Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Wednesday, January 12, 1977, page 20 (of 24)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
'In Seven-Per-Cent Solution' It's elementary: Acting's great entertainment . . . film review
By NICK SPANOS Correspondent "Elementary, my dear Freud." What? Where's the "my dear Watson"? This is Sherlock Holmes and the detective is handling another case, though basically a simplified, predictable one, isn't it? Where's Dr. Watson, the true friend and omnipresent sidekick? Well, mystery lovers, never fear. Watson's there, but in good old Vienna. Along with the prominent, if not controversial (at the time) Dr. Sigmund Freud. The latest adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the amazingly popular fictional creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, occur with "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" and the Austrian city as Holmes unexpectedly undergoes treatment for his cocaine habit (thus, the title). The first 70 minutes detail the anguish and physical pain of Holmes' treatment before the lightweight mystery begins. From the acting, the scripting and direction, to the more technical aspects of cinematography, editing, and music score, everything in this first half is uppercrust film-making, superb entertainment. The second half, because of the simplicity and predictability of the kidnapping case, loses its zest for aesthetic quality and merely accepts its inevitable fate as first-class old-fashioned movie enjoyment. What carries the film from involving beginning to acceptable ending is, foremost, the acting. Nicol Williamson (last seen excellently portraying "Little John" "Robin and Marian") enacts the heavyweight role of Holmes with an intense intelligence and crafty off-the-cuff virtuosity that is more than suited to the film. Lending surprisingly, equally effective counterbalance as Dr. Watson is American Robert Duvall, whose own acting career has now spanned fifteen years from "To Kill a Mockingbird" through both "Godfathers". The not so elementary Sigmund Freud is played by another American, Alan Arkin, whose superior underplaying keeps the believability in the fictional meeting of the minds from disappearing completely. "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" becomes engrossing entertainment through its unique blend of history and fiction. Only the facts have been made up. Rated PG, at the Westchester Twin Cinema on an exclusive first-run basis.
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