The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes

Penniless detectives Flynn and McPherson travel to the Brussels World’s Fair disguised as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. With no money for train tickets, they board a night train on open tracks and are mistaken for the famous duo by the conductors. Inside the compartment, they begin an improvised investigation by questioning the neighboring passengers.

In the blank compartment, they interrogate Mary and Jane Berry, two seamstress sisters traveling to claim the inheritance of their wealthy, recently deceased uncle. Flynn and McPherson use the guise of Holmes and Watson to pry information from them. The interrogation ties the detectives to the sisters and the uncle’s estate.

The detectives check into the prestigious Hotel Palace in Brussels. In the luggage left behind by the fleeing passengers, they discover hidden compartments containing large sums of money in three currencies and encrypted plans. The find marks a turning point in their investigation.

A criminal couple, Madame Ganymare and Monsieur Lapin, also staying at the hotel, attempt to retrieve the money and plans. They break into Flynn and McPherson’s room but find only a receipt from a costume rental shop, and threaten to expose the detectives unless the receipt is exchanged for the valuables.

News of 'Sherlock Holmes' spreads, and the police summon the duo to help solve a baffling case. Four Mauritius stamps were stolen from the World’s Fair and replaced with forgeries, with a ransom note demanding 600,000 francs. The deceased Uncle Berry had suggested lending the stamps to the exhibition.

The detectives visit Uncle Berry’s estate, where the executor reports that 200,000 francs in cash are missing. Holmes deduces that Berry orchestrated the theft, paid the criminals with the missing cash, and had forged the stamps himself. He also ran a secret counterfeiting workshop in the castle; when he tried to back out, the gang sent a threatening letter, and Berry died of heart failure.

The detectives trace the gang’s hideout to a Brussels pawnshop, thanks to the threatening letter. But upon returning to Brussels, they discover they are now wanted by the police. The web of deception tightens as their identities are questioned.

Holmes uses one of the wanted posters to infiltrate the gang, pretending he wants to join them. Lapin turns out to be the gang leader, and Flynn and McPherson are captured. Holmes stages a confrontation and steals Lapin’s pocket watch to disrupt the gang’s plans.

The duo is locked in a coal cellar, where they barricade themselves to survive. Lapin orders the door to be rammed open, but Mary Berry alerts the police, who arrive and arrest the entire gang. The danger peaks as the criminals close in.

Flynn and McPherson are put on trial for impersonation and fraud, accused of deceiving the police and the World’s Fair director. They defend themselves by arguing they never explicitly said they were Holmes and Watson, and that their actions ultimately aided justice.

The defendants emphasize their contributions: exposing the counterfeiting ring, solving three international bank robberies, returning the stolen money, handing over the decoded plans, and recovering the stamps. The stamps are found hidden in Lapin’s pocket watch through expert analysis.

A stamp expert confirms the four Mauritius stamps are genuine, complicating the charge once tied to their replacement with forgeries. The defense hinges on the remaining charge of identity theft, which remains under consideration. The courtroom braces for the final verdict.

Arthur Conan Doyle reveals himself in the courtroom, amused by the affair. He declares that Holmes and Watson are fictional and retroactively grants Flynn and McPherson permission to use their names—on the condition that he may write a book about them titled The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes.

The trial is dismissed to thunderous applause. Flynn kisses Mary, and McPherson kisses Jane, marking a joyous and cinematic conclusion to the confounding events. The detectives’ staged personas are now officially sanctioned in name only, as Doyle’s book deal looms.