One of the earliest movies I remember seeing on Home Video Rental and my first Michael Caine movie. One of my favorite Actors. It was also my first introduction to Sherlock Holmes. Without A Clue is a comedy with Sherlock Holmes and Watson with their roles reversed. Ben Kingsley is John Watson the brains behind the detective. Caine as Sherlock acts as the legend that represents those brains. We only see Michael Caine portray the archetype Holmes when he is infront of a crowd of people explaining in brilliant fashion how he deduced the case. Kingsley’s Watson is the more sophisticated, elocute of the two characters and props up Caine’s Sherlock with knowledge while Caine provides the charm.
Having two great British actors portray two great British characters certainly sounds great but this film is played for laughs. As I child I remember loving it. Viewing it again every few years I notice the humor is a little more childish, characters are a bit stereotyped in the way they are played. It’s pretty much a fun film. I can only wonder how great it would have being if it had been played straight up instead of a comedy. An interesting addition to the Holmes legend of movies.
Favorite Quote: “Character? Are we talking about the same man who once declared with total conviction that the late Colonel Howard had been bludgeoned to death with a blunt ‘excrement’?” – Watson
All of this has happened before 