The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)
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| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | |
|---|---|
 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Alfred L. Werker |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by | Arthur Conan Doyle (characters) William Gillette (play Sherlock Holmes) |
| Starring | Basil Rathbone Nigel Bruce Ida Lupino |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 1939 |
| Running time | 85 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 film featuring the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second film to feature Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, following their debut together in The Hound of the Baskervilles. George Zucco appeared as Holmes's nemesis Professor Moriarty.
It is arguably one of the better movies in the series, with a good cast, and a baffling mystery featuring South American gauchos, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and the Crown Jewels. The story was based on the stage play by William Gillette.
In Britain, the film was originally released under the shorter title Sherlock Holmes.
This was the second and final Sherlock Holmes film made by Rathbone and Bruce for Twentieth Century Fox. The characters were revived in 1942 by Universal for a series of fourteen second features.
[edit] Trivia
- The quote "Elementary, my dear Watson" was made popular by this film. Although it was spoken in a poor 1929 talkie The Return of Sherlock Holmes, starring Clive Brook, it was never featured in a canonical Arthur Conan Doyle, although once Holmes said, in "The Adventure of the Crooked Man", "Elementary". The quote "Elementary, my dear Watson" was ranked No. 65 in the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes poll.
- There is a famous scene where Holmes gatecrashes the garden party dressed as a music hall performer, and sings "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside". This is an anachronism, since the film is set in 1894 but the song was written in 1907!
- The original stage play on which the movie version is based famously featured a very young Charlie Chaplin in one of his very first acting roles. He played the character of Billy, who in this movie is played by Terry Kilburn.
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Basil Rathbone | Sherlock Holmes |
| Nigel Bruce | Doctor John H. Watson |
| Ida Lupino | Ann Brandon |
| George Zucco | Professor Moriarty |
| Alan Marshal | Jerrold Hunter |
| Terry Kilburn | Billy |
