Justin Playfair was once a respected judge – until the loss of his wife threw him off track and from then on he thought he was Sherlock Holmes. When his brother wants to have him incapacitated, psychiatrist Dr. Mildred Watson is assigned to the case. But instead of a quick diagnosis, Watson begins an adventurous search for clues across New York, in which reality, imagination and real danger become increasingly intertwined. »The Upside-Down Sherlock Holmes« is one of the most charming eccentric films of the early 70s. Anthony Harvey stages the story with wit, melancholy and a sense of urban poetry, while George C. Scott gives the supposed Holmes dignity, vulnerability and brilliant stubbornness at the same time. Joanne Woodward as Dr. Watson forms the perfect counterbalance. An endearingly quirky, atmospherically dense film between detective game, love story and New York fairy tale.