The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It

The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It
Cover of the DVD release
Directed by	Joseph McGrath
Produced by	Humphrey Barclay
Written by	John Cleese Jack Hobbs Joseph McGrath
Starring	John Cleese Arthur Lowe Ron Moody Connie Booth
Music by	Ivor Slaney
Cinematography	Ken Higgins
Edited by	Rusty Coppleman
Distributed by	Independent Television (ITV)
Release date	1979
Running time	55 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It is a 1977 comedy starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in general.

The film begins aboard a luxury aircraft as Dr. Gropinger (Ron Moody) (an obvious parody of Henry Kissinger) travels on a goodwill tour. He misplaces his diary and is thrown into a panic as, without the diary, he no longer knows where he is or is supposed to be next. Stepping off the plane, he is shot dead after extending greetings in Hebrew to a congregation of Arabs. Soon after, the U.S. President (Joss Ackland in a caricature of Gerald Ford) receives a threatening letter signed only "Moriarty", claiming responsibility for the death. The letter also claims Moriarty has set in motion a plan that will allow him to gain control of the world. The president dispatches a top agent to London to work with the world's top law enforcement officials and find a strategy to combat Moriarty.

Headed by an incompetent Englishman (Denholm Elliott), the committee settles on contacting the "present-day" Sherlock Holmes (John Cleese). He is enrolled by the Commissioner of Police (Stratford Johns) to lay plans for the capture of the descendant of Moriarty before he gains control of the world. Holmes reveals himself to be a great eccentric, with an affinity for certain addictive drugs (a nod to the literary Sherlock Holmes' experience with cocaine). He is accompanied by the descendant of Dr. Watson (Arthur Lowe), both a medical doctor and utter fool. Unfortunately, the commissioner is murdered before leaving the Holmes residence, his death mainly the result of Watson's rampant stupidity.