The Sign of Four (1983 film)

The Sign of Four
File:The Sign of Four (1983 film).jpg
Based on	The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
Screenplay by	Charles Edward Pogue
Directed by	Desmond Davis
Starring	Ian Richardson David Healy Thorley Walters Cherie Lunghi
Music by	Harry Rabinowitz
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sy Weintraub
Producer(s)	Otto Plaschkes
Cinematography	Dennis C. Lewiston
Editor(s)	Timothy Gee
Running time	103 minutes
Production company(s)	Mapleton Films
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	December 7, 1983 (1983-12-07)

The Sign of Four is a 1983 British made-for-television mystery film directed by Desmond Davis and starring Ian Richardson and David Healy. The film is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel of the same name, the second novel to feature Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

Production

In 1982, American producer Sy Weintraub partnered with English producer Otto Plaschkes to make six television films of Sherlock Holmes stories. Charles Edward Pogue was enlisted to pen the screenplays but only The Sign of the Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles were ultimately filmed as Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes series premiered in 1984.

In an interview with Scarlet Street, Ian Richardson explained:

"That was the fly in our ointment. Initially, an unseen fly. You see, when Sy Weintraub was planning the films, he was unaware that the copyright on the Holmes stories was about to expire in England and he had to go through a great deal of legal negotiations with the Conan Doyle estate in order to gain permission to use them. However, he was totally ignorant of Granada's plans to film a series with Jeremy Brett...Weintraub was furious, because he'd paid a lot of money to get permission from the estate and here was Granada saying, 'Thank you - but we're going to do it.' So Weintraub took them to court. He had a very good case, apparently; but eventually there was an out of court settlement for an extraordinary sum of money - something like two million pounds - which was enough for Weintraub to cover his costs on both The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles, and make a profit, too. And so he wrapped the project up."

Differences from novel

• Unlike the source novel, the movie features the murder of Thaddeus Sholto, when Small returns to the house to try and intimidate him into revealing the location of the treasure, beating Sholto to death in a rage when Sholto claims that it was given away long ago to try and protect Mary. It also includes the recovery of the Agra treasure, which here was hidden in Small's wooden leg as he attempts to claim he disposed of it in the Thames. After Holmes realizes what has happened due to the wooden leg's suspicious weight in the water, the treasure is claimed by the police (although its most precious piece, a large diamond, is given to Mary by Holmes).
• While Watson expresses a strong attraction for Ms. Morstan, a romantic development between these two characters is not discussed in the movie.

Cast

• Ian Richardson as Sherlock Holmes
• David Healy as Dr. John H. Watson
• Thorley Walters as Major John Sholto
• Cherie Lunghi as Mary Morstan
• Joe Melia as Jonathan Small
• Clive Merrison as Bartholomew Sholto
• Richard Heffer as Thaddeus Sholto
• Terence Rigby as Inspector Layton
• Michael O'Hagan as Mordecai Smith
• Robert Russell as Williams

See also

• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983 film)

External links

• The Sign of Four at IMDb