The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

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The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

PG-13

1970

2h 5m

Adventure

Comedy

Crime

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Popcornmeter

87%

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30 Reviews

73%

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2,500+ Ratings

A bored Sherlock Holmes (Robert Stephens) meets Madame Petrova (Tamara Toumanova), a famed ballerina, who tries to seduce him, hoping that their child will have her body and his brains. He manages to extract himself from her grasp, using Dr. Watson (Colin Blakely) as a decoy. Then he and the doctor head for Loch Ness in search of the missing husband of Gabrielle Valladon (Genevieve Page). While there, they meet Sherlock's brother, Mycroft (Christopher Lee), who aids them in solving the mystery.

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Stefan Kanfer

TIME Magazine

02/08/2018

The entire effort may, I think, be ascribed to an insufficiency of imagination.

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Noel Murray

The Dissolve

07/22/2014

3.5/5

The plotting is weak, and ill-served by the movie's generally lackadaisical approach; but the dialogue is witty, and Wilder and Diamond get a lot of mileage out of the idea that Sherlock Holmes is as fragile as he is brilliant.

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Guardian

08/14/2007

Billy Wilder's endearingly romantic The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is...worth seeing just for Alexandre Trauner's sets, especially a magical Baker Street.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Apr 29

... a sly, bittersweet, autumnal film that approaches the Holmes legacy with a sense of humor and a sense of respect.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

11/08/2024

4/10

It’s all meant to be an exercise in a Sherlock Holmes failure of sorts (and a rare love story of sorts), but when it’s not presented purely as comedy, it becomes a rather unamusing way to watch the iconic shamus work.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

06/18/2021

1/4

...an entirely misguided and misbegotten misfire that surely marks the nadir of Wilder's filmography.

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Bruce M

@BruceMc Jul 24

The original 3+ hour cut may have been better, but we'll never know. What is left is overlong, not very funny and very slow; what could have been terrific as a study in Holmes' repressed sexuality is just kind of... meh. Director Billy Wilder was certainly not on top of his game for this one.

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Duncan C

Apr 27

Intelligence script and a poignant tale both moving and amusing from the days when the audience was not taken for granted

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Jens B

@Jens97 03/07/2024

Why have I ever doubted that Sherlock Holmes + Wilder/Diamond = a very good time? It's a nice comfort watch, and who would have thought that Sherlock finally comes out of the closet?

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Alec B

@Alec97 02/26/2024

An enjoyable examination of Holmes that's just melancholy enough to have the necessary stakes.

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Lanfranco C

@Lanfrancobz 12/13/2023

An unconventional spy story with a deep meaning.

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Brian S

10/29/2023

Many will miss the point but this is Wilder at his finest, showing the great detective at his lowest! Here we get Sherlock Holmes the flailing human.

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Billy Wilder

Director

Robert Stephens

Sherlock Holmes

Colin Blakely

Dr.John H. Watson

Geneviève Page

Ilse von Hoffmanstal, aka Gabrielle Valladon

Irene Handl

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Synopsis

A bored Sherlock Holmes (Robert Stephens) meets Madame Petrova (Tamara Toumanova), a famed ballerina, who tries to seduce him, hoping that their child will have her body and his brains. He manages to extract himself from her grasp, using Dr. Watson (Colin Blakely) as a decoy. Then he and the doctor head for Loch Ness in search of the missing husband of Gabrielle Valladon (Genevieve Page). While there, they meet Sherlock's brother, Mycroft (Christopher Lee), who aids them in solving the mystery.

Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Billy Wilder
Screenwriter: I.A.L. Diamond, Arthur Conan Doyle, Billy Wilder
Distributor: Nothing's New Vintage Media, United Artists
Production Co: The Mirisch Corporation [us], Compton Films, Phalanx Productions, Sir Nigel Films
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 3, 1970, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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