Kingsley Amis Scripted - Dr Watson and the Darkwater Hall Mystery 1974

Doctor Watson and the Darkwater Hall Mystery - A Singular Adventure
Edward Fox as Dr. Watson.
BBC Television, U.K.
1 hr. 10 mn. 27 December 1974
Director: James Cellen Jones
Plot: Since Holmes is away recuperating, at long last Watson gets the lead role. Dr. Watson (Edward Fox), with deerstalker, magnifying glass and a pipe a la Sherlock, solves the mystery of the threat to Sir Henry's (Christopher Cazenove) life. Being Watson the ladies man, he of course encounters the case through helping Emily (Elaine Taylor) a damsel in distress.
Cast: Edward Fox, Elaine Taylor, Christopher Cazenove, Jeremy Clyde, John Westbrook, Terence Bayler and Carmen Gomez.
Odds and Ends: Jeremy Clyde who plays Miles, would later play Sherlock Holmes in Crime Writers (1978), and he was the Jeremy in the 1960’s singing duo, Chad and Jeremy. Edward Fox also played the role of Alistair Ross in the TV movie The Crucifer of Blood (1991), with Charlton Heston as Sherlock Holmes. James Fox, Edward Fox's brother, voiced Sherlock Holmes on the radio in "The Beekeeper’s Apprentice", "The Affair of the Senator's Daughter", "The Segregation of the Queen" and "A Battle Royal" (2000). James also played Sir Thomas Rotheram in the 2009 film "Sherlock Holmes". Emilia Fox, Edward's daughter, would dress as Sherlock Holmes in "All Round to Mrs Brown’s" (2017), on BBC 1. Also Emilia was once married to Jared Harris who played Professor James Moriarty in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (2011).
Louis Robinson adds: " I do have a copy somewhere of "The Darkwater Hall Mystery" on a VHS Cassette. It was written by Kingsley Amis and starred Edward Fox as Watson. Holmes is never seen. Watson is totally incompetent and does everything wrong but a series of mistakes actually solves the case. I haven't seen it in years as I no longer have a VHS player. It's 90 minutes so I don't really want to spend the money transferring it to DVD. I know Edward Fox was quite proud of the show. I worked with him in a series of concerts (he read poetry and I played and sang appropriate songs) for an anti-slavery organization. Not the done thing for a fellow performer, but when I asked him for his autograph and he spluttered, "Why on earth would you want that?" "You played Watson in the Darkwater Hall Mystery '' I replied, "I collect Holmes/Watson autographs" and he softened it.. I think the play which was only transmitted once just fell through the public memory hole. In those days the actor's contracts for TV shows were limited to one broadcast and one repeat. That's why so many of them have disappeared into the BBC vaults forever. In order to show them again, the entire contract would have to be renegotiated. For UK TV shows with large sales (DR Who is the best example) it's worth the new fees. Canny artists - I can think of two - Nat King Cole and Barry Manilow - had contracts which included them owning the tapes after two transmissions. Another terrible fact is that if only ONE person in the cast does not sign a release for a new contract the show stays on the shelf. This happened when John Bluthal, who hated the BBC refused to sign and an entire Spike Milligan series was dumped. It's a matter of some distress that there are so many fine BBC shows that will never see the light of day unless some millionaire fan funds new contracts."

Hey Mr. Salisbury,

I wanted to thank you for uploading this! I have been looking for this film for two years now. I have gotten friends involved, posted about it on Tumblr and Reddit, and even wrote directly to Mr. Edward Fox himself about the fate of this- what I thought was- lost media.

The only confirmed source I had for this film still being in existence was the BBC Film Media company. Even then, I could not view it, as they only do in-person movies... Which I was unable to partake in, given my status as someone across the Atlantic (i.e not British).

I finally got to watch this with my friends (who have also read the book) and we had a great time! It really was worth the hunt!

Thanks again!

Thank you. I have been an admirer of Kingsley Amis for decades and have finally been able to watch this drama, based on his screenplay. Cheers!

Oh my. I go looking for this every 2 or 3 years. Finally. Many many thanks.

Ah, the delicious Edward Fox! I've seen a lot of Watsons. The bumbling Watson, the humorous Watson, the fisticuffs Watson etc... but this is the first ever sexy Watson! I'm shocked!

What a lovely little side quest in the Holmes world. Thanks for this, it's a treasure.

Absinthe was a green tinted spirit with a very high alcohol content - over 45%. It was popular with separated lovers as Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder!

many thanks for uploading. another Mark Shivas production.