Inspector Lestrade: the sides of the same coin

In Detective stories of Conan Doyle, Inspector Lestrade plays a key role, embodying the British law enforcement system. Only in one of his stories did the writer replace Alec MacDonald.

Classics of the genre

From the chapter to the chapter the policeman grows more and more new epithets. Thus, in the Study in Scarlet Tones, the author describes him as a man of lean physique, of small stature with an unhealthy complexion. Moreover, he compares the employee with the urban rat, blinking black bead-eyes. Later, Inspector Lestrade appears before the readers in the form of an anxious person, reminiscent of a frightened ferret.

As for the policeman himself, he considers himself a true professional of his business and a connoisseur of the criminal world. In other words, a seasoned warrior. At the very beginning of the story about the adventures of the great detective, he makes pathetic attempts to play a trick on the personality of Sherlock Holmes, questioning his methods of conducting investigations.

Later, Inspector Lestrade forced to recognize the correctness of the detective and his extraordinary mind. Conan Doyle often draws attention to the fact that in the hands of the chief of police are concentrated all the "strings" that lead to a solution, but he again and again finds himself unable to reveal the next case. This moment is most vividly demonstrated in the story "The Noble Bachelor".

Soviet cinema

The film "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" was shot for several years. The first series of telenovela was published in 1980. Inspector Lestrade was played by Borislav Brondukov. According to the scenario, this character had a pronounced cheerful and funny character.

It was not so easy to find a suitable actor. Most Soviet comedians had too Russian character. The director needed the original English charisma. Only in the game Brondukova harmoniously combined refined irony and deliberate stiffness.

The problem of pronunciation was decided by a professional dubbing performed by Igor Yefimov. He managed to convey only one timbre of his voice to that storm of emotions, which no-no, and seized the detective of Scotland Yard. By the way, in the film he voiced not only this character, but also other participants in detective events.

Modern interpretation

In the BBC Sherlock series, Inspector Lestrade acquired a completely different look. From the first shots, he does his utmost to show his respect to the detective. The creators of the series abandoned the comic features traditionally attributed to the criminalist. That's why the role was entrusted to a serious and experienced performer, the Englishman Rupert Graves.

From the episode in the episode, the detective calls for help from Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Unlike his prototype, he not only has the courage to swim against the current, but refuses to obey the representatives of the British government. Periodically, writers allow Lestrade to pull out an active detective-sociopath from a variety of troubles.

In the television version, Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Lestrade, although they are on opposite sides of the barricades, nevertheless act together, recalling one coherent team. However, the way of thinking of the employee still irritates the king of deduction. Speaking about the family situation of the inspector, it should be clarified that he is divorced.

Rupert Graves about Lestrade

As expected, in the fourth season of the epic about Sherlock Holmes, Lestrade was given a special role. He ceased to be an ordinary cop, who now and then gets confused under the feet of a genius. He became a friend and a faithful comrade detective from Baker Street.

According to Rupert Graves, Sherlock never sought to assert himself at the expense of the policeman. Holmes was too gifted to parade his intellect against a rather mediocre persona.

The actor believes that Lestrade never wanted to be like Sherlock. At the same time, the inspector was very zealous about the fact that an outsider came to perform his work much better than himself.

In the series, Graves played not only the modern image of the detective, but also his Victorian version. According to Rupert, this was an unforgettable experience. After all, he had to realize not just Lestrade of the last century, but the way the advising detective saw him.

View from the inside

It is noteworthy that throughout the series Sherlock Holmes could not remember how the name of the inspector Lestrade. He always confused the name of the criminalist, which insulted him unspeakably.

The character shown to the audience turned out to be a successful combination of two persons from literary stories named Lestrade and Gregson. With this moment, perhaps, and is connected with the amazing fact that Sherlock, having a phenomenal memory, all the time distorts the name of the representative of Scotland Yard.

In the original story of Conan Doyle, the name of the inspector is not mentioned. The writer designated it only the letter G. Nevertheless, in a well-known adaptation of the film, Dr. Watson calls Lestrade Greg, than Holmes is unspeakably surprised.