The Musgrave Ritual

I watched "The Musgrave Ritual." The portrayer of Holmes, always covering himself with a blanket and the way he spoke made him seem eccentric like his book counterpart. I liked in the beginning of the film, how Dr. Watson came into the bedroom, while Holmes is using the bathroom, and sees a syringe lying on the table, as a reference to Holmes's frequent drug use. The portrayers of Brunton and Rachel made the characters seem more devious and dark, with their messy hair and facial expressions. Rachel's reaction to Brunton's disappearance was played greatly and really jumped off the page in the film. I thought the creepy music and the candle lit halls near the cellar, whenever Brunton or Rachel had a scene, was great choice because it added a suspenseful tone and soundtrack to the story and matched their characters. The exterior of the house seemed to be too bright for the mystery surrounding it, it could have been downplayed with a lot of black or grays on its facade instead of brown and white. It also should have had more fog surrounding it. I liked how the film included Watson, making the case take place in present day, instead of just Holmes narrating the case to him. This gave the film a more sense of action, which made it more exciting. The series of events leading the three to the treasure seemed out of order, such as finding the bag before finding Brunton's body. The film seemed to have a faster pace than the book, which just being one hour, which made it simple but a good adaptation of the book, because they kept the plot line similar. I'm glad they didn't try to add any new character or more unnecessary plot points to drag it out to two hours.



The film, "The Musgrave Ritual," begins with Watson and Holmes going by horse and carriage to stay with Holmes's friend Musgrave, while trying to figure out a case of disappearance from Musgrave's butler, Brunton. Brunton has betrayed the maid and his fiancée, Rachel, with another woman named Janet. We are shown Rachel's reaction, to being told Brunton had disappeared, as laughing and then crying. Rachel also disappears and they drag a bag of metal from the lake where Rachel's footprints disappear. At first they think the bag is full of metal which has no value. We are shown a scene of Musgrave catching Brunton reading, which is a riddle for a treasure called "The Musgrave Ritual." Holmes has Watson and Musgrave read the riddle aloud to him, as he studies the ritual. Musgrave tells Holmes he chopped the tree down to a stump, after it was struck by lightning and we are shown Brunton asking Musgrave what the original height of the old elm tree was. Knowing the original height of the three, they follow the clues by measurements using sticks which leads them to some flagstones, after they take a boat around the moat of the house. The stones have been moved and Holmes questions his measurements until he remembers the "under" part of the ritual. Musgrave and Holmes find Brunton in the cellar, dead from suffocation, with his hands looking like they are reaching for a rope. We are shown Brunton waking Rachel up in the middle of the night to find the treasure, Rachel shutting the trap door on the cellar on Brunton and his screaming, and Rachel running into the lake and falling in after being frightened. Holmes rubs the metal on his sleeve to expose their "glow." They are the coins and crown of King Charles I.



The film and the book versions of "The Musgrave Ritual" were very similar, but a little bit different in the event timeline of the story. The film includes Dr. Watson in the case in the film, having Watson and Sherlock Holmes stay with Musgrave, making the story take place in the present. The book had Holmes telling Watson of a past case, showing Holmes's investigation through flashbacks. In the film, they show the butler, Brunton, playing the flute in a random shot, which I don't think was mentioned in the book. I didn't really see a purpose for this scene. In the beginning of the film, Dr. Watson comes into the bedroom, while Holmes is using the bathroom, and sees a syringe lying on the table, as a reference to Holmes's frequent drug use from the books. They talk about the papers as they ride in a carriage to Musgrave's manor, instead of at home in their flat like the book. In the film, Holmes is not as messy with his papers as Watson implies in the book. Out of the characters that are portrayed in the film, I thought the woman playing Rachel was the most accurate portrayal of her character from the book. She captured the frazzled image, her insanity, and the hilarious laughter to crying reaction to Brunton's disappearance, rather well. The film showed more flashbacks of Brunton and Rachel's plan and how each character disappeared, as well Musgrave talking to Brunton about the riddle, which the book only alluded to. In the film, they find the bag from the lake first, before knowing where the cellar is. The bag's revelation of the jewels isn't as grand in the film as it is in the book. I also thought the creepy music and the candles worked well with the tone of the story.



I have a book where there is no author's introduction to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "The Musgrave Ritual" begins with Sherlock Holmes telling Dr. Watson about the case after Watson reads the name of one of the papers in Holmes's piles. When Holmes first moved to London, he lived in Montague Street, where a man named Musgrave asks him for his help. Holmes knew Musgrave because they went to the same college. After four years of separation, Musgrave asks Holmes for help in discovering where his butler and the maid have disappeared to. Musgrave describes his butler, Brunton, as a man of "great energy and character," but also a bit like "Don Juan," who betrayed the maid and fiancée, Rachel, with another woman named Janet. Musgrave tells Holmes, of Rachel's reaction, to being told Brunton had disappeared, as being a "shriek of laughter," and then has a "hysterical attack." Musgrave tells Holmes of a piece of paper he caught Brunton reading, which is a riddle for a treasure called "The Musgrave Ritual." Holmes studies the ritual and Musgrave tells Holmes, Brunton inquired about the old elm tree mentioned in the riddle. He tells Holmes he chopped the tree down to a stump, after it was struck by lightning. Knowing the original height of the three, they follow the clues by measurements to some flagstones, which have not been moved and he questions his measurements until he remembers the "under" part of the ritual. Musgrave and Holmes find Brunton in the cellar, dead from suffocation. They determine Rachel is the culprit for the incident, as she must have helped Brunton try to find the treasure. They drag a bag of metal from the lake where Rachel's footprints disappear. Holmes rubs the metal on his sleeve to expose their "glow." They are the coins and crown of King Charles I.