Sherlock Holmes in New York

Plot

The great detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr. John Watson travel to New York City to investigate a recent threat made by Professor Moriarty.

During their investigation, Holmes and Watson are reunited with their old acquaintance Irene Adler, now a popular music-hall singer, who reveals that Moriarty has kidnapped her son. Moriarty has also left a note for Holmes informing him that he will be approached by the police soon for aid in a crime, and should he not refuse – Moriarty also informing him that he should provide no reason for his refusal – the boy will die.

Holmes is subsequently contacted by the NYPD regarding the recent apparent theft at the New York bank, with the entire vault of gold bars having vanished seemingly overnight. To protect the child, Holmes refuses the case, but he and Watson later manage to track down and rescue the boy, thus removing Moriarty's blackmail card.

Investigating the vaults, and quickly ruling as impossible the actual removal of many tonnes of gold via a narrow tunnel in the time available, Holmes swiftly determines what has taken place; based on the speed of the lift's descent, it should take them 45 seconds to reach the vaults, but they stopped after only 42 seconds. From this, Holmes deduces that Moriarty had an empty, duplicate vault built a few meters above the real one, subsequently planting iron bars to stop the lift reaching the real vault. While everyone puzzled over how the bars of gold were stolen from the false vault, Moriarty would actually be stealing them from the real one below. In a final confrontation in New York's underground, Moriarty escapes.

The case is solved. As Holmes and Adler say their goodbyes, Adler comments that her son has a keen intellect and a certain knack for solving puzzles, implying that Holmes may be his father. The two nevertheless part ways with Adler giving Holmes a picture of her son to keep.

Cast

Music

The film was scored by Richard Rodney Bennett, marking his first work for American television; Leonard Rosenman conducted. On October 9, 2006, Intrada Records released the music on a limited edition CD alongside Georges Delerue's score for The Pick-up Artist.

Home video

On August 22, 2014, the film was released as a manufactured on demand DVD by 20th Century-Fox Cinema Archives.