'We are not jealous of you, Mr Holmes..' The Six Napoleons
I have just watched this episode for the first time on ITV3. It's about the ninth or tenth film of the Granada Series which I have seen in full after about 25 years of neglect. When the show was first aired I was but 6 years old and around 15 or 16 when it concluded. Any other opportunities I may have had to watch the series since I did not take up as I presumed the 80's produced TV show to no stand up so well after so many years and my appetite for this type of detective drama has never been very large. The considerable exception being Peter Falk's Columbo.
I have always acknowledged that Jeremy Brett, by all accounts and even at a glance from an uninitiated, cut an iconic and definitive figure of the Holmes character. But that impression itself is easy to take for granted and for it's true worth to not be carefully examined and upheld.
Even after only oberving a handful of episodes and, I think it's fair to say, given the inherent rarity of the period for feelings to be expressed verbally, I have been absolutely astonished by the brilliance of the acting displayed by Jeremy Brett in this role and in particular the closing scene of The Six Napoleons. Even for someone with neglible experience of the Holmes stories, the aloofness of Holmes and the begrudging professional courtesy of Lestrade are well known, and taken for granted. So when Lestrade professes on behalf of Scotland Yard the pride which he has for Holmes I was completely overwhelmed by Brett's reaction. First the expression of surprise melts into amusement and characteristic (or affected) alooofness with a theatrical "Thank you!" in an attempt to pre-empt and preoccupy any genuine emotion which might be awkwardly volunteered. Alas! or rather, Hallelujah! Holmes cannot refuse such a faithful and heartfelt tribute with platitudes on his own terms. He is compelled, one wonders if Holmes has longed for such an opportunity, to humble himself with gracious acceptance of the Inspector's compliments. As if this were the one danger which Holmes had, as yet, never exposed himself to in his illustrious and eventful career. Naturally, Holmes cannot resist resuming his standard demeanor but does not allow Lestrade to take his leave without thrusting his hand out for shaking. A gesture which, it is made abundantly clear (in his own way), that Holmes desires to make.
It only took a few hours, during which the nature of Holmes, other than his powers of deduction, is rarely if at all exposited, but the way in which Brett brought him to life meant that this exchange acheived what hundreds of words surely would have struggled to relate. Bravo!!!!
@Twitzkrieg - Glasgow's FOREMOST authority