Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady

VHS Cover

Country	UK France Italy Belgium Luxembourg USA
Directed by	Peter Sasdy
Release Date	1991
Studio	Harmony Gold Banquet et Caisse D'Epargne de l'etat Banque Paribas Luxembourg

Main Cast
Character	Actor
Sherlock Holmes	Christopher Lee
Dr. Watson	Patrick Macnee
Irene Frances Adler	Morgan Fairchild
Dr. Sigmund Freud	John Bennett
Eberhardt Bohm	Engelbert Humperdinck
Elliott Ness	Tom Lahm
Capt. Franz Winterhauser	Michael Siberry
Major Von Bork	Dominic Jephcott

Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady is an international co-production 1991 made for TV two-part detective movie directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Christopher Lee as Sherlock Holmes and Patrick Macnee as Dr. Watson. The movie uses Arthur Conan Doyle's characters but has an original plot: in 1910 Mycroft Holmes asks Sherlock to travel to Vienna and find the stolen plans for a brand new electromagnetic bomb detonator. Once there, Holmes and Watson meet with Irene Adler (Morgan Fairchild) who returns to her singer career.

This movie and the following Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls (1992) form a series entitled Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years. It was initially announced as a miniseries, but only two films (each in two parts) were made.

The following weapons were used in the film Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady:

Revolvers

Webley .455 Mk VI

Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Lee) uses a Webley .455 Mk VI revolver in several scenes. The story is set in 1910, so Mk VI doesn't fit for this time.

Webley Mk VI - .455 Webley

Holmes, suffering from idleness and melancholy, shoots at the wall in his apartments.

Another view of Holmes' revolver in same scene.

In the scene in Budapest Holmes aims his revolver at the international adventurer Laszlo Karparti (Patrick Monckton).

A closeup of Holmes' Webley in same scene.

In the scene in Karparti's hunting lodge Holmes holds at gunpoint Karparti and Austro-Hungarian officer Winterhauser (the latter pretends to be a Russian agent).

Holmes fires at stuffed bear's head on the wall to divert the attention of those present...

...and grabs the plans of the detonator from the table.

Webley RIC No.1 New Model

Dr. Watson (Patrick Macnee) uses a Webley RIC No.1 New Model revolver throughout the movie.

Webley RIC No.1 New Model with 4.5" barrel - .476 Webley

Watson holds his revolver in the scene in the secret printing-room of Bosnian revolutionaries who kidnapped Irene Adler.

Another view of Watson's revolver.

Watson waits with his revolver in hand.

He fires at the Bosnian Zygovich who threatned Holmes.

Unidentified revolvers

Various revolvers are used during Holmes' confrontation with von Bork and in the scene with Bosnian kidnappers. They aren't seen clear enough for positive identification.

Unidentified revolver 1

Holmes takes a revolver from German agent Major Von Bork (Dominic Jephcott). The gun has flat wide top of the frame; possibly it's a reused Webley RIC but it's only a guess.

Holmes, dressed in Balkan clothes, disarmed von Bork.

Unidentified revolver 2

Bosnian Zygovich (Tom Chadbon) holds a revolver when he threatens Holmes. His gun may be a reused Webley .455 Mk VI but it's only a guess.

Zygovich holds a revolver. It appears to be a top-break gun, generally resembling Webley revolvers.

The grip is seen.

Zygovich is gunned down by Watson and drops his revolver.

Unidentified revolver 3

Another Bosnian, Kosich (Kevin Quarmby), holds a revolver that has a side-mounted ejector rod, connected with the barrel by a knob near the muzzle but seemingly without a rod housing (unlike Single Action Army, for example).

Kosich holds a revolver. The knob near the muzzle can be seen.

The rear part of the frame can be seen.

Another view of Kosich's revolver.

Holmes holds Kosich's revolver.

The frame and side mounted ejector rod can be seen.

Unidentified revolver 4

In same scene Elliott Ness (Tom Lahm) (yes, that Eliott Ness, credited in this film as "Elliott") uses a revolver that is seen very briefly. It bears some resemblance with foregoing Webley RIC but looks somewhat different.

Elliott Ness fires at Kosich who throws a knife at Holmes.

Pistols

Luger P08 (replica)

Hugo Oberstein (Paul Humpoletz) uses a Luger P08. Upon close inspection, his pistol appears to be not a genuine Luger but some kind of replica, possibly even a plastic toy gun.

Luger P08 - 9x19mm

In the scene in a castle in Austria Orerstein uses his gun to pistol-whip Winterhauser. Note that the rear part of the frame and the grip look different from a real Luger.

Oberstein holds a Luger when he finds out that a secretary of British embassy Michael Simpson-Makepeace (Nicholas Gecks) carries out surveillance. Note the difference of the frame of the screen gun from the real Luger.

Steyr M1912

When Holmes disarmes Laszlo Karparti (Patrick Monckton), the latter's pistol appears to be a Steyr M1912 (unfitting for 1910).

Steyr-Hahn M1912 - 9x23mm Steyr

Holmes disarms Karparti. The pistol is seen blurry but the typical shape of the slide allows to identify it as Steyr M1912.

Mauser C96

Austro-Hungarian Army Capt. Franz Winterhauser (Michael Siberry) uses a Mauser C96 pistol. The gun lacks a hole through the knob of the safety lever, so it is Wartime Commercial model that appeared only in 1912.

Pre-War dated Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Commercial Version - 7.63x25mm Mauser. The screen gun is of slightly different version.

During the confrontation in the hunting lodge Winterhauser fires at von Bork who tries to get a shotgun.

Another view of Winterhauser's pistol.

Winterhauser interrogates Karparti.

A close view of the pistol shows the solid knob of safety lever.

A view of the front part of the gun.

Dueling Pistol

A pair of duelling pistols (most likely percussion) is very briefly seen in a box, hold by the director of Vienna operetta Franz Dietrich (James Bree) when he challenges the theater critic Franz Hoffman (Robert Rietty) to a duel.

Modern replica of Lepage percussion dueling pistol.

Shotguns

Double Barreled Shotgun

Several Double Barreled Shotguns, both hammerless and with exposed hammers, are seen in Laszlo Karparti's hunting lodge. They are used by Karparti (Patrick Monckton) and Von Bork (Dominic Jephcott).