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Actors: Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, John Gielgud, Donald Sutherland, Geneviève Bujold, Susan Clark
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Murder by Decree |
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MURDER BY DECREE was directed by Bob Clark in 1978. This film won five Canadian Academy awards in 1980.
The setting is London in 1888. Sherlock Holmes is interested in the recent murders of prostitutes that happened in the White Chapel district. Helped by Dr. Watson and the medium Robert Lees, Sherlock discovers that all the victims were in one way or another related to Annie Crook, a woman locked in a mental institution.
Things get complicated as members of the police hierarchy and also some politicians, all masons, seem to protect one of their comrades. Furthermore, inspector Foxborough, the policeman who's handling the case, is in fact the secret leader of the radicals, a political movement waiting for the British government to fall because of its incapability to solve the White Chapel murders. Sherlock Holmes will finally find the murderer all by himself and pursue him in the middle of the dark and foggy streets of London.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Murder by Decree |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How difficult to spot villain?
- Moderately Challenging
Time/Era of Movie:
- 19th century
Murder Mystery?
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Murders of set profession?
- prostitutes/strippers/porn
Kind of mystery?
- hard boiled/private eye
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair style
- short/standard straight (man)
Body type
- average (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- white/grey
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- fat (man)
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Setting
Europe
Yes
City?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- gory visuals of deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- excited
How many deaths in film?
- 4-8
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 (None)
Kind of violence:
- swords
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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