"The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" is the double-length pilot episode of the first season of Murder, She Wrote. It aired on September 30, 1984. In most re-runs the episode is split up into two, with the second part numbered as the second episode of the series.
Summary[]
After the publication of her first mystery novel, Jessica Fletcher, a widow from Maine, travels to New York and attends a costume ball at her publisher's estate. Whilst there, Jessica goes from mystery writer to amateur detective when a guest dressed as Sherlock Holmes is murdered.
Plot[]
Jessica Fletcher, a widow from the sleepy town of Cabot Cove, Maine, is thrilled and somewhat surprised when the mystery novel she wrote in her spare time is published, all thanks to her nephew Grady. Jessica heads to New York, where Grady and his girlfriend, Kit Donovan, meet her at the train station. Jessica gets thrown into the world of publicity and signs many autographs, but soon begins to realize it's not all it is cracked up to be. Jessica also meets her publisher, Preston Giles, a charming older man. After being harassed by interviewers, Jessica is ready to call it quits, but when Preston convinces her to stay for the weekend to attend a costume party he is hosting, she decides to stay.
Jessica is escorted to Preston's luxurious mansion, where she meets several of Preston's family and friends, including the Broadway composer Peter Brill, Grady's employer Captain Caleb McCallum, who is dressed as Sherlock Holmes, and his neglected wife Louise, and the posh Ashley Vickers, who also works with Grady. Jessica improvises a costume (Cinderella's godmother) and goes down to attend the costume ball, where she spends the evening in Preston's company. But the fun is soon interrupted when Grady sees a light in his room from outside. Grady runs upstairs to his room, with others in pursuit. They discover private detective Dexter Baxendale snooping around the bedroom. Preston quickly evicts him from the premises.
The next morning, Kit discovers the body of Caleb McCallum floating in the pool, shot in the head]]. The police arrive and Jessica decides to do some amateur sleuthing. She deduces that the body in the pool is not Caleb McCallum, even though the body is wearing the Sherlock Holmes costume. Caleb is found to be alive, and the body is in fact the private detective, Baxendale, wearing Caleb's Sherlock Holmes costume. Jessica then deduces that the intended victim may have been Caleb, and that the killer, seeing the Sherlock Holmes outfit, shot Baxendale by mistake. However, she doesn't understand why Baxendale was wearing Caleb's costume. Jessica intends to find out.
She continues sleuthing and discovers that Louise and Ashley have alibis, but then she learns that Caleb was the one who hired the private detective, because he suspected someone was stealing secret documents from his office. Caleb tells Jessica that anyone could have taken the Holmes costume from the hall closet. Then, to Jessica's surprise, Grady is arrested for the murder. Jessica is now determined to find out who killed the private detective.
The plot thickens as Caleb is found murdered on his yacht. Jessica looks closer at Ashley Vickers, suspecting that she and her accomplice are stealing the documents. Knowing that Caleb was onto them, perhaps Ashley killed him, thinking it was Caleb she was shooting. Jessica and Grady sneak into Ashley's office and Jessica suggests that Ashley and the composer Peter Brill were in on it together. Jessica confronts them and they admit to stealing the documents, but they do not confess to the murder.
Jessica heads back to Preston's mansion where she confronts the real killer: Preston Giles. Jessica figured out that the intended victim was indeed Baxendale, because the automatic lights at the pool were on when the private eye was murdered, so the killer would have been able to see who he was shooting. Jessica also remembers the private detective recognizing Preston Giles and commenting on Preston's costume: Preston was the Count of Monte Cristo that night. Preston was involved in a construction project years ago with three other men when an apartment building made by the company collapsed and killed several people. Although Preston wasn't involved with the construction, he ended up being the scapegoat and went to prison. He escaped after two years and destroyed his other partners in crime financially: just like Monte Cristo did. The private eye recognized Preston and decided to confront him: Baxendale was one of Preston's partners in crime many years ago, who was destroyed financially by Preston. Preston had to kill him or he would reveal who Preston was. Then Preston dressed him up as Sherlock Holmes to make it look like the killer was intending to kill Caleb. He killed Caleb to further throw the police off of his trail.
Jessica, who seemed to be developing a romantic interest in Preston, is upset that he was the killer, but nevertheless, turns him in and decides to head back home to Cabot Cove. However, when Kit informs Jessica of a murder in Central Park that has the police stumped, she begins to have second thoughts.
Starring[]
Recurring cast[]
- Arthur Hill as Preston Giles
- Michael Horton as Grady Fletcher
Special guest stars[]
Guest stars[]
- Eddie Barth as Bernie
- Jessica Browne as Kitty Donovan
- Bert Convy as Peter Brill
- Herb Edelman as George
- Anne Lloyd Francis as Louise McCallum
- Tricia O'Neil as Ashley Vickers
- Dennis Patrick as Dexter Baxendale
- Raymond St. Jacques as Doctor
- Rosanna Huffman as Eleanor Thompson
- Paddi Edwards as Lois Hoey
- Ellen Crawford as Muriel
- David Byrd as Davis
- Richard Erdman as Eggman
- Danny Wells as Talk Show Host
- John Hancock as Daniel
- Jay Fenichel as Cellini
- Stanley Brock as Marvin
- Hap Lawrence as Young Deputy
- Kat Sawyer-Young as Feminist Interviewer
- Joseph Perry as Heavy Set Crude Man
- Howard Mann as New Holvang Cabbie
- Freddye Chapman as Jane
- Russell Curry as Black Youth
- Johnny Venokur as 2nd White Tough
- Andy Garcia as 1st White Tough
- Anne Ramsey as Bag Lady
- Jimmy Joyce as Tom
- Ken Olfson as TV Book Critic
- Paula Victor as Agnes Peabody
- Billie Hayes as Peter Pan
- Cathey Paine as Young Woman
- Beau Starr as Policeman On Boat
- Larry McCormick as TV Reporter
- Dan Chambers as Cab Driver
- Sallee Young as Performer
- Donald Elson as Bookstore Owner
- Daniel Zippi as Mailman
- Robert Buckingham as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Peter Eastman as Passenger (uncredited)
- Scott Murphy as Bartender (uncredited)
- Frank Slaten as Sailor (uncredited)
- Nico Stevens as Party Guest (uncredited)
Trivia[]
- John Addison won an Emmy Award Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore), for his work on this episode.[1]
- Angela Lansbury and Arthur Hill previously worked together on the 1963 movie In the Cool of the Day.
- Herb Edelman appears in ten episodes of Murder, She Wrote. From season nine onwards, he takes on the recurring role of NYPD Lieutenant Artie Gelber.
Gallery[]
Home media releases[]
| Item | Region | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Murder, She Wrote: The Complete First Season | Region 1 | March 29, 2005 |
| Murder, She Wrote: Season 1 | Region 2 | August 29, 2005 |
| Murder, She Wrote: The Complete 1st Season | Region 4 | May 2, 2007 |
| Murder, She Wrote: Seasons 1 - 3 | Region 2 | November 20, 2006 |
| Murder, She Wrote: Seasons 1 - 5 | Region 2 | October 22, 2007 |
External links[]
"The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" at the Internet Movie Database
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