MovieChat Forums > The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) Discussion > Robert Stephens' illness?

Robert Stephens' illness?

posted 19 years ago by tippusmaximus
8 replies | jump to latest

I've noticed when watching this film that Robert Stephens' hands are often shaky when he's holding papers and other light objects. I had set it down to nervousness or something (my hands sometimes tremble when I'm nervous, even if I don't appear so outwardly), but then I just read in a recent review of the movie that production was at one point halted for several weeks because of "Robert Stephens' illness". Does anybody know what this is referring to? And does it maybe have something to do with the shaky hands?

[–] tippusmaximus 19 years ago

Never mind, I just read about it in an article. Apparently Stephens was under an incredible amount of stress during filming--he had to go on a crash diet to get the lean Holmes look down while dealing with Billy Wilder's obsessive style of directing. Also, his marriage with Maggie Smith was breaking up at the time and he apparently took a large quantity of alcohol and sleeping pills one night and had to be rushed to the hospital (he later stated that it was not a conscious suicide attempt).

[–] I_have_a_brain_cloud 14 years ago

How sad. Maybe all that stress and emotional torture helped create the powerful emotional undercurrent in this movie. But under the circumstances he did a FANTASTIC job as Holmes. But the crash diet was worth it (at least for us in the comfort of posterity) because he looks wonderful.

You--lighten up. You--big trouble. You--get in the car.

[–] Rheli 18 years ago

Reading over at Stephens' bio makes it sounds like detox.

[–] dgordon-9 18 years ago

I thought it was part of the Holmes/heroin thing - maybe he didn't shoot up every day, and had the cold turkey shakes. Thought it was all part of the character.

[–] kriege10 13 years ago

Cocaine, not heroin.

[–] terrythomas 18 years ago

I'd always wondered what was up with Robert Stephens; maybe it's just me, but I always thought he looked EXTREMELY pale and sickly in the movie.

[–] westley747 18 years ago

If he was on a crash diet for a Hollywood movie, i'm assuming he would've been taking diet pills too - basically amphetamine tablets or speed, that would have given him all the side-effects mentioned.

[–] cancerparty 15 years ago

I've read his suicide attempt was due to stress thanks to Wilder's constant badgering for Stephens to be more and more desolate on screen. At least that's what the description for the DVD on Amazon suggests. Who knows. At least he didn't die, poor sod.