Six Degrees of Sherlockian Separation  - 2007
By Don Hobbs

Sunday, February 25, 2007 is Oscar Night! So keeping with tradition, I will once again associate in six steps or less a Sherlockian connection to all of the nominees for the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. So, with the spotlights glaring and the red carpet unfurled, let's step inside this year Six Degrees of Sherlockian Separation.

Best Picture
The Queen  (2006) Directed by Stephen Fears.

1. Also directed The Grifters (1990) The film starred Angelica Huston.
2. Angelica Huston was in Casino Royale (1967) with David Niven.
3. David Niven was in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) so was Ronald Coleman.
4. Bulldog Drummond Strike Back (1934) starred Coleman and Halliwell Hobbes.
5. Halliwell Hobbes was in Captain Blood (1935), which starred Basil Rathbone.
6. Basil Rathbone starred as Holmes in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

The Departed (2006) Directed by Martin Scorsese.

1. Also directed The Last Waltz. One of the musicians was Ringo Starr.
2. Ringo Starr was in Help! (1965) as was Leo McKern.
3. Leo McKern played Moriarty in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. (1975).

Babel (2006) Directed Gonzólez Iñórritu.

1. He also directed 21 Grams (2003), which starred Sean Penn.
2. Sean Penn can be seen in Racing With the Moon (1984) along with Nicholas Cage.
3. Cage was in The Rock (1996) with Sean Connery.
4. Sean Connery starred with Michael Caine in The Man Who Would Be King (1975).
5. Michael Caine played Sherlock Holmes in Without A Clue (1988).

Letters to Iwo Jima (2006) was directed by Clint Eastwood.

1. Clint Eastwood starred in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) with Eli Wallach.
2. Eli Wallach played Napoleon in The Adventures of Gerard (1970). The author of the story was Dr. Watson's literary agent.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

1. Valerie Faris also directed Check-Up (2005) starring Joe Pantoliano.
2. Joe Pantoliano played Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive (1993) and starred Tommy Lee Jones.
3. Tommy Lee Jones starred with Robert Duval in Lonesome Dove (1989).
4. Robert Duval played Dr. Watson in The Seven Per-Cent Solution (1976).

Best Actor
Leonardo Di Caprio for Blood Diamond (2006)

1. Was also in This Boy's Life (1993) with Robert Di Niro.
2. Di Niro was in Born to Win (1971) with Karen Black.
3. Karen Black was in Nashville (1975) along with Geraldine Chaplin.
4. Geraldine Chaplin's father was Charlie Chaplin
5. Charlie Chaplin played Billy the Page in William Gillette's play Sherlok Holmes.

Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson (2006)

1. He was in an episode of The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (1996)

Peter O'Toole for Venus (2006)

1. Peter O'Toole was in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) as was Clive Morton.
2. Clive Morton was in an episode of Dr. Who (1972) with Tom Baker as Dr. Who.
3. Tom Baker played Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (982).

Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

1. Will Smith was in Six Degrees of Separation (1993) along with Stockard Channing.
2. Ms. Channing was also in Molly Flanders (1986) with Jeremy Brett.
3. Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Holmes for a new generation of Sherlockians in the Granada Series.

Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006)

1. Forest Whitaker was in Platoon (1986) with Willem Dafoe.
2. Willem Dafoe was in Born on the 4th of July (1989), which also starred Raymond J. Berry.
3. Raymond J. Berry was in Upstairs, Downstairs (1974) and starred Gordon Jackson.
4. Gordon Jackson was Inspector Alec MacDonald in Sherlock Holmes and the Mask of Death (1984).

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz for Volver (2006)

1. Ms. Cruz was in The Man With Rain in His Shoes (1998) with Elizabeth McGovern.
2. Elizabeth McGovern starred in The Handmaiden's Tale (1990) along with Robert Duval.
3. Robert Duval played Dr. Watson in The Seven Per-Cent Solution (1976).

Kate Winslet for Little Children (2006)

1. Kate Winslet was in Enigma (2001) with Robert Pugh who played Skynner.
2. Robert Pugh was in an episode of Inspector Morse (1992).
3. John Thaw was Inspector Morse and was Jonathon Small in The Sign of Four (1987).

Helen Miren for The Queen (2006)

1. Helen Miren starred in Coming Through (1985) with Benjamin Whitrow.
2. Benjamin Whitrow was in an episode of Inspector Morse (1996).
3. John Thaw was Inspector Morse and was Jonathon Small in The Sign of Four (1987).

Judi Dench for Note on a Scandal (2006)

1. Judi Dench was Sally in A Study in Terror with John Neville as Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson.

Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

1. Ms Streep starred in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) along with Leo McKern.
2. Leo McKern played Moriarty in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. (1975).

Happy Collecting!!