The Crucifer of Blood

Delightful rendition of Sir Arthur's "Sign of the Four"
As an avid reader of the stories of Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this movie exceeded my expectations. The screenplay, although somewhat modified from the original novel, was a fine adaptation to the TV film medium. The characters were both real and well acted by this international cast. I especially enjoyed the portrayals of Shelock Holmes and Dr. John Watson by Actors Heston and Johnson respectively. This movie is a must see for all fans of Sherlock Holmes.

Its Always Nice to See Charlton Heston
Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I saw "The Crucifer of Blood" when it opened on Broadway during the 1980s. I remember thinking that it was enjoyable although nothing great. I later read that Charlton Heston was starring in the play in Los Angeles and thought how much I would have liked to see him play Holmes. Well I got my chance when this made-for-tv version was produced for TNT. This film was produced, written and directed by Heston's son Fraser. I remember thinking it was okay when I originally saw it on tv and my opinion hasn't changed after seeing it on dvd last night.
The plot is basically a rerun of Conan Doyle's "The Sign of the Four." Even though it was filmed in London and has some decent sets and large amounts of fog rolled in, this is obviously not a big budget production. Heston is basically miscast as Holmes. However he was such a fine actor and a great American that I really didn't mind. Richard Johnson is terrible as Watson, back to portraying the good...

a great sherlock
It took us a long time to get this film region free so we were very happy with this company and the fact that most of there films are region free. Charlton Heston makes a fine Sherlock Homes,although the normal americanisations of sherlock stand out in abundance, for instance the deerstalker hat, the mearsham pipe. If only they had stuck to the story and had not gone of in a different direction this film would have rated 5 stars instead of 3,but did we enjoy it? you bet we did.

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