''The Masks of Death'' is a 1984 British mystery television film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing as

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and John Mills as Doctor Watson.

Plot

In 1913, Sherlock Holmes, virtually in retirement, is persuaded by Inspector Alec MacDonald of Scotland Yard to take on a baffling case. Three dead bodies have been found in London's East End, all with no discernible cause of death, but the expressions on their faces suggest that they all died in a state of terror. Holmes, accompanied by Dr Watson, begins an investigation, but before he can make any real progress he is visited by the British Home Secretary and a German Diplomat, Count Udo von Felseck, who tell Holmes that a German envoy, on a secret mission to Britain, has disappeared from Felseck's house in Buckinghamshire. Unless Holmes can track him down, war between the two countries will become imminent. Holmes considers the possibility that the two matters are related and that someone is not telling him the truth.

Cast

* Peter Cushing as

* John Mills as Doctor Watson *

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fra ...

as Irene Adler *

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

as Home Secretary *

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack, 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German-born character actor who had an extensive career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. He appeared in ove ...

as Count Udo von Felseck * Gordon Jackson as Inspector Alec MacDonald * Susan Penhaligon as Miss Derwent * Marcus Gilbert as Anton von Felseck * Jenny Laird as

Mrs. Hudson Mrs. Hudson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. She is the landlady of 221B Baker Street, the London residence in which Sherlock Holmes lives. Mrs. Hudson appears or is mentioned in man ...

Russell Hunter Adam Russell Hunter (18 February 1925 – 26 February 2004) was a Scottish television, stage and film actor. He played Lonely in the TV thriller series ''Callan'', starring Edward Woodward, and shop steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television ...

as Alfred Coombs * James Cossins as Frederick Baines * Eric Dodson as Lord Claremont *Georgina Coombs as Lady Claremont *Dominic St Clair as Boot Boy

Production

Development

Executive producer Kevin Francis had previously attempted to raise funds for a new version of '' The Hound of the Baskervilles''. Francis intended to cast Peter Cushing as Holmes, which would be Cushing's third take on the Doyle tale after the 1959 Hammer production and the two-part production for the 1968 television series, and feature a stop-motion dog created by Ray Harryhausen. While funding for the proposed film collapsed, it led to Francis discussing an original tale with writer Anthony Hinds.

Casting

This is Peter Cushing's final portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He first donned Holmes' deerstalker in Hammer's '' The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (1959). Later, he took over from Douglas Wilmer in the BBC television series '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes'' in the late 1960s. Cushing considered Sherlock Holmes to be his favorite role but his age, Cushing being in his 70s, required the part to be written for a much older Holmes.

Filming

Filming began in the summer of 1984 at Twickenham Film Studios with location work at Buckinghamshire and London.

Unproduced sequel

There were plans for a follow-up titled ''The Abbot's Cry'' but the film never materialized due to Cushing's declining health.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masks Of Death, The Sherlock Holmes films 1984 television films 1984 films British television films British mystery films Films directed by Roy Ward Baker Films set in 1913 Sherlock Holmes pastiches Films scored by Malcolm Williamson 1980s British films