Sherlock Holmes and the Crippen Musical.

 

        "When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals". [Sherlock Holmes, "The Speckled Band"]

In 1910, three striking examples of doctors gone wrong were before the British public, two literary and one real: Drs. Jekyll, Rylott and Crippen. For the first two the Queen's and the Adelphi provided the stage; for the last, the equally dramatic arena of the Old Bailey. Half a century later, the murderer of Corrine ('Cora') Henrietta Crippen, aka 'Belle Elmore', music hall singer, trod the boards anew in "Belle; or the Ballad of Dr. Crippen", Wolf Mankowitz's short-lived, controversial, oddball cocktail of a musical, that remixed the historical events with music and lyrics by Monty Norman, set it in the Bedford Music Hall of 1910, and served it with a Master of Ceremonies and a splash of Sherlock Holmes for good measure.

Background - The Three Doctors of 1910.

Mrs. Crippen disappeared after a party at home in Hilldrop Crescent, on 31 January, 1910, five days after the opening of a new stage version of Stevenson's novel, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" at the Queen's, with H. B. Irving (Sir Henry's son) in the title role. A resounding success, Irving was still touring the play through Crippen's October trial to the end of the year.  Gilbert Holiday's drawing for The Graphic of 5 February, 1910, was used for the Queen's poster and best captures the public's elemental fear of a doctor's potential to commit evil. Holiday draws what is impossible on any stage but that of the imagination: both beings side by side.

In late February, Wrench Film released a 2-reel short called "The Duality of Man", in cinemas from March. It is believed Irving directed it himself and likely focused on the stage's transformation scenes. 

By the time Crippen and his lover were arrested on board the Montrose on July 31, 1910, Lyn Harding had created a defining characterisation of Conan Doyle's doctor gone wrong. Since June 4, the Adelphi's production of "The Speckled Band" had swelled both the bank balance of its author and Harding's reputation. Many others would play Dr. Grimesby Rylott with variable success, but all standing on the shoulders of Harding's barnstorming performance that ensured the role often appeared above that of Sherlock Holmes in news advertisements.

Again, it was The Graphic that caught the horrific duality, this time by pairing actor and character side by side, in its article on the 1921 revival.

The Graphic 29 October 1921

 By the time of the trial in October, public fascination had reached fever pitch, with newspapers vying to meet an insatiable thirst for pictures and tasty morsels about even the most peripheral figures in the saga of chase, capture and arraignment. In keeping with the victim's profession, there was a strong theatrical thread to the Crippen case. When arrested, the couple were in disguise, Le Neve as a boy.

Belle - Crippen - Le Neve

To facilitate a quiet return to British shores, the prisoners were given pseudonyms and the arresting officer from Scotland Yard, Chief Inspector Dew, assumed the name 'Doyle' (modestly not 'Sherlock'). Speaking of whom...

Passes for the public gallery of the Central Criminal Court were like gold dust in October, 1910. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got one courtesy one of the lawyers; and H. B. Irving attended every day, both listening with rapt attention to the proceedings. Along with Doyle, Irving was a founder member of Our Society (1903), whose members met (still meet) to discuss all matters criminal. Irving had a professional interest, not so much as an actor but as a trained barrister called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1894. While he eventually opted for the stage, upon retirement during the Great War, he settled to writing about crime with legal expertise. 

Our cast is assembled: author, performer and perpetrator of doctors' crimes. Not surprising reports of the trial sometimes sounded like theatrical reviews. Witness this Tit-Bit of the Week in the Bradford Weekly Telegraph:

Bradford Weekly Telegraph 21 October, 1910

Sherlock Holmes and the Crippen Musical 1961.

