They Might Be Giants

This was not available for a long time. It’s possible to buy it now at Amazon for $135 new or $90 used! Wow. You must really love it to pay that price. I do love it but luckily it’s also available streaming on Netflix. So we just saw it for the first time since it was new. It holds up very well. Both George C. Scott as a man who was emotionally shattered and now believes he is Sherlock Holmes, and Joanne Woodward as a real Dr. Watson—though not Holmes’s Watson—are extremely good in this quirky story. Insanity in real life is usually a sad and horrible thing. In drama or comedy it can be used satirically, to point out that, in a way, our “real” world is just as insane as a character’s delusion. A good example of this is King of Hearts, another one I haven’t seen in a long time. So it’s a lot of fun following Holmes and Watson as they follow a trail of clues left behind by the evil Moriarty, which takes them all over Manhattan, along with some other quirky friends. Particularly good is Jack Gilford, an underrated supporting player. As it neared the end I began to wonder how the film would deliver Moriarty. After all, if they don’t find him, the man will have to face his insanity. If they do … what will he be? I was satisfied with the solution.

This was written by James Goldman from his own play. He also wrote The Lion in Winter and was the older brother of William Goldman. What a screenwriting family! It was produced by my old friend, the late John Foreman, during the time he was part of the Newman-Foreman company, along with his friend Paul Newman. They made some really great films.