"Actor: Edward Hardwicke"

• Sherlock Holmes - The Final Problem /The Empty House | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 'The Final Problem' Holmes investigates the theft of the Mona Lisa painting. On return to London he is threatened by his nemesis Moriarty. In 'The Empty House' Watson finds himself investigating the death of the Honourable Ronald Adair. It's been three years since Holmes died...

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Last Vampyre | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Last Vampyre is an overblown two-hour adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", and was perhaps the most ill-advised of Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes series. Entirely contrary to the tone and spirit of Doyle's tale--which finds Holmes victoriously pitting his well-grounded deductive powers against irrational fears of a rise in blood sucking--The Last Vampyre is something of an embarrassment to the largely wonderful legacy of Granada's earlier efforts. (For the record, most of the creative executives who, along with star Jeremy Brett, had made the beloved series what it was in the 1980s were replaced by 1992, the year of this film.) In this version, Holmes does battle with a Dracula-like fellow who may or may not be the real McCoy. There is a great deal of padding to fill out the story to feature length, and it is mostly silly. So, you ask, is there anything to recommend this? Well, there is the ailing Brett's ever-fascinating performance, which deviates from Doyle's vision of the detective hero toward something darker and more personal. Edward Hardwicke does his usual warm and capable work as Dr Watson. --Tom Keogh

• Sherlock Holmes - The Man With The Twisted Lip / The Six Napoleons | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £9.30   |  Saving you £0.69 (7.42%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Man With The Twisted Lip: The mysterious disappearance of Neville St. Clair one Monday draws Sherlock Holmes into a tale of intrigue amongst the opium dens of Victorian England. If he died on that Monday as Holmes believes how is it that his wife received a letter from him on the following Friday? The Six Napoleans: A batch of six busts of Napoleon Bonaparte which have been sold and spread throughout London are being systematically destroyed. When Horace Harker hears his bust being smashed in his home he pursues the perpetrator. In the pursuit he stumbles over a dead body and the case becomes the concern of the greatest detective in London.

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Master Blackmailer | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £6.46   |  Saving you £3.53 (54.64%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Master Blackmailer is a two-hour 1991 Granada TV adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, which for the most part sticks close to the details of the original. Holmes (Jeremy Brett) takes on the reputed king of all blackmailers, Milverton (Robert Hardy), who has made a fortune extorting money from the famous and the blue-blooded and who routinely ruins others' lives when not pleased. Unable to talk Milverton into turning over letters belonging to Lady Eva Brackenwell, Holmes decides to steal them, going undercover as a plumber and even romancing Milverton's housemaid, Agatha (Sophie Thompson), to gain better access in the house. (The ethical Watson, played by Edward Hardwicke, is upset to hear of Holmes's deception of an innocent woman.) The story builds to a surprisingly violent finale, but the real hook is Brett's performance as the disguised detective and the startling suggestion that Holmes's close contact with Agatha truly moved the bachelor sleuth. --Tom Keogh

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Mazarin Stone / The Cardboard Box | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Two more enthralling investigations for Sherlock Holmes ever assisted by his sturdy sidekick Dr Watson.

• Sherlock Holmes - The Priory School / The Second Stain | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £9.70   |  Saving you £3.28 (48.88%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Priory School: The son of the Duke Of Holderness is abducted and the school's German teacher disappears in a taxing case for Holmes and Watson. The Second Stain: Holmes is called in to investigate a missing letter stolen from the home of the secretary for European Affairs...

• More Ripping Yarns | DVD | (27/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three more rollicking good tales starring Michael Palin in various guises. Written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. 'The Testing Of Eric Olthwaite' 'Whinfrey's Last Case' and 'The Curse of The Claw'. The Testing of Eric Olthwaite: A Ripping Northern Yarn set in the dark days of the depression before Last of the Summer Wine started bringing jobs to the area. Eric's tough mining parents find their son so boring that they run away from home. Eric torn between love for his parents and lack of brain cells becomes involved with a hardened criminal. The rest is history. Whinfrey's Last Case: Dashing Gerald Whinfrey saves his country twice a week but in 1913 a German plot to start the First World War without telling anybody coincides with his holiday. Where do Whinfrey's priorities lie? Has he got any? A knockout tale of international intrigue. If only Dickens could write like this - Mrs Reg Dickens Eltham. The Curse of the Claw: Gothic terror comes to Maidenhead. A timely reminder of what happens when men dabble in the dark world of oriental superstition. Michael Palin aided by inexpensive plastic surgery plays old and young Kevin as well as Kevin's childhood hero Uncle Jack - an enormously cheerful physical disaster area who has every disease known to man usually at the same time.

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - Shoscombe Old Place / The Boscombe Valley Mystery | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £9.97   |  Saving you £0.02 (0.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Shoscombe Old Place: Holmes and Watson are called upon to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one of racehorse owner Sir Robert's creditors in the run-up to the Derby. The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Holmes investigates the murder of Australian-born farmer Charles McCarthy.

