Domestic adaptations of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle are still considered among the best in the world. Even the late Elizabeth II admitted that the actor Vasily Livanov managed to embody the image of the best Mr. Holmes. Meanwhile, the production of detective films was not without problems.
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It is noteworthy that it was the lead actor in a series of films about the most famous detective on the planet that gave director Igor Maslennikov problems. Already after the end of work on Sherlock Holmes, their paths diverged. The director himself who died in September of this yearuntil the last did not want to talk about Livanov.
If we recall at least the history of the filming of The Hound of the Baskervilles, then we can understand how strained the relationship between Maslennikov and Livanov was. Even before the start of the main work, Nikita Mikhalkov, who was invited to play Lord Henry, together with Alexander Adabashyan, interfered with Maslennikov in every possible way. Both artists themselves have already managed to become directors, and therefore they decided to put themselves above the main person on the set, that is, Igor Fedorovich himself.
Livanov, who had no love for the director, teased Mikhalkov and Adabashyan instead of calling the restless couple to order. Fortunately for the whole team, the director managed to find an approach to Nikita Sergeevich, and he dealt with Adabashyan simply brilliantly. But with Livanov, everything was much more complicated.
You can list for a long time everything that happened at that time between the creator of Sherlock Holmes and his star. But the only important thing is that after one key event, the two celebrities finally quarreled. Shortly before his death, Maslennikov told why he did not want to hear anything about Livanov.
“I didn’t quarrel with him. It was he who puffed up like a bubble because I dared to write in my book – the very same one, Baker Street on Petrogradskaya – that he was a very average actor, but at the same time an ideal type for the role of Holmes. By the way, from the very beginning I was going to shoot him, because I did not see anyone else in this role. And he pouted and since then he has been throwing mud at me everywhere. So no, we do not communicate, we do not write off. And we don’t plan to. For what reason? He went to hell! Maslennikov said.
Source: CP
Photo source: frame from the movie “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson”