The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson (1980)

The second series of the Soviet television movies, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, it consisted of three movies, The Master-Blackmailer (based on "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"), Deadly Fight (based on "The Adventure of the Final Problem"), and Hunt for the Tiger (based on "The Adventure of the Empty House").
== Plot ==
In The Master-Blackmailer, Holmes is asked by his brother, Mycroft, to negotiate with notorious blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton on the behalf of Lady Eva Blackwell. When Milverton refuses to compromise for less than the initial amount he asked for in order to make an example of Lady Blackwell, Holmes and Watson break into Milverton's study to retrieve the letters he was using to blackmail her. While they are there, a woman named Lady Huksley, whose husband died because of Milverton's blackmail, comes into the study and shoots him, taking a piece of paper with code and an "M" made of four crossed swords on it. Holmes destroys all of Milverton's papers and he and Watson manage to escape from the police. They later visit Lady Huksley, who denies knowing anything about the paper or the monogram, and are called on by Lestrade, who wants Holmes' advice on the breaking-in at Milverton's house. Holmes rejects the case. Soon after, a letter containing the paper that Lady Huksley took is sent to Holmes.
In Deadly Fight, Holmes and Watson have decoded the paper and found that it is the roster of a criminal organization. They go to the club of one of the high-ranking members, Sebastian Moran, and see Lord Ronald Adair get on the wrong side of him. Holmes willingly goes in a carriage blindfolded and meets the leader of the organization, Moriarty, who warns him to stop. Holmes escapes and makes plans for him and Watson to leave the country. They are in Switzerland and hiking to the Reichenbach Falls when Watson is called back by a "sick Englishman" in a ploy by Moriarty to separate them. When Watson returns Holmes has disappeared, apparently over the falls, leaving only a note that tells of his confrontation with Moriarty and urges Watson to try to protect Adair.
In Hunt for the Tiger, despite Watson's efforts, Ronald Adair is shot in his home. Because he was seen sneaking around Adair's home in disguise, Watson is Lestrade's prime suspect and forbidden from leaving London until the matter is cleared up. Watson bumps into a bookseller outside the crime scene, who follows him home and reveals himself to be Holmes. That night Holmes and Watson hide in the house across the street, hoping that Moran will try to assassinate Holmes, who has placed a wax sculpture of himself in Baker Street. Moran takes the bait and is arrested, clearing Watson's name and showing the world that Holmes is back.
== Cast ==
=== Regular cast ===
* Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes
* Vitaly Solomin as Dr Watson
* Rina Zelyonaya as Mrs Hudson
=== The Master-Blackmailer ===
* Boris Ryzhukhin as Charles Augustus Milverton
* Boris Klyuev as Mycroft Holmes
=== Deadly Fight and Hunt for the Tiger ===
* Viktor Yevgrafov as Moriarty (voiced by Oleg Dahl)
* Borislav Brondukov as Inspector Lestrade
==Trivia==
*The image of the tiger hunt is one Holmes himself evokes in the original tale of "The Adventure of the Empty House" when describing his capture of Moran.
Category:Adaptation: video and tv films