Prop Analysis in Sherlock Holmes Adaptations

Pop Quiz: Name these objects and what they're from

1: (Picture of one ring)
2: (picture of rose bud)
3: (picture of Cinderella's shoe)
4: (picture of Delorian)
5: (picture of light saber)
Got it? Was it pretty easy? Thought so. Just in case here are the answers: 1: The One ring
from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies. 2: Rosebud from Citizen Kane. 3: Glass slipper
from Disney's Cinderella. 4: The DeLorian from Back to the future. 5: A light saber from the Star
Wars series. Why do we recognize these items? What makes them stick in our memory? What are
these items? These items are properties, or props. In order to analyze the use of props we must
first determine what a prop is. Props are objects that actors use on sets to help convey the
narrative of the film or play. They give the audience context. They convey meaning. They are non
permanent items. For example a set piece such as a house would not be a prop even though it
helps convey the narrative, a coke bottle would be a prop. There are three types of props. Hand
props are carried or held by actors. Set props are larger, but still movable, items not built into the
set (Strawn). Think furniture. Set dressings decorate the set to make it seem more realistic
(Strawn). Think small objects in a room. It wouldn't look realistic if there was only a bed in a
bedroom. Set dressings could be books piled on the floor or clothes strewn about; these items
make the room actually seem to be inhabited. Directors of Sherlock Holmes adaptations must use
props to tell their story effectively.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Director Guy Ritchie's 2009 adaptation opens with the hanging of the self-proclaimed
sorcerer Lord Blackwood. The next day, however, he has apparently risen from the grave. All of
London is in a panic and Scotland Yard calls on Sherlock Holmes to solve the case. Along with
John Watson and Irene Adler, Holmes seeks to uncover the truth about the Temple of the Four
Orders and whether Lord Blackwood can indeed control the forces of magic. The film stars
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong. Like all filmmakers, Ritchie
and his crew must make use of props in order to tell their story.
Our very first introduction to Irene is enhanced by the use of props. Sherlock is seen in a
boxing ring with a be-mouth of an opponent. He is doing well when suddenly his attention is
distracted by a white handkerchief placed on the edge of the ring. He then tries to concede but
when his opponent spits at him, he finishes the fight by utterly obliterating him. It is soon revealed
that the object that drew his attention is a handkerchief of Irene Adler's. The handkerchief is white
with a red embroidered A. It is meant to stand out, the rest of the objects in the scene are gritty
greens and browns. As such it represents how Irene is different than the others. Green is seen as a
sickly color. These men are the sickness of society. Irene is another part of society, she has class
and sophistication. She is superior to these men. While I liked this duality, I think the props
director should have chosen a different color. White is a color that usually means purity
(Dictionary of Symbolism) and this description does not fit Irene. For example when Irene first
talks to Sherlock she accuses him of being between jobs (Sherlock Holmes). Sherlock curtly
responds and you between husbands implying that Irene is well known for her indiscretion
(Sherlock Holmes). The director would have done better to choose a color that was still a sharp
contrast but did not have this implication. Additionally, a handkerchief is a sign of delicacy. Irene
is not a delicate figure. Shortly after Irene's initial appearance, two men offer her flowers in a ruse
to mug her. She immediately pulls out a knife and handles the situation and ends up taking both

the men's wallets. Clearly not a delicate flower. So why choose such an object? My guess is that
the props master merely picked a handkerchief because it was an easy visual cue. Like the color,
I'm not sure this was the best choice to represent Irene. Unless, of course, the designer chose this
discrepancy to mislead the viewer until later on in the story. Then it is brilliant.
However, I think the red A was a stroke of genius. Does another red A come to mind? By
the time this film takes place, Nathaniel Hawthorn's The Scarlet Letter had been published. Hester
Prynne was embroidered with a scarlet A for adultery. As aforementioned, it is probable that Irene
fits this description. Or, at least, fits the stereotype of this kind of women. But more than that,
Hester's A represents how she is repressed. Hester is shamed and ostracized because of her A.
With the lifestyle Irene has chose, she also faces these injustices. With this A, the designer brings
to light this connection between Irene and Hester. Even more importantly, the connection between
Irene and Hester and the injustices all girls still face today.
Another prop important to Guy Ritchie's adaptation are the ravens. To be fair, they may
have just been computer generated images and not physically there but I believe they still count
as props. If this were a stage adaptation or even an older movie, the ravens would probably have
been puppets and held by the actors and as such, props. So I'm going to count the ravens as
props. In the film the ravens are seen when Lord Blackwood is resurrected, when he murders his
father, when he murders the American Ambassador, and at Blackwood's final demise. See the
connection in all of these scenes? All of them in some respect have to do with death. Traditionally
the raven has been a symbol of death or at least a companion to death (Dictionary of Symbolism)
Other examples of ravens as symbols of death include Edgar Allen Poe's classic, The Raven or
Diablo, Maleficent's pet raven in Sleeping Beauty.
London has a deep connection to ravens as well. For hundreds of years there have been
ravens at the Tower of London. No one remembers how the legend began, but all of England

