Directed by:
Herbert RossCinematography:
Oswald MorrisComposer:
John AddisonCast:
Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Laurence Olivier, Joel Grey, Samantha Eggar, Jeremy Kemp, Georgia Brown, Jack May, Charles Gray (more)Plots(1)
Nicholas Meyer based his screenplay for the "retro" Sherlock Holmes adventure The Seven Percent Solution on his own best-selling novel. As any Baker Street Irregular will tell you, the title refers to the dosage of cocaine taken by Sherlock Holmes (Nicol Williamson). The Great Detective's friend and chronicler Doctor Watson (Robert Duvall), concerned that Holmes' drug dependency is getting out of hand, suggests a cure under the auspices of Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (top-billed Alan Arkin). While undergoing treatment, Holmes comes to the realization that his archival Professor Moriarty (Laurence Olivier) is not the Napoleon of Crime, but instead a somewhat pathetic philanderer. Not yet completely cured, Holmes recharges his deductive batteries by undertaking a tricky conspiracy case involving another ex-addict, beautiful actress Lola Devereaux (Vanessa Redgrave). The traditional Holmesian sleuthing and split-second rescues of the film's second half are not as innovative as the Holmes-Freud scenes at the beginning of The Seven Percent Solution, but they provide this largely cerebral effort with a rousing climax. A success with both critics and filmgoers, The Seven Percent Solution opened the floodgates for subsequent TV and movie "reprises" of Conan Doyle's immortal literary figure. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Robert Duvall
USA
Best movies:
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992) (TV movie)
The Godfather: A Novel for Television (1977) (series)
The Godfather (1972)
Alan Arkin
USA
Best movies:
Wait Until Dark (1967)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
Vanessa Redgrave
UK
Best movies:
Atonement (2007)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Blow-Up (1966)
Laurence Olivier
UK
Best movies:
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Sleuth (1972)
Hamlet (1948)
Joel Grey
USA
Best movies:
Cabaret (1972)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
A Christmas Carol (1999) (TV movie)
Samantha Eggar
UK
Best movies:
The Magic Voyage (1992)
Hercules (1997)
Columbo (1971) (series)
Jeremy Kemp
UK
Best movies:
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Cleopatra (1963)
King Lear (1983) (TV movie)
Georgia Brown
UK
Best movies:
The Raging Moon (1971)
The Fixer (1968)
A Study in Terror (1965)
Jack May
UK
Best movies:
The Last Place on Earth (1985) (series)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Charles Gray
UK
Best movies:
Cromwell (1970)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Anna Quayle
UK
Best movies:
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
Erich Padalewski
Austria
Best movies:
Der Bockerer (1981)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
The Rise and Rise of Casanova (1977)
Gertan Klauber
UK
Best movies:
Top Secret (1984)
The Hands of Orlac (1960)
Octopussy (1983)