual Narrator role after all. 
Also, the bit with the naked model was a bit of a WTF moment. 
The scene where Holmes announced how they would catch the thief then helped the gendarmes do so was good though. 
Then, after Watson helps Holmes get to the point, we see Moriarty for the first time this episode. 
I do like Eric Porter’s portrayal of him. Polished with threatening villainous potential always lurking near the surface... without being too over the top about it. 
The scowly expression... and the nails of an elegant gentleman, even if he mostly uses them to tear up paper and scratch through forgeries. Quite the detail, that!
Watson and Holmes’s little domestic moment back in 221b is lovely. Any H/W content this episode is precious, and this one is untainted by the later angst. 
A shame Watson had to interrupt it by prompting Holmes about the morning visitor. Nice touch of timing, Holmes saying “ow!” like that. Unable to be stoic after Watson’s question distracted him, perhaps?
Ah, the Moriarty scene. Some nice moments in the wordplay, if one overlooks the ACD canon words about “frontal lobe development” and such. 
No, really, once I got over my wince at that, the rest of the dialogue, and the way Porter and Brett play it, is marvellous.
Watson’s look at Holmes, after, as he says, “If he doesn’t close upon you first” is heartwrenching in its concern. 
Holmes says things about Moriarty and his gang being captured “Monday next”... and we start the clock on the “how much does Holmes really know, and what isn’t he telling Watson?” storyline. 
For if Holmes is so sure that Moriarty and gang are to be put away, why is he wanting to go on holiday now? 
Yes, his life has been threatened three times already today, but surely his life would be threatened wherever he went until the criminals were safely in gaol? Wouldn’t London - the place Sherlock Holmes knows best - be safer?
We know the Doylian reasons behind these things, but the character acting (etc.) in this episode makes us forget them. 
You’re left with a story in which Holmes knew he was staring death in the face, and he wanted to try meeting it on his own terms - by going on one last adventure with his Watson. 
Bravo, Jeremy Brett, and bravo John Hawkesworth (writer and adapter), for selling that impression to me.  
The next ten minutes of run time are a game of cat and mice, where only one of the “mice” knows the full scope of the problem. The other, Watson, is being deliberately kept in the dark, and is trying to enjoy the holiday. Though he still worries for Holmes.
For example, the thing with the boulders... “a common enough occurrence in the mountains”. True, but ominous all the same.
The telegram from Mycroft about Moriarty escaping the net comes - leading to Holmes and Watson’s painful discussion about the possibility of Watson returning to England. 
“You will find me a very dangerous companion, now.” [...]
“Would you be rid of me?” 
“No!” [...]
“I’m not leaving you, Holmes. Not unless you order me to go.” 
... *inarticulate screech* If that’s not the most “!!!!” moment... 
Then THE SPYGLASS bit occurs. 
W: “See anything?” 
H: clearly saw a man with a gun in the distance, who’s now gone to ground. “No, nothing. But it’s time we were on our way.” 
This was when I started muttering at the TV things like, “Holmes! Just tell him - argh, why...” - in addition to screaming inarticulately. I was beginning to understand what Granada’s adaptation had set me up for. Heartbreak. 
The bit with the note drawing Watson away perplexed me on first watch, even as I understood what Granada were doing with the episode. But on second viewing, it’s actually an excellent example of the whole thing. 
During their time in the Alps, Holmes hasn’t told Watson that they’re being followed and are in definite, not just perceived, danger. 
So when the note “from Herr Steiler” - a trustworthy source in Watson’s mind - comes, of course Watson believes it. 
And Holmes (whose facial expressions when Watson isn’t looking at him speak volumes) lets him go, because it means his Watson is safe. 
*inarticulate screech of pain*
Oh help, the intense music has started again. 
I wish they’d timed Watson’s look back slightly differently. Perhaps we’re supposed to think that he didn’t notice Moriarty’s approach because Moriarty disappeared behind the rock? It does seem like an odd detail for Granada’s Watson to overlook, so I’m going with that. 
Eep, the look of confusion-turned-dawning horror on Watson’s face as he questions the innkeeper then runs back the way he came... 
Brilliant staging with the bridge under the waterfall overhang, showing Holmes and Moriarty in classic showdown poses, then Watson the next scene later. Excellent partly because we can’t tell exactly how far behind Watson is... but the implication is he’s only a little behind. 
But still too late. 
My heart breaks for Watson in the scene above the falls. HERE is where the beauty of the voiceovers come through. 
The way his voice catches between, fumbles over or emphasises certain words sells it for me. “It - was the sight of the alpenstock (sp?) that turned me cold, and sick. He had not gone to Rosenlaui.” (Pain. all the pain. Just from that little voiceover.)