The musical in two acts that opened at the Strand Theatre, London, on 4 May, 1961, was originally a play script by Beverley Cross intended for Nottingham Playhouse. Wolf Mankowitz transmuted it into something too large for that stage and it premiered in a week-long run at the King's, Southsea (April 10), moved to Brighton's Theatre Royal (April 17 for a fortnight) and so to the Strand. It was withdrawn on June 10 after 44 performances. See The Guide to Musical Theatre for dramatis personae and music numbers. The Stage listed the first night cast on 13 April:

Of relevance here are the characters 'George Lasher' and 'Mighty Mick', played respectively by Jerry Desmonde and Davy Kaye. Desmonde parodies the elegance of the real-life Edwardian singer and comedian, George Lashwood, acting as MC and narrator throughout, as well as appearing in a variety of guises, including Sherlock Holmes. Kaye's Mighty Mick is resident comedian at the show's internal theatre, the Bedford Music Hall, chosen because Belle Elmore often performed there. He too flits from costume to costume, including Sherlock Holmes. Jeff Vickers photographed them for The Tatler on 24 May, 1961 (Desmonde behind the diminutive Kaye):

On 11 May, 1961, The Stage published R. B. Marriott's favourable review, including a close-up of Davy Kaye, clipped from the Vickers photo and this paragraph on our two Holmeses:

By contrast, writing in the Birmingham Post on 5 May, J. C. Trewin slammed the production, taking issue with the inappropriate subject for musical comedy and noting a bit of detective business:

 Reviewing the Brighton try-out on 21 April, the Sussex Agricultural Review was more enthusiastic and praised the two comedians:

 

 With regard to the extent of Sherlockian content, I detect no overt reference to the detective in the songs which may be listened to on Youtube here: The Songs 

though the libretto must surely invoke Sherlock Holmes.

Mankowitz was convinced unwarranted adverse criticism had driven the production off stage, losing him £20,000, and immediately proceeded to prepare a 55-minute version (filmed on stage) for ITV which was broadcast as the Big Night Out attraction on 12 August, 1961. Both Desmonde and Kaye featured.

Intermission - 1967.

The Bedford Theatre in 1949

Following the televised version (and failed attempts by Mankowitz to interest Broadway producers), Belle; or the Ballad of Dr. Crippen slipped into obscurity, mirroring the dark stage that was the old Bedford Music Hall. Having closed in 1959 it fell into disrepair and was finally demolished a decade later. But not before future John Watson, James Mason, paid a nostalgic visit (shod in impeccably shiny shoes) in the 60's cult classic The London Nobody Knows (1967). Mason makes no mention of the Mankowitz musical, though Belle Elmore is fleetingly referenced with grim humour as a possible theatre ghost. This atmospheric film may be viewed on Dailymotion here: The London Nobody Knows

Three Revivals.

On 12-19 September, 1964, the Erith Playhouse, Erith, Kent, presented the musical with Harold Bull as George Lasher and Louis Cox as Mighty Mick:

Erith Playhouse 1964

From June 27 to July 12, 1980, the Tower Theatre, Canonbury, presented the musical with Dennis Adams as Lasher and Harry Lupino as Mick. Here is the record of production with just two cast photos: Tower Theatre

As late as 2016, we find the Vale Royal Musical Theatre performing a few nights (16-18 March) with David 'Cantona' Lee and Garry Wallis as our comedians - though I am not sure which is Lasher or Mick. see the photo record on Facebook here: Vale Production Photos

Vale Royal Musical Theatre 2016

A Permanent Record 2022.

I timed this post to coincide with a remarkable milestone. The unique A-Z of Sherlock Holmes Performers, curated by Sherlock Holmes media expert, Howard Ostrom of Florida, is currently gliding past 8000 total entries. I've been delighted over the years to contribute to this ongoing Magnum Opus and, hopefully, Howard will find more grist in this post for his Sherlockian mill. The value of this collection is incalculable: with the help of ever-expanding, searchable news archives from around the world, the A-Z documents (usually with photographs) many a performance of the Great Detective that would otherwise (like those in Belle) languish in obscurity.

 ©RAYWILCOCKSON 2022.