very difficult to watch German Holmes film.

Christopher Lee is excellent in a role he wanted to play throughout his life (returning to it late in a couple mini-series) - this despite the fact that his voice was unnecessarily dubbed by someone else. He plays the great detective as an intense young crime-fighter with wit and chutzpa.

The problems are the script and direction. The story is too convoluted, in a manner familiar to anyone who has suffered through other German mysteries of the same period, such as the Dr. Mabuse films. This was a Germany still dealing with the fact that they had a murderously criminal government only two decades previous - consequently there is considerable suspicion of the police in these films, evil seems omnipresent, the moral center is hard to find. A similar atmosphere, for completely different reasons, crept into British popular culture only in the 1970s, appearing in a British Sherlock Holmes film only in "Murder by Decree."

But the German film also suffers from the evident fact that the director can't decide whether he wants to make a Sherlock Holmes film or a Sherlock Holmes parody - there are all sorts of misfired jokes and bits poking fun at a "Sherlock Holmes superhero" image that doesn't really exist - a problem for other directors who have tried spoofing the detective, including the great Billy Wilder. The fact is, Doyle was careful NOT to make his hero an 'Uebermensch,' just a closet Nietzschean - a common romantic British type of the day.

Finally, all existing prints I know of are in shoddy condition.

Worth a view, especially for Holmes fans, but sub-par for this sub-genre of mystery film.

From the onset, this film is at a huge disadvantage with viewers like me. Like many foreign films from this era, it was dubbed into English for export and lacks subtitles (film snobs like me LOVE subtitles). In addition, hearing strange voices coming out of some of the characters is jarring. For example, Christopher Lee acted as Holmes--but it was NOT his voice in this movie. And folks my age will probably recognize Leon Askin (from "Hogan's Heroes") but not his strange voice! While the quality of the dubbing isn't bad, it is regrettable that they didn't use the original actors who spoke English to do their own dubbing.

The film is a rather routine Sherlock Holmes story that suffers from the casting. While I love Christopher Lee and looked forward to his interpretation of the character, it's really weird that the writer (Curt Siodmak) never thought much about the 6'5" Lee when he wrote the screenplay. Having him going in disguise and fooling Dr. Watson and his landlady was laughable--as a basketball player-sized man cannot easily fool anyone!! Yet, oddly, later in the film Holmes also went in disguise! If they were going to use a disguise, perhaps they should have just had him dress up like a tree!! The story is a bit clichéd as well since it involved Moriarty--Holmes' arch nemesis. However, to Holmes fans, this is odd, as Moriarty is a FREQUENT foil in films--yet he rarely appeared in the actual Conan Doyle stories and Holmes rarely thought Moriarty was behind a particular crime. However, I assumed they used Moriarty simply because the public had come to EXPECT the man due to the many Holmes films.

The story involves several disparate crimes--murders that seem to have no connection. One of them, however, isn't at all hard to figure out and I could easily figure out that the dead man was NOT Blackburn--yet the dumb policeman and Watson just assumed it was him. I kept thinking how most people in the theaters must have figured this one out as well--making the mystery not at all mysterious.

As for the rest of the film, it's not bad. It's nothing like the MARVELOUS Jeremy Brett films (which are clearly the best) but is nearly as good as the Arthur Wontner and Basil Rathbone films. It's reasonably engaging and worth seeing but nothing more.

Am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and get a lot of enjoyment out of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Also love Basil Rathbone's and especially Jeremy Brett's interpretations to death. So would naturally see any Sherlock Holmes adaptation that comes my way, regardless of its reception.

Furthermore, interest in seeing early films based on Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and wanting to see as many adaptations of any Sherlock Holmes stories as possible sparked my interest in seeing 'Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace' (aka 'Valley of Fear', although it bears very little resemblance to that story),especially one featuring Holmes' arch-nemesis Moriaty.

There are better Sherlock Holmes-related films/adaptations certainly than 'Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace', the best of the Jeremy Brett adaptations and films of Basil Rathone fit under this category. It's also not among the very worst, although one of the lesser ones overall, being much better than any of the Matt Frewer films (particularly 'The Sign of Four') and also much better than the abominable Peter Cook 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.

'Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace' is not terrible. It just could have been much better. The best thing about it is Christopher Lee, who is an excellent imposing Holmes. Thorley Walters is equally very good as Watson, with signs of bumbling traits but also those of dignity and loyalty. In fact, the cast in general make the film watchable. Lovely Senta Berger, Leon Askin and suave but menacing Hans Sohnker are the standouts in support.

Evidence too of some nice expressionistic images created by the photography, suspense (especially with Holmes and Moriaty) and intelligent dialogue.

Unfortunately, there is a good deal wrong. The dubbing is atrocious, there was absolutely no need for it and sounded cheap and ill-fitting, robbing us of Lee's wonderful, distinctive voice. The production design instead of being handsome is pretty flat, the editing is choppy at times and Terrence Fisher's direction (who did a lot of good to great films and who directed the infinitely superior 'The Hound of the Baskervilles') is only workmanlike at best.

Dialogue mostly doesn't flow enough and hurt by the dubbing, the costumes are not always that attractive (am in agreement with those who found Lee's in the countryside sequence horrendous). Then there is the story which is convoluted to the point of incoherence and too often tediously paced.

Overall, watchable but disappointing. See it for the cast but for a good story there are far better Sherlock Holmes adaptations. 5/10 Bethany Cox