 
Study in Terror
 aka  og
(1965)
94 minutes, Color |
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Punch, "Criticism - Cinema"
by Richard Mallett - November 10. 1965 "The full production treatment given to A Study in Terror (Director: James Hill) doesn’t go so far as to include any justification for the title. Stars, glossy color, action—but (for my money) absolutely no terror, nor even excitement. This is a Sherlock Holmes story, or rather the screenplay by Donald and Derek Ford is 'based on the characters created by' Conan Doyle, and the trouble is that these days we are used to far more sophisticated methods of providing shocks; the necessity to keep within the period framework means that they can’t be used. There is also the inevitable atmosphere of burlesque: Sherlock Holmes now resembles James Bond at least in this, that no one can take him really seriously. Here he is called in to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper, so there are scenes alleged to be in White Chapel full of people speaking Cockney carefully softened so as to be understood by Americans, and pub scenes made artificially lively so as to conform with the American idea of a typical English pub. The period dress is modified so as not to look too odd to a modern eye; and the street girls murdered by Jack the Ripper are nearly all emphatically twentieth-century beauties. (Another modern point: the least likely person did it.) John Neville is quite a good Holmes, Donald Houston a properly bumbling Watson, Robert Morley makes a surprising appearance as Mycroft; but as always with a Holmes story, inordinate time has to be taken up with single close- ups, square, held, unmoving, as somebody explains how something was deduced or explains how something happened. Any angled or cut-off or shifting picture would be out of key, because out of the period convention; so such visual interest as there is is entirely static. But as a whole the thing is quite entertaining, though not always for the right reasons." |
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| Above: full set of eight lobby cards |
 While Conan Doyle never addressed the
problem of the Ripper in any of his Sherlock Holmes stories (despite many letters asking
him to do so), his followers have done it several times. Holmes appears in center stage in
Ellery Queen's A Study in Terror.
The story was
also published in Argosy (Aug '91) as the Adventure of the Surgeon's Kit.
The "Holmes" story of the movie was rewritten by Paul W. Fairman and then
Ellery
Queen added a second solution! In our 2002
interview Edward Hoch stated that
just prior to Face to Face, Lee collaborated with Dannay on the
framing sections of A Study in Terror added to Paul W. Fairman's
novelization of the film. How, after producing a pastiche called The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes which had to be withdrawn when Doyle's trustees objected, Ellery Queen managed to get away with a veritable Sherlock Holmes novel in 1966 without encountering similar protests it is difficult to say, and few of his readers probably care. The important thing is that he managed to bring off a magnificent tour de force wholly in the style of the master. |
| The
advertising for A Study in Terror was certainly
ridiculous. A well-produced, straightforward thriller, the film had been
made during the height of popularity of the campy Batman television
series, and so the studio thought they could cash in on the "camp craze" by
selling their new Holmes film now as perhaps the campiest hero film of them
all. HOLY TERROR! IT'S SHERLOCK HOLMES AGAINST JACK THE RIPPER That was one of the more subtle catch lines and blurbs used to promote the picture. But other gems were quick in coming. FLY AWAY BATMAN! HERE COMES THE ORIGINAL CAMP-COUNSELLOR-IN-A-CAPE! (AIEEE! CRUNCH! POW! BIFF!) FASTER THAN A SPEEDING COMPUTER! ABLE TO LEAP TALL TALES IN A SINGLE STROKE OF GENIUS! IT'S SHERLOCK HOLMES! THAT BRILLIANT BLOODHOUND OF BAKER STREET TRACKING THE FEROCIOUS FIEND JACK THE RIPPER! HE'S JAMES BOND IN A CAPE! HE'S BATMAN WITH BRAINS! HE'S SHERLOCK HOLMES AGAINST JACK THE RIPPER  SHERLOCK HOLMES IS THE HERO (CHEER!) JACK THE RIPPER IS THE VILLAIN (HISS!) AND THE 'FLICK' IS A STUDY IN SUSPENSE A STUDY IN SHOCK! Really the most flavorful one of all, and actually appropriate for the film if you would take Holmes with even a slight grain of salt, was: GRAB YOUR HOUNDSTOOTH CAPE AND YOUR DEERSTALKER CAP! GET YOUR MEERSCHAUM PIPE AND YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASS! SHERLOCK HOLMES IS BACK -- AND JACK THE RIPPER'S GOT 'IM! (Deerstalker! : Holmes and Watson on screen, 1978) |
