Young Sherlock Holmes

Young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet as schoolboys at an English boarding school, where Holmes already astonishes classmates with his deductive skill. A string of bizarre deaths in London draws the pair into their first case, which points toward a cult whose members use poisoned darts and a hallucinogenic substance to manipulate their victims. Watson, newly arrived and far from bold, is pulled along as Holmes pursues the conspiracy.

Barry Levinson directed the film, the fourth of the twenty-eight features he has directed in chronological order, arriving between The Natural and Good Morning, Vietnam. Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay, and Roger Birnbaum, Mark Johnson and Henry Winkler produced. Nicholas Rowe plays Holmes, Alan Cox plays Watson, and Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood and Roger Ashton-Griffiths appear among the thirty-four credited cast members. The production had a budget of 18 million dollars and took in about 20 million worldwide, a modest return for its scale.

Reception was mixed. On IMDb the film holds 6.8 out of 10 from roughly 25,000 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 6.8, from about 734 votes. A critics' rating of 5.9 out of 10 from 21 reviews places professional assessment slightly below the audience scores, which are otherwise consistent across both sites.