The President We're gonna be with us. As our story begins, the riders of the king's pylon training stables test the metal of their racehorses over the open

countryside of Dartmoor. But from a distance, a mysterious onlooker surveys the activity

through a pair of old binoculars. His eye, fixed on the majestic steed by the name of Silver Blaze.

Silver Blaze was one of the initial stories that both producer Michael Cox and developer John Hawksworth had been eager to adapt. However, it was put aside numerous times for various

reasons, and in his book, a study in cell numerous times for various reasons.

And in his book, A Study in Celluloid, Michael Cox explained.

John Hawksworth and I agreed that Silver Blaze presented problems, and we fought shy of it

for two or three years.

But eventually, John thought he could solve the problems. Too late,

I realized that he was thinking of one set of problems, and I was thinking of another. My concern

was the cost. In It's a Print, Detective Fiction from page to screen, Cox expounded. To Conan Doyle, the most exotic location, the biggest crowd scene, adds not a penny to the cost of ink and paper, but in a film, it's a major consideration.

The horse race at the end, for instance, is not a necessary part of the story, but try to stop a director from showing it.

He will say, that is a natural climax.

When the horse has been returned, when the mystery has been solved, you expect to see the

horse win the race.

And of course, he's right.

There is an audience expectation there.

In theory, the mystery would be just as compelling a mystery

without the race, and it would be much more economical to do. Nevertheless, we went ahead

and made a mental note that we would have to economize later. But we'll come back to that

in a bit.

Back at Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes has received an invitation to Kings Pylund.

...