knows that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, all of England will fall. (The Ravens). It was
Charles II who decided that there must always be at least six ravens at the Tower. The ravens
wings are now clipped to prevent the birds from flying away (The Ravens). Personally, I think that
defeats the purpose if the ravens are not there on their own accord. But, hey, I'm not the Queen of
England.
The point is the ravens are heralds of the destruction of England. This is what Lord
Blackwood intends to do. After the death of the Ambassador, Blackwood says My powers and
my assets were given to me for one purpose. A magnificent, but simple purpose: to create a new
future...Once the people of England see our new-found power they'll bow down in fear ...We will
remake the world. Create the future (Sherlock Holmes). Blackwood may speak of remaking
the world in order to brainwash his followers, but he is really talking of destruction. He plans to
kill the majority of members from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. He also
intends to wage war on America to create his future. He may claim to be herald of a brighter
future but he is really a harbinger of death. By using ravens for symbolism, Guy Ritchie makes
sure to constantly remind the audience that death encroaches Sherlock and Watson. Ritchie was
also wise to have the ravens prevalent in the film because they are deeply important to the folklore
of London herself.

Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother:

Directed and written by Gene Wilder, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
is about, well, exactly what the title says. Sherlock has a younger brother Sigerson who is
constantly standing in his older brother's shadow. When an important document with vital
information to The Crown is stolen, Sherlock is not in good health and differs the case to his

brother. Eager to finally get the praise he deserves, Sigerson accepts the case. Armed with the
only the dishonest opera singer Jenny Hill and Sergeant Orville who has photogenic hearing and
his own dance skills; Sigerson must save the day.
Approximately seven minutes into the film, the audience finds themselves watching Orville
first enter Sigerson's home. When Orville knocks on the door he is met by a masked figure who
immediately grabs his shoe and hat and begins sniffing them. It is soon revealed that the figure is
Sigerson in a fencing mask. After Orville convinces Sigerson to let him in, Sigerson nonchalantly
tells him to hop on that bicycle seat, I won't be a minute (cite). The audience watches Orville's
eyes rise in surprise and it is soon revealed as to what is causing his incredulity. The bicycle seat
is actually a bike hooked up to a giant puppet and when the bike is peddled serves as a fencing
partner for Sigerson.
I chose up this prop to analyze because it sets the overall tone for the film; clever and
ridiculous. It takes someone smart to build that machine, but it also takes someone a little
eccentric. Clever, smart, ridiculous, eccentric; that is Sigerson in a nutshell. Throughout the film
Sigerson's schemes get more and more elaborate and this machine helps set this outrageous tone
up for the audience.
From a technical perspective, I believe the prop was probably built so a person could stand
inside it to make the mechanical arm appear to move on its own. The filmmakers were also sure to
choose a bike within the correct time period of the film to maintain verisimilitude. Additionally,
this prop instigates a high speed scene for the audience to loosen up and laugh at.

Iconic Props in Sherlock

What does it mean to be iconic? To start with the basics, Dictionary.com defines an icon as
"a picture, image, or other representation" (Dictionary.com). Therefore to be iconic you must

represent something as a whole, something bigger than yourself. For example, Elvis was the icon
of Rock and Roll. He stood for himself but stood for a type of music, a cultural movement, and a
generation. Similarly, a Bic Mac is an icon of McDonald's but it is also iconic of our fast food
culture. There are several iconic props in Sherlock adaptations. One such is the deerstalker.
Originally, the deer stalker was not part of the Sherlock Holmes repertoire. It is never mentioned
in the stories. It came about in the illustrations in the Strand Magazine (Haining 7). Yet it is a
quintessential Sherlock Holmes item now. If you see a deerstalker today, you think Sherlock
Holmes. Also,The famous detective is often seen smoking a curved pipe. Interestingly, in the
books it was a straight pipe. The curved pipe became famous in later adaptations. It is important
to note how both of these iconic items were not originally chose Doyle but added by fan culture.
Other iconic Sherlock Props include his magnifying glass and his violin.

Works Cited
Haining, Peter, ed. The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook: Fifty Years of Occasional Articles,
Newspaper Cuttings, Letters, Memoirs, Anecdotes, Pictures, Photographs and Drawings
Relating to the Great Detective. New York: Crown, 1974. Print.
"Icon." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother. Dir. Gene Wilder. Perf. Gene Wilder,
Madeline Kahn and Mary Feldan. Twentieth Century Fox, 1975. DVD.
"The Ravens." Historic Royal Palaces: Tower of London. Historic Royal Palaces, n.d. Web. 27
Apr. 2014.
Sherlock Holmes. Dir. Guy Ritchie. Perf. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Warner Brothers,
2009. DVD.
Strawn, Sandra J. "What Is a Prop?" THE PROPERTIES DIRECTORS HANDBOOK: PROPS
for the THEATRE. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.