Also, two facial expressions of his stand out here - the one where he reads that Holmes had suspected the note was fake ( :( ) and the one after the dramatised fall, where we fade back from the mist to Watson’s devastated expression. 
The confrontation scene that he imagines almost snaps the tension though. Honestly Granada, that fight scene is ridiculous. *facepalms* I only allow it (barely) as the grief-stricken imaginings of Watson’s mind. 
Fortunately, there’s the bit at the end to bring us back to where we started, with heavy hearts. I love so many things about this bit. 
Circular narrative. The final words are framed as if spoken just before Watson’s introductory bit at the start. Granada has split up the first and last lines of the opening paragraph of ACD’s canon story to bookend the episode. It is heartbreaking and I love it.
Speaking to the camera. After telling us the story all episode through the voiceovers and such this technique also works beautifully. Giving us that moment of connection and shared grief. 
You know that “gut-punch in the feels” moment I mentioned earlier? This is that. I tear up every time. 
All the more poignant because this is, in fact, the last time we’ll see David Burke as Dr John Watson. I’m still not sure how I’ll cope with that. 
Then, with the beautiful (different!) violin ending music... Granada’s The Final Problem is over. As is this recap. If you’d like to read more words about the episode, Plaid Adder’s review is excellent. 
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rapturousrot · 2 years
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Hands of the Ripper (1971) dir. Peter Sasdy
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ronnola · 8 months
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sirbogarde · 1 year
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gay subtext clip with eric porter <3333
“william Shakespeare? we dont know a lot about him do we? not since he went off to live with noel coward in Switzerland”
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kwebtv · 2 years
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Anna Karenina  -  BBC  -  September 25, 1977 - November 20, 1977         /  US February 5, 1978  -  April 9, 1978
Drama / Miniseries (10 episodes)
Running Time:  60 minutes
Stars:
Nicola Pagett as Anna
Stuart Wilson as Vronsky
Eric Porter as Karenin
Robert Swann as Levin
Davyd Harries as Silva
Carole Nimmons as Dolly
Mary Morris as Countess Vronsky
Caroline Langrishe as Kitty
Patricia Lawrence as Princess Scherbatsky
Geoffrey Toone as Prince Scherbatsky
Neville Barber as Sergei
Sheila Gish as Princess Betsy
Paul Spurrier as Seriozha
Dennis Edwards as Professor Wurst
Powell Jones as Grinevitch
Robert Russell as Malvey
Lucinda Gane as Countess Nordston
Marilyn Le Conte as Annuska
Josephine Parker as Denka
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erosioni · 2 years
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Helen Mirren, Eric Porter, Heathrow Airport, London,1969. 
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pembrokewkorgi · 2 years
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In this installment of Cartoon Commentary, @krunchylex and I watch what might be the most cursed cartoon we've ever seen.
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weirdlookindog · 1 year
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Hands of the Ripper (1971) - German Poster
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thisbluespirit · 2 years
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Irene!  His divorced wife - Irene!  And this, no doubt, was her son - by that fellow Jolyon Forsyte - their boy, six months older than his own girl...  Grudgingly he admitted her still beautiful, and in figure almost as young as ever.  And how that boy smiled back at her!  ... He grudged her that boy’s smile - it went beyond what Fleur gave him, and it was undeserved.  Their son might have been his son; Fleur might have been her daughter, if she had played straight! 
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astudyinimagination · 2 years
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Well, my subconscious did a weird thing this morning, and I was the young heroine of some kind of YA adventure with Eric Porter as the bad guy. No, I’m not kidding! He had minions and a manor at the edge of whatever city I was in! I had a MacGuffin, I think, and my dad had disappeared. Kidnapped by Eric Porter, I’m reasonably sure, for that MacGuffin, and his goons were following me to get it. I got away, temporarily, but I guess eventually they caught up with me.  The last thing I remember is that I was in Eric Porter’s mansion and he was being charming and trying to ply me with food, I think because I was like 15 or something. Wish I could have found out what happened after that!
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moviesandmania · 2 months
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HANDS OF THE RIPPER (1971) Reviews of Hammer fan favourite
Hands of the Ripper is a 1971 British horror feature film directed by Peter Sasdy (I Don’t Want to Be Born; Countess Dracula; Taste the Blood of Dracula) for Hammer Film Productions. Produced by one of the few female members of staff at Hammer, Aida Young, who had previously worked on the likes of One Million Years B.C., She, Taste the Blood of Dracula and Scars of Dracula, the film employs many…
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