I haven't seen this movie, but I was just wondering if anyone knew why they didn't use Mycroft Holmes. That was the name of Sherlock's smarter brother in the books. I was just curious.
shareIn the books, Mycroft if Sherlock's older brother -who had no interest in detective work, and shunned publicity.
In this film, Sigerson is Holmes' younger, smarter -and insanely jealous- brother. He's permanently frustrated by how he's always overshadowed by Sherlock's cases.
Mycroft doesn't do consulting work much at all ...
Mycroft's character and role is firmly established in the ACD stories. Using that and changing that all around isn't going to be funny - but by creating a whole new character the producers had more room to play without going directly against canon. In other words by approaching it fresh the story could be conceivably be part of the whole work. Though of course it is rife with ridiculous moments and anachronisms.
A great movie though - one I've looked for for over a decade in any format. To date I've been unsuccessful.
Sigerson, btw, is also the name Sherlock used as an alias (in the Empty House) when he talks of his adventures abroad.
Hi - the movie is available on VHS but no DVD version has been issued to date.
shareMycroft did appear in some of the Jeremy Brett television series of the actual Holmes stories, played by Charles Gray. He appeared in the versions of THE GREEK INTERPRETER and THE BRUCE-PARTINGTON PLANS (where his character actually appeared in the original stories), but for some reason (possibly due to Brett's declining health - he died before the conclusion of the series), he was brought into the stories of THE GOLDEN PINCE - NEZ and THE MAZARIN STONE/THREE GARRIDEBS. Gray assists Brett and Edward Hardwicke (Watson) in the former story, but in the latter one he actually is investigating the villain (Count Negretto Sylvius) rather than his brother Sherlock (who did so in the original story). THE MAZARIN STONE (a story about a stolen jewel) is combined with THE THREE GARRIDEBS, a story regarding a fictitious inheritance needed to trick a person into leaving his home so it can be burglarized) were combined.
In the movies, Mycroft did appear to some effect in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, directed by Billy Wilder. Mycroft is played by Christopher Lee (who once before played Sherlock in a German film). Lee's Mycroft is trying to prevent Sherlock (Robert Stephens) from solving a case - it turns out Sherlock has unwittingly stumbled, in the course of his investigation, into a state secret (the type that Mycroft is usually in charge of in his career of government service). As it turns on in THE PRIVATE LIFE, Mycroft does tell Sherlock what he is doing jeopardizes state security, but he discovers that the state secret is one that a certain very important person is not amused by.
Thank you, Theo-
I was going to do list Mycroft's appearances when I read the message that he didn't get involved much in the crime solving business. I haven't read the books nearly as deeply as most of you have, so I'd never dare get involved in one of these debates as in the other Holmes topics.. :)
However.. At least in Brett's several "volumes" returning as Sherlock, Mycroft is "fairly" common - and does get quite active in the crime solving. To the point of completely taking over (almost) when Holmes disappears.
Not to mention Sherlock's own references to him as a brilliant observationalist, but doing mostly private work for exclusive clients (such as government contacts). Sherlock compliments his observational skills at several points along the way, holding him in high regard - which is rare for this rather egocentric character,.
I remember the scene where Watson was shocked to hear not only did Holmes have a brother, but they were going to meet him that day. Watson stood back in awe as they pulled the most intricate almost impossible facts from a passerby down on the street. They seemed to have very high respect for each other's skills. Not at all clouded with jealousy and conflict as suggested before, but more of a pushing-off point to a higher level. They just kept encouraging each other to go deeper into the observation. I found this banter interesting as it was clear they really did have high regard for one another.
I only had a minute to post, and am trying to address a few messages in this one response. I have not seen this movie. Looking at the cast, I think I can safely conclude it was a comedy, but I think they took a few liberties with the basic outline of the original characters. You have much more to work with if you create an entirely new output to a storyline idea. To me, in reading the questions as whether the younger brother was Mycroft, at least in the Brett series, he shows up fairly often as the -older- and smarter puzzle solver. These two descriptions are completely in conflict, so I can only conclude he was created to add a bit of comedic depth to a new storyline.
