A Study in Terror (1966)

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I must confess to being somewhat of a fan of this film. On paper it sounds insane, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson tracking down and facing Whitechapel's most notorious killer, Jack the Ripper. Lots of good points, the atmosphere of the time is really well created, the film has a suitably murky, bleak feel to it, great costumes, at times it feels like a Hammer Horror production. John Neville is excellent as Holmes, physically and vocally he reminds me of the great Basil Rathbone, which is very much a good thing. Barbara Windsor is a delight, at times I did feel like Sid was ready to pop out with a joke, regardless, she lit up the screen. Robert Morley, however, an actor I adore, but he was totally miscast as Mycroft, intelligent yes, quick yes, just lacking the imposing nature the character demands. The chronology is a bit muddled, but efforts are made to get some of the facts in. I wonder would it have been better to invent characters? not sure.The Blu ray is well worth getting as the film looks glorious. It's an odd mix, but one I like. Watch it, just don't take it too seriously. I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, but also have an interest in Whitechapel, the first half of me is satisfied, the latter leaves me scratching my head, 8/10

Engaging mystery / crime film that could have been out of the Hammer Films' lot, "A Study in Terror" joins for the first time, the literary world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle presented here by his most famous creations: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of the house in 221B Baker Street, into the real case of the infamous serial-killer from Whitechapel, Jack the Ripper."A Study in Terror" delivers a perfect moody atmosphere surrounding the splendid invocation of the Victorian Era, in terms of production design and the art department, captured by the brilliant use of the adequate, dominant colours, courtesy of the cinematography in Eastmancolor, enhancing the sinister tone and giving the needed Gothic & grotesque feel to the whole. Another section for praising is the eerie orchestration by John Scott, here in his first feature film score.The screenplay is well structured and imaginative and the direction makes good decisions in the staging of the scenes, even if as a low point, some of the minor performances were directed too campy and the singing moments feel out of place and a bit odd.John Neville's portrayal of the great Sleuth, isn't the best in terms of on-screen presence, neither delivered a 'scene-stealer' mannered performance like the previous renditions of the character played by such thespians as Basil Rathbone or Peter Cushing, but it's still efficient. He's obviously astute & meticulous, obstinate, daring & intimidating and he can make use of his physical strength when it needed. Donald Houston is less bumbling as Watson, distancing himself a bit from Nigel Bruce's early incarnation as the buffoon sidekick in the Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes movies, but isn't as well regarded as André Morell's more capable and active performance playing the character in the superb, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" ('59) from Hammer Films.The rest of the cast list is filled with competent English actors from that period, such as Anthony Quayle and Frank Finlay as Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard (Finlay will reprise his role in the similar themed, "Murder by Decree", released 14 years later, which also featured Quayle in another part); Barbara Windsor and Adrienne Corri as two of the ill- fated prostitutes; Robert Morley as Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes' older brother; John Fraser and an early appearance on-screen by future 'Dame' Judi Dench.In short, "A Study in Terror" is a great entry for both, the Sherlock Holmes' and Jack the Ripper's 'film canon', it looks visually stunning to its low budget and even if it wasn't targeted to the 'thinking man' in terms of seriousness and intricate plot, it's surely an entertaining and thrilling piece of work and one of the very best of this genre.

This was a title I had long wanted to check out (in fact, I still recall a primetime Italian TV showing of it during my childhood way back in the early 1980s!) for its placing of the world's most celebrated fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, amid the backdrop that unleashed history's most notorious crime spree i.e. the Jack The Ripper killings: the fact that the setting and time period in which both figures operated coincided was indeed fortuitous and ripe for exploitation (given that, apart from here, their confrontation was also treated in the equally fine MURDER BY DECREE {1979})! Incidentally, both pictures would attract a host of notable actors – including two, Anthony Quayle and Frank Finlay, who would appear in each title (the latter even essaying the very same role!); John Neville and Donald Houston make a good team as Holmes and his indispensable sidekick Dr. Watson – however, unlike the later effort, The Ripper's identity is not only revealed at the climax, but he is made to receive his just desserts (Fiction, in this case, having overtaken Fact)! Stylistically, the movie – as did another by the same company and scriptwriters, namely THE BLACK TORMENT (1964) – clearly owed something to the Hammer Films stable, then at the pinnacle of its successful 20-year run in the field of Gothic Horror; the second murder, in which a water trough turns red from the victim's stab wounds, is especially well handled.

I'm a big fan of low- to medium- budget horror films from this period, but A Study in Terror -- from sexploitation specialists Compton, who thought they could create high class horror because of their success with Roman Polanski's Repulsion -- is almost pure mediocrity and wastes a great cast. It can't hold a candle to Bob Clark's masterful Murder by Decree; even From Hell, which suffers somewhat from Big Studio bloat, is preferable. I might recommend the film based solely on the opportunity to see actors like John Neville and Judi Dench; but beyond this factor, there is little to enjoy here. Stick with the above-mentioned movies. Also, try The Lodger and The Man in the Attic.