'The Speckled Band' was one of the better Sherlock Holmes stories, and as such, it is not surprising that the BBC chose it as a pilot for their series pairing Douglas Wilmer as Holmes with Nigel Stock as Watson.
Shot in black and white on a Baker Street set built at Ealing Studios, this series starts well and, in 50 minutes, the story is told in a compact and economic form which, nevertheless, leaves the viewer in some suspense about the outcome.
This version of 'Speckled Band' was very interesting to compare with the Granada Brett version twenty years later. Wilmer makes a perceptive and sardonic Holmes, looking very like the Strand illustrations; while Stock is effective as the war-weary Watson. Guest stars bring to life the minor characters, and despite the aged print, this was absorbing viewing.
Shot in black and white on a Baker Street set built at Ealing Studios, this series starts well and, in 50 minutes, the story is told in a compact and economic form which, nevertheless, leaves the viewer in some suspense about the outcome.
This version of 'Speckled Band' was very interesting to compare with the Granada Brett version twenty years later. Wilmer makes a perceptive and sardonic Holmes, looking very like the Strand illustrations; while Stock is effective as the war-weary Watson. Guest stars bring to life the minor characters, and despite the aged print, this was absorbing viewing.