 In A Study in Terror the ever popular Sherlock Holmes, his brother
Mycroft and his companion Dr.Watson search for the
Victorian serial killer. Mycroft, Holmes brother at the
behest of the Prime Minister, intercedes with his brother to help solve
the crimes, in a manner favorable to government. Sherlock, though, is more
interested simply in the joys of detection. Jack the Ripper in a well-made and exciting mystery produced,
written and directed by James Hill. This film combines all the elements beloved by fans of
Sherlock Holmes resulting in a satisfying and well-acted mystery. When
interviewed in '78, Herman Cohen, the executive producer of A Study in Terror,
said he still got letters and hears from Holmes fans everywhere around the
world that A Study in Terror is the best Sherlock Holmes film ever
made. John Neville is
good as the cool, logical Holmes and Robert Morley adds a nice dash of humor to liven up
the story. A Study in Terror is highly recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes
and should be enjoyed by any viewer who loves vintage mysteries.
As to the writing credits of this movie the answer was clearly given by
Herman Cohen (producer) in an interview he gave Tom Weaver's for his
book Attack of the Monster Movie Makers (Jefferson, North
Carolina: McFarland & Co. 1994) "Donald and Derek Ford get screen
credit for the writing but they didn't write it, although the idea of
combining Holmes and Jack the Ripper was theirs. Michael Klinger and Tony
Tenser had signed them for "their" Sherlock Holmes movie, but they didn't
execute their script properly and I didn't like it. I hired Harry Craig, a
writer that Adrian Conan Doyle (Arthur's son) and Henry Lester liked very
much. He worked closely with me and James Hill, the director, on the final
screenplay, which was based on the original story and screenplay by Donald
and Derek Ford. Harry Craig didn't want a credit because he was doing a
big picture for Columbia at that time." |
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Deerstalker! : Holmes and Watson on screen,
1978 " 'A fine production .. . '; that's what Sy Oshinsky called 'A Study in Terror' in 'Motion Picture Herald'. , 'The color photography does an excellent job of transporting the viewer into old England . . . [and] the disreputable 'red light' district of London, and the brawdy flavor of the area comes through strongly. One is also indebted to an original story and screenplay by Donald and Derek Ford, who have created an intelligent and exciting vehicle for the return of Sherlock Holmes ...' (April 27, 1966). Other reviews of the film were equally flattering, with Kevin Thomas calling it simply 'art without artiness...'(The Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1967). John Neville as Sherlock Holmes also came in for well deserved mention. Rich in Variety, for example, said that 'Neville gives a stylish performance in full keeping with the Holmesian tradition ...' (November 24, 1965), while Time magazine said, 'Under James Hill's wry direction, John Neville and Donald Houston play Holmes and Watson with a quaint and slightly stilted charm that defines them as exactly what they are: impressive pieces of Victorian bric-a-bric ...' (November 25, 1966). " |
| Above: Trailer for A Study in Terror by Screenbound Pictures (YouTube) |
| Above: Movie A Study in Terror by Eliseo Santos (YouTube) |
 Other articles on this movie (1) A Study in Terror by Ellery Queen Nathaniel Poggiali 2015 (2) Movie Herald: A Study in Terror (1965) From Zombo's Closet JM Cozzoli 2015 (3) Archive.org Full HD movie!! (4) Horrornews.net film review |
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