• Things to Come | DVD | (07/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Things To Come

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Three Gables / The Dying Detective | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £14.26   |  Saving you £-1.28 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An old widow, Mrs Maberley (Mary Ellis), receives a suspicious offer of a large sum of money to move out of her depressing mansion and leave absolutely everything behind. Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) looks into this strange proposition and comes face to face with an enforcer and powerful pugilist (Steve Toussaint), who Holmes cuts down to size with verbal agility. Less lucky is Dr Watson (Edward Hardwicke), who goes a round with the oversized fellow after he catches him terrorising poor Mrs Maberley. This adaptation may, in all honesty, be an improvement on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original story. As usual, Brett and Hardwicke are an exceptional team as Holmes and Watson. --Tom Keogh

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Illustrious Client / The Creeping Man | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £9.40   |  Saving you £3.58 (55.85%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Illustrious Client: Holmes is the victim of a murderous attack after he investigates a certain Baron Gruner who to the horror of a family friend has swept Violet Merville off her feet. The Creeping Man: A professor's daughter Edith sees a stange figure at her bedroom window but her father dismisses it as merely a bad dream...

• Things to Come | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1940 the world is plunged into a seemingly perpetual war. A devastating air raid practically destroys Everytown, reducing its previously grand buildings to rubble. Almost 30 years later, over half the remaining population is wiped out by the chilling Wandering Sickness. Victims are shot on sight as a bewildered humanity struggles to survive in a barbarous wasteland. In 1970 a futuristic flying machine brings a saviour to the remnants of Everytown. John Cabel (Raymond Massey) represents the visionary brotherhood Wings Over the World. Cabel faces opposition from local warlord the Boss (Ralph Richardson) but he and his colleagues pledge to create a utopia from the ashes of the old world. Nothing, it seems, will be allowed to get in their way

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Eligible Bachelor | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £19.30   |  Saving you £-9.31 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A little over-extended as a two-hour movie, The Eligible Bachelor was one of several such feature-length productions made (late 1992) in Granada Television's long-running Sherlock Holmes series. Based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, this TV movie finds Holmes (the ailing Jeremy Brett, playing an increasingly darker and more neurotic detective) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) called upon to help in a case involving the disappearance of Henrietta Doran (Paris Jefferson), fiancé of the noble Lord Robert St Simon (Simon Williams), who was last seen with a former lover of St Simon's, Flora Millar (Joanna McCallum). The unimaginative Scotland Yard instantly arrests Millar on suspicion of foul play, but it is Holmes who has to find the missing woman. Fans of the entire series might best enjoy this slightly clunky programme, though there is much of interest about Brett's performance to recommend it. --Tom Keogh

• Elizabeth | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Now close to death Queen Mary I (Kathy Burke) steps up her policy of Protestant repression. Even Princess Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) her younger sister and her heir apparent is in grave danger but Mary's last ditch to execute her for treason fails. Within days Mary is dead and Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England but with enemies and rebellion continuing in her own council she is advised to hit back. She retaliated in a counter-coup of immense ferocity wiping out all opposition to her leadership. Her throne is finally secure.

• David Copperfield - Limited Edition Box Set (with Book) | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Born to a weak but loving mother soon after his father dies David Copperfield is nine years old when his mother Clara marries Mr Murdstone. A cruel man who believes in extreme discipline he has no hesitation in sending David away to school. Shortly after he is sent away Clara dies and Murdstone seizes the opportunity to send him away for good this time into menial labour at a London wine merchants. It is here that David meets the genial Micawber family and his aunt Betsey arra

• The Ten Commandments | DVD | (30/08/2004) from £18.99   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Cecil B. DeMille's Biblical epic starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner is a vintage product of the old Hollywood studio system complete with sweeping scenery and breathtaking effects including the crossing of the Red Sea by thousands of Hebrew slaves. With a dramatic and gripping plot superbly acted by Heston as the Hebrew saviour Moses The Ten Commandments has lost none of the impact and power it held over audiences on its initial release back in 1956.

• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town/Wild One/Holiday/the Howards of | DVD | (12/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Mr Deeds Goes To Town (1936): Gary Cooper is the pixilated small-town resident who refuses to let a million inheritance and a New York mansion alter his down-to-earth faith in people in Frank Capra's delightful comedy. Jean Arthur co-stars as the cynical reporter who falls for Deeds. Wild One (1954): Brando plays Johnny the leader of a vicious biker gang that involves a small sleepy California town. The leather-jacketed young biker seems hell-bent on destruction until he falls for Kathie (Mary Murphy) a good-girl whose father happens to be a cop. Unfortunately for Johnny his one shot at redemption is threatened by a psychotic rival Chino (Lee Marvin) plus the hostility and prejudice of the townspeople. All their smouldering passions explode in an electrifying climax. Holiday (1938): An iconoclastic young man (Cary Grant) who's engaged to a snooty heiress (Doris Nolan) discovers he's really in love with his fianc''e's down-to-earth sister (Katharine Hepburn) in director George Cukor's stylish comedy... The Howards Of Virginia (1940): Leading man Cary Grant plays Matt Howard a common man who gains employment as a surveyor through the help of Thomas Jefferson. Howard quickly falls head over heels for his wealthy employer's daughter Jane Peyton (Martha Scott). The couple appear to be set for happiness until Matt becomes involved in politics and the War of Independence arrives...