The Sign of Four (1983 film)

The Sign of Four (1983) is a British television 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:

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).

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The Sign of Four

The Sign of Four may refer to:

The Sign of the Four, a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes

The Sign of Four (1923 film), a silent film based on the novel, directed by Maurice Elvey

The Sign of Four (1932 film), a film based on the novel, directed by Graham Cutts

The Sign of Four (1983 film), one of a series of films based on the Sherlock Holmes novels made in the 1980s, starring Ian Richardson

"The Sign of Four", one of a series of television programs Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), based on the Sherlock Holmes stories, starring Jeremy Brett

The Sign of the Four (2001 film), a Hallmark Channel adaptation, starring Matt Frewer as Holmes

The Sign of 4 (album), a collaborative free jazz album between Pat Metheny, Derek Bailey, Gregg Bendian and Paul Wertico.

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The Sign of Four (1932 film)

The Sign of Four is a 1932 British crime film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Hunter and Graham Soutten. The film is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of the Four and was made at Ealing Studios.

The film is also known as The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case.

A young woman needs Sherlock Holmes for protection when she's tormented by an escaped killer. However, when the woman is abducted, Holmes and Watson must infiltrate the city's criminal underworld to track down the young woman.

Plot

Jonathan Small, a prisoner serving a lengthy sentence on the Andaman Islands cuts a deal with two army officers, Major Sholto and Captain Morstan, in command of the prison. He reveals the location of a stash of loot in exchange for their help in helping him to escape from jail. The proceeds are to be split equally between the three of them.

Sholto and Morstan go to investigate the treasure which is hidden in an old Indian fortress. When they unearth the valuable trinkets behind a brick wall it sparks a violent quarrel between the two men with each wanting to take all of the treasure. After a struggle Sholto kills his accomplice and returns to England without fulfilling his pledge to help Small escape.

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The Sign of Four (2001 film)

The Sign of Four (2001) is a Canadian television film directed by Rodney Gibbons and starring Matt Frewer and Kenneth Welsh. The movie is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story.

Production

The second of four Holmes adaptations starring Frewer as Holmes, was preceded by The Hound of the Baskervilles in 2000, and then followed by The Royal Scandal (a blend of "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans") also in 2001, and The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (an original story) in 2002.

Frewer's portrayal of Holmes was largely criticized.

Differences from novel

Unlike the source novel, the movie features Holmes meeting with a Scotland Yard chemist named Professor Morgan who not only identifies the poison which killed Bartholomew Sholto but creates an antidote for Holmes.

Tonga is portrayed not as the savage pygmy of the novel but instead as an Asian with facial markings.