Review of The Sign of Four

The 1983 TV-version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", the other Sherlock Holmes adaptation starring Ian Richardson as the unearthly brilliant private detective, was a very pleasant surprise, especially considering that already many great film versions exist of the same novel. This admittedly set my expectations for "The Sign of Four" somewhat higher, but the truth is that the two cannot be compared. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is a gothic mystery, with many horror elements, whereas "The Sign of Four" is more of a straightforward thriller. There isn't much of a mystery/whodunit aspect in this film, since the murderer(s) and the motives aren't exactly kept secret, so one could even righteously raise the question if Sherlock's brilliant deduction skills are required to resolve the case. Still, though, this is an enjoyable effort with a nicely sinister atmosphere (notably during the carnival sequences) and a handful of memorable supportive characters (also linked to the carnival, in fact). Richardson depicts a very solid Holmes, but what slightly bothered me already in the previous film is that he doesn't bring anything from himself into the character.