The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes review

Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Think director Billy Wilder and regular scribe IAL Diamond and you think funny, flinty classics: One, Two, Three, The Apartment, The Fortune Cookie. Even timeless comedy Some Like It Hot opens with the St Valentine's Day Massacre and has the shadow of violence throughout.

So here's their take on Sherlock Holmes, originally released in 1970, a version that debunks the myth by alluding to the super-sleuth's misogynism and cocaine habit. Hell, it even shows how a painful past turned him into a cold, calculating cynic. Given all that, it has to be vitriolic, right? Wrong. Pitching Robert Stephens' Holmes and Colin Blakely's Watson into a delirious mystery involving a missing husband, six vanished midgets, villainous monks and the Loch Ness monster, it's affectionate, funny and genuinely moving. The score is lushly evocative, the performances are perfectly calibrated and the widescreen photography warm and elegant.

Originally running at 200 minutes but cut down by the studio, this remains a mischievous masterpiece. The biggest mystery of all is that it's so overlooked.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Action Movies
Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World
Brave New World box office crosses milestone for Captain America movies, even though it still might not break even
Michael Bay
Michael Bay and James Cameron had a call to commiserate over the state of the movie industry: "No one can greenlight anything anymore"
Daniel Craig in No Time to Die
James Bond will reportedly remain male and British under new Amazon management, as Pierce Brosnan says it's "a given" that the next actor must not be American
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
Keanu Reeves and Brzrkr
Justin Lin to helm Keanu Reeves' comic book movie adaptation BRZRKR for Netflix
Black Widow post-credits
Avengers Tower will have a new name in Thunderbolts, and the movie's director says it's "a symbol of things taking a darker turn"
Latest in Reviews
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
The pump header of the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB showing a 35 degree cpu
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB review: "Has some solid design points that make installation a lot easier"
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid gaming keyboard on a wooden desk with blue lighting
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid review: "one of the best value Hall effect gaming keyboards out there"
Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State review: "Although this may be their most visually stunning movie yet, it looks like the Russos are yet to find their footing outside of the MCU"