Product: Seven Per Cent Solution [VHS] (1976)
Rating: 5.0
Loved Dr. Watson in this one
Dr. Watson (played by Robert Duvall) goes to see Sherlock Holmes after a long absence, finds him totally addicted to cocaine and in a wild and paranoiac state. Mr. Duvall's Dr. Watson is better than anybody's I've ever seen. He's not a bumbling idiot--but an intelligent man of action who conceives of a plan to cure Holmes by luring him to the great Sigmund Freud. As a previous cocaine user now cured, Freud is able to help Holmes. When one of his patients, a beautiful former addict, is forced into addiction again by mysterious thugs, the hunt is on. Even though the subject matter is serious, the film is at times humorous and tongue-in-cheek. I liked it when Dr. Watson puts up his dukes to fight an anti-Semitic bully on Dr. Freud's behalf. It illustrates Dr. Watson's endearing personality in this film and makes us wish we had a friend like him.If you like Sherlock Holmes, this is a good one to see because it is different, and it ends well. Although the guy playing Holmes is not at all appealing, and Laurence Olivier's Professor Moriarty is not too believable in the last scene they put him in (he doesn't give us any reason why some woman would ever let him get on top of her), Robert Duvall's engaging interpretation of Dr. Watson makes up for it.