Raffles Flugt Fra Faengslet

From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Sherlock Holmes (Viggo Larsen) capturing Raffles (Holger Madsen)
The Moving Picture World, 13 february 1909, p. 186

Raffles Flugt Fra Faengslet (Raffles' Escape From Prison) is a Danish silent movie released in 1908, produced by Nordisk Film Co., starring Viggo Larsen as Sherlock Holmes. 680 feet. Black & White. Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format.

The 2nd sherlockian movie by the Nordisk Film Company of Denmark.

Other titles:

  • Sherlock II
  • Raffles Escapes from Prison (UK) november 1908
  • Sherlock Holmes II: Raffles Escapes from Prison (USA) 26 february 1909

Survival status: presumed lost.



Cast



Photos


Titles

  • 1. Escape and capture of Raffles
  • 2. Raffles as prisoner
  • 3. Telegram: Herewith particulars of prison, northwing, third floor, corner window, expect assistance 11:30 o'clock p.m.
  • 4. Free once more
  • 5. Putting a trap for Sherlock Holmes
  • 6. Letter: Dear Sir, Will you kindly assist a poor woman in a criminal case. My daughter who will meet you at the corner of Broadway and Canal Street will show you the way to my house. Yours truly, E. Wilson.
  • 7. A fight for life
  • 8. Escaped unhurt
  • 9. Another attempt on Sherlock Holmes' life
  • 10. Raffles trapped and captured again


Plot summary / Reviews

The Moving Picture World, 27 february 1909, p. 239-240
  • The Moving Picture World, 27 february 1909 p. 239-240

"Sherlock Holmes II." - The exhibitors who did show 'Sherlock Holmes I,' will be pleased to know that the Great Northern Film Co. has added two new chapters to this remarkable film: 'Sherlock Holmes II' is on the market and 'Sherlock Holmes III,' will be released in early March.

"Sherlock Holmes I" showed us how Raffles stole the diamond necklace, how he was captured and sent to prison.

"Sherlock Holmes II' shows us Raffles serving his time. How he manages to send word to his friends and how he manages to escape.

Once free, Raffles' first thought is to revenge himself on Sherlock Holmes, and for this he enlists the services of a pretty but depraved girl, to decoy the great detective to an old house, where he is met by Raffles under the disguise of an old women. Sherlock Holmes taken by surprise, is thrown through a masked opening in the wall, into an old sewer.

When Raffles and his associates discover that Sherlock Holmes has been rescued, they plan a second attempt on his life.

Raffles takes lodgings opposite the detective's home and watches for a good chance to fire his gun at Sherlock Holmes. Young Billy, the alert office boy, discovers the strange new tenant and notifies his master. Sherlock Holmes, guessing the intentions of the criminal, pulls down the window blinds and arranges a dummy at the window. At a given moment Billy pulls up the blinds and Raffles, who has been watching for a good opportunity, takes up his gun and shoots. He hits the dummy, but great is surprise when leaving the window, to find himself face to face with Sherlock Holmes in flesh. As Raffles turns to run away, he is caught by two officers.

If you have seen "Sherlock Holmes I.," you know that for excellence of photography, the Great Northern Film Company cannot be excelled, you know that the acting is practically what you would expect to see at the famous "Comedie Francaise" of Paris, and you know that the manufacturers of this film pay the greatest attention to all the details and are unsurpassed in their staging. "Sherlock Holmes II" is as much a masterpiece as its predecessor, and "Sherlock Holmes III" promises to hold the same rank.

In "Sherlock Holmes II" you will find the same quiet, cool and possessed detective, his clever errand boy Billy, and the other performers in their well studied characters.


The Moving Picture World, 6 march 1909, p. 268-269
  • The Moving Picture World, 6 march 1909 p. 268-269

Sherlock Holmes II. - The Great Northern people have brought out the second Sherlock Holmes film and it is quite a much thriller as the first. The audiences watch with the most intense interest as they see Raffles escape, and afterward see Holmes enticed to a lonely place and pushed back into a sewer. But he escapes and captures Raffles at the act of shooting at an image in Holmes' window, which Raffles takes as Holmes himself. The picture is good, technically, and the acting of the principal characters is up to standard, but the minor characters add little interest to the film. The clearness of the film and the success of Holmes compensates for any shortcuts in other directions. The film is good and deserves a long run.


The Moving Picture World, 20 march 1909, p. 330
  • The Moving Picture World, 20 march 1909 p. 330

Evidently I was tempted to see the 'new $102 place,' called the Gaiety. It was a real bargain as the stage and neatly framed screen must have cost a good deal more money. The lucky owner, who seems to believe in bargains, must have hired a 'bargain operator,' dispensing the films as quickly as the goods are sold on a bargain counter. He ran his machine at such a speed that the remarkable action of the great film 'Sherlock Holmes II,' was destroyed and the audience had no time to read the two short notes shown on the screen. A barker at the door was alluring the promenaders with a promise of 7 new pictures. Yes, 7; but some were good rain storm specimens and some of them very short.





  • Titles credits : The Great Northern Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Bjarne Nielsen (Pinkerton, 1997)