Paul Evans I'll start by saying, whenever I see those words T R Bowen (Screenplay writer) in the opening scripts, I always feel like I'm in safe hands, and that only good things await.I'd class myself as a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and watching this, it's either a case that I've never seen it before, or I've seen it and don't remember it. 1991 to 1993 had been a lean time for fans of the great Detective, with only a few offerings. Reading the reviews, this seems to be one of the least favoured episodes. I can see why some may not love it, but I really enjoyed it, and found some great features.The usual attention to detail is paid to costumes and sets etc, it looks wonderful. Simon Williams, gives the usual upper class British performance you'd expect from him, the trio of old ladies are excellent, as is Anna Calder Marshall. A deep and dark story, one of revenge, no real suspense or mystery, more one of 'when?'That said, it is quite a dark production, in appearance, it's very grey and heavy, and the tone too, it's not a jolly affair. The flashbacks and dreams are a little overplayed, it is heavy viewing, you need to concentrate hard.Not my favourite, but enjoyable 7/10

Hitchcoc I have decided to stop evaluating these episodes because they fly in the face of the Holmes canon. This one is about a marriage between a young woman and her ne'er-do- well fiancé, who has had a series of conquests, each involving a death or disfigurement or annulment. Each has one thing in common. It pads his wealth, which he quickly dissipates. Holmes has had trouble sleeping. He has a recurring dream with strikingly horrible visions. The episode starts to fall apart when the dreams connect to reality. Conan-Doyle's character was incredibly critical of anything but deduction and fact. Here he moves in and out of a dream world. Several other factors enter in, including the sought after revenge of one of the previous conquests. There is a leopard running around loose and a man who shows up at the wedding. There are a few entertaining moments and visually the special effects are reasonable. But it doesn't seem to work. It's also hard to watch Jeremy Brett in the latter stages of his life, in the kind of distress we see here.

Troll_Dahl Putting it simply, I don't agree with those who think this film is one of the weakest of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes adaptations or that it has no merit whatsoever. I can understand why it isn't especially well-liked by fans but I think some of the ire is unwarranted. The first issue with the episode is that it is a loose adaptation of The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor. If the only reason you watch this series is to see close adaptations, you'll probably be disappointed, but I recommend giving it a chance anyway. As a film, it has a lot to recommend it. The presentation is sophisticated and sumptuous. Gloven, one one of the main settings, is beautiful. The sequences introducing the title character, Lord Robert (Simon Williams) and Hettie (Paris Jefferson) are beautifully acted and filmed. I'm almost certain it was designed to appeal to drama-lovers. There are expansive views of the estate, glistening sunlight-on-water shots, clever panning shots to pull us into the next section. Williams and Jefferson are also standouts among the episode cast. These shows always had excellent actors and Paris Jefferson is especially powerful for me as Hettie, who most definitely is not a damsel in distress. When Lord Robert teases that she's more "wild and beautiful" than a great cat, he ironically does not realize how true that is.While the film has been called both boring and confusing, I'd take issue with those. "Confusing" I can understand. Especially in the first third or so, you could say some parts are disjointed. I think we're purposely being fed scraps of information. "Boring" is the last word I'd use. I guess it doesn't move quickly, but for me it's a comfortable pace that allows the story to unfold and the viewer to absorb the things happening on screen. There are one or two sequences that are a bit shoehorned but they are minor to some other pretty effective editing choices. Such as the sequence of events on Holmes' night out or intercutting the wedding with Holmes in his flat.Speaking of Holmes, I think Jeremy Brett is tremendous here: one of his finest performances as Holmes, however out of sorts the character may be--not a moment gone amiss. Some people think Brett is theatrical, affected, flamboyant, over the top, and so on. Guess what? He is and it's a style that, by the this point, he had, for my tastes, honed to perfection. It's evident to me that there's an incredible depth and intensity emotion that Brett drew upon in these performances. His depth shines on through as Sherlock's depth.Regarding acting, props also to Anna Calder-Marshall, who has a strong dual role playing sisters. I'm not sure why she was cast in both roles (other than saving money) but it's done cleverly, as the actress's appearance is obscured for different reasons for both characters. Really, the whole cast cast is strong except for the man playing Hettie's love. Although he only appears briefly, he seems lifeless. I doubt he was/is authentically American. Maybe he was more preoccupied with the accent than the acting.Contrary to some other reviewers, I would definitely recommend Holmes/mystery/film fans give this film a fair try, with as little clouded judgment from negative reviews as possible. Sure, it's weird; what's wrong with that?

bteigen *Spoilers* Based loosely off of "The Nobel Bachelor" and "The Veiled Lodger", The Eligible Bachelor comes off as an extremely weird movie. At some points it is uncomfortable watching it. The screenplay, mixing together two quite unlikely stories, is, for the most part, clever and entertaining, but there were several things that were unnecessary. The dream sequence was dumb and came off as some random thing they wanted to put in the film. Holmes needed to stop whining about Moriarty being dead. Lord St. Simon leaving his second wife to rot in a pit did not seem to fit well with the rest of the film. Maybe if we hadn't had those obnoxious nightmares, her situation would have been more shocking. The acting is good. The confrontation between Hettie and St. Simon in the condemned castle is powerful, and the violence is especially grisly. Paris Jefferson and Simon Williams are the standout performances. About a 6.5 out 10.