Hope this made sense - I'm rushing off. Though, thanks to Theo for outlining Mycroft's appearances in Brett's version. Going through all the included [vague but valid] evidence, it's pretty clear that unless Mycroft had an accident, these are different characters.
steph
I just want to clarify that in the stories by Conan Doyle, the movie by Billy Wilder, and the television series with Jeremy Brett, Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother. The only time a younger brother than Mycroft and Sherlock appears is in SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER, a comedy with Gene Wilder as Sigerson Holmes (the younger brother).
I am glad, Steph, that I was of some use to you.
Jeff [Theowinthrop]
<< However.. At least in Brett's several "volumes" returning as Sherlock, Mycroft is "fairly" common - and does get quite active in the crime solving. To the point of completely taking over (almost) when Holmes disappears. >>
Mycroft became used more as Brett's health began to deteriorate badly. I believe it was in the "Memoirs" series of shows that Mycroft takes over much of what was originally Sherlock's activities.
I enjoy "Smarter Brother" and will be ordering it for myself for Father's Day, if I don't find an excuse to get it sooner.
Despite the fact that Mycroft does not appear in the original story I did like his appearence in "The Golden Pince-Nez" with Brett as Holmes. It has one of my favourite exchanges between the two which was never written in the stories.
Mycroft has used a small gold magnifying glass to investigate some scratches on a lock. Sherlock seems disturbed by it.
HOLMES: Father's magnifying glass?
MYCROFT: Yes
HOLMES: (deep sigh) How ironic.
It's just so damn funny when they do it.
I love that quote in the Jeremy Brett series.. and especially afterwards how Holmes goes "excuse me" and walks off.. so offended you can literally see the actor blood in him.
shareThey couldn't have used Mycroft anyway. He was supposed to be a large, heavily-built man, which would hardly fit Gene Wilder's physique.
Read an article recently that suggested Mycroft may have been based on Oscar Wilde, a close friend of Conan Doyle's at the time of the character's creation.
http://www.46664.com/
The World Is Quiet Here
Mycroft is mentioned in "Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother," at the beginning of the movie. When Sherlock first mentions Sigerson to Watson, Watson exclaims "I didn't know you had a brother named Sigerson!" Sherlock replies "You didn't know I had a brother named Mycroft until I found it necessary to tell you."
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"Little do they know how little I know about the little there is to know." - Neddy Seagoon
In other words, they're playing with the original concept. Mycroft and Sherlock are both brilliant. Sigerson, invented by Gene Wilder for this movie, is their younger, wildly jealous brother, desperate to prove himself better than his brother "Sheer Luck!". Mycroft, I think, doesn't appear at all, but Sherlock, wanting his younger brother to be happy, arranges for him to solve a high-profile case and find true love.
shareYay! Dvd is out in the UK, just got the PAL version from HMV, £7.00 amazing price. One of my all time favourites..
sharehow come wilder wasn't Mycroft instead of an invented character? Wilder doesn't look a thing like Mycroft who's rotund, with a hand shaped vaguely like a flipper and who rarely strays from his endeared Diagonese Club. His most accurate portrayal in films was Robert Morely in A Study in Terror.
shareThe title isn't meant to be a fact statement. Sigerson is jealous of his older brother's success, and considers himself smarter - but as we see in the movie, this isn't really the case. Indeed, it is Sherlock who solves the case in this movie, not Sigerson. Sherlock keeps nudging Sigerson in the right direction throughout the movie, making sure he sees what he needs to see. Sigerson finally realises this at the end when he leaves the Redcliff document for Sherlock to pick. Sherlock used Sigerson to solve the case because, as he explains to Watson, "it all revolves around a woman (...) who must fall very much in love before she's capable of trusting anyone".
share