The Seven-Per-Cent Solution 1976 ***

Nicholas Meyer made a number of films skilfully rebooting well-known historical and literary characters; before his Time After Time pitting HG Wells against Jack The Ripper, his 1976 script for Herbert Ross pitched Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson against Dr Sigmund Freud, with the great detective hoping to be cured on his cocaine addiction. Nicol Williamson is an unusually earnest Holmes, with Robert Duvall making a good fist of unusual casting as the deeply British Watson. Alan Arkin gives a likably wild performance behind a considerable beard as Freud, and while Ross’s film takes leave of its senses to become a comic romp, with a notable train-bound action set-piece, Ken Adam’s strong design and spirited performances all round make this an off-beat and original addition to the Holmes canon.