Little-known on-screen incarnations of Sherlock Holmes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Sherlock Holmes in cinema is not only Vasily Livanov and Benedict Cumberbatch. Lifehacker chose the most interesting and unusual film adaptations of books about the famous detective.

Disputes about which film or TV series can be called the best adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books about Sherlock Holmes are most often limited to two options: the Soviet film adaptation with Vasily Livanov or the Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch. However, there are already about a hundred films about the adventures of the great detective in the world, and their number is growing every year.

A new wave of popularity in the 21st century was raised by the full-length films of Guy Ritchie with Robert Downey Jr. and the already mentioned BBC series. After that, in Russia they began to hastily shoot a new television version, and in the USA they released their own version of the modern Sherlock called "Elementary".

For those who have already watched all of the above, Leichfacker recommends the most interesting screen adaptations of stories about the famous detective.

Classic Sherlock Holmes

First detective

The painting "Puzzled Sherlock Holmes" appeared in 1900. The timing was very short - less than a minute, since it was intended for viewing on a mutoscope (a device in which the viewer manually scrolls frames printed on separate cards). But Sherlock Holmes's name in the title makes this movie the first detective in history.

Basil Rathbone - Sherlock Holmes vs. the Nazis

The first truly famous film adaptation of Conan Doyle's books was the American film series, which began with The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1939. The main role was played by the Englishman Basil Rathbone. The filmmakers planned to shoot only one picture, but the deafening popularity forced them to continue filming. As a result, 14 feature films were released.

But if the first plots were quite close to the original source, then the authors later changed the detective story to spy games, turning Sherlock Holmes into a kind of James Bond. The reason is clear enough: the films were released at the height of the Second World War, the authors wanted to support anti-fascist sentiments.

Therefore, for example, in the film "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Horror" the heroes are looking for a place from where frightening messages about sabotage and explosions are broadcast on the radio. The plot contains references to the book "His Farewell Bow", but this film is much more connected with the real events of the 40s, when the "Voice of Horror" was broadcast in London.

Doctor Watson in this episode was played by the Englishman Nigel Bruce, but his character turned out to be quite comical: he often finds himself in ridiculous and dangerous situations, and Sherlock, of course, saves him.

Jeremy Brett - 100% Conan Doyle

If you want to see the most classic and closest to the original Sherlock Holmes, then you need to look in the UK. The series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" aired on British television for 10 years. A total of 41 episodes were released, with each episode based on one specific work by Conan Doyle with only minor changes.

The main role went to the Englishman Jeremy Brett. Ironically, he believed that he was completely unsuitable for this role, considering himself an actor of a romantic and heroic role. However, although he was significantly older than his literary prototype, his Sherlock turned out to be the closest to the original. Brett played Sherlock almost until his death. The last season was released in 1994, and a year later the actor was gone.

During the history of the series, Watson changed not only the appearance, but also the behavior of the character (he became calmer and wiser), nevertheless, he remained a real Watson from the books.

Sherlock Holmes in the USSR

Of course, speaking about Russian film adaptations of books about Sherlock Holmes, first of all, everyone recalls the classic films of Igor Maslennikov with Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin.

However, the history of Sherlock in the USSR began much earlier - in 1971. Then the film "The Dog of the Baskervilles" was released, where the detective was played by Nikolai Volkov. This picture is not very well known, because a few years later the film was banned from showing due to the emigration of the actor Lev Krugly, who played Watson. The only copy was found already in 2003, after which the film was shown on television for the first time in many years.

There was also a comedy version in the USSR - the musical film "Blue Carbuncle". The plot of the picture as a whole repeats the work of the same name by Conan Doyle, but presents all the events as a parody of a detective story under the wonderful songs of Julia Kim.

In 1986, in the wake of the success of Maslennikov's films, a very experimental "feminized" version appeared called "My dearly beloved detective", where the main roles of Shirley Holmes and Jane Watson were played by Yekaterina Vasilyeva and Galina Shchepetnova.

In the story, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are fictional characters. However, the employees of a private detective agency with names very similar to their idols are in no way inferior to them in intelligence and undertake the investigation of the most difficult cases, using not only deduction, but also a purely feminine charm.

Comedic Sherlock

A separate point worth noting is various comedies and parodies. Like many classics, Arthur Conan Doyle's books have appeared on screens in a humorous manner more than once.

It all started with the genius of silent comedies Buster Keaton and the movie "Sherlock Jr." Here Sherlock turns out to be not a real detective, but just a figment of the imagination of a projectionist who adores stories about a detective. He is falsely accused of stealing a watch, and later in a dream he imagines himself in the place of Sherlock Holmes, deciding this case.

The idea of the fake Holmes will continue to be played up more than once in the cinema. For example, in The Adventures of the Dodgy Brother Sherlock Holmes, the detective's younger brother investigates the case. Here he is played by the famous comedian Gene Wilder, best known for his role as Willie Wonka in the classic film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But the most popular Sherlock Holmes comedy was the 1988 film No Evidence. According to the plot, in fact, all the crimes are investigated by Dr. Watson himself (Ben Kingsley), but he cannot admit this, since such a hobby will not be approved by the college of doctors. He hires an unlucky actor (Michael Caine) and announces him as the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Needless to say, this Sherlock has no idea about any deduction, he regularly gets into comical situations because of his own stupidity and clumsiness.

Replenishment of the comedy regiment is expected next year. Director Ethan Cohen (namesake of the Coen brothers) is filming a film about a detective starring Will Ferrell. Plot details are still unknown, but an impressive cast has already been announced. Ferrell will be accompanied by John C. Riley (Dr. Watson), Hugh Laurie (Mycroft Holmes) and Rafe Fiennes (Professor Moriarty).

Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper

It is quite expected that sooner or later Sherlock Holmes on the screen had to face one of the most famous criminals of the 19th century - Jack the Ripper. Given that the one who is called the first serial killer in history has not been found, the fantasy of directors and screenwriters is not limited.

In the film "Murder by Order", where the famous Christopher Plummer played the main role, the authors very ingeniously combined the canon image of a detective from the books and real events that took place in London. Sherlock Holmes, who is asked to capture the Ripper, faces obstacles from the authorities. The investigation brings him to the highest circles of society.

Sherlock Holmes in the animal world

The famous Japanese cartoonist Hayao Miyazaki created another completely unexpected variation in 1984. In the anime "The Great Detective Holmes" all the characters become dogs of different breeds. Everything that happens looks cute and funny, but a significant part of the stories directly refers to the original works.

And for the little ones there is also a full-length cartoon from the series "Tom and Jerry", where the cat and the mouse first help the detectives to find the criminal, and then they themselves undertake the investigation.

Bohemian Sherlock

They tried to represent the detective in a more noir vein in the film "Sherlock Holmes and the Silk Stocking Case." Here the emphasis is placed more on the visual and atmospheric component than on the detective story. Rupert Everett in the title role is a clear confirmation of this. His Sherlock follows fashion, uses drugs and is very offended by his close friend, because he decided to get married. But a new case turns up - one after another they kill the ladies from high society, and the heroes again take up the investigation. The atmosphere of mystery and almost mysticism is set off by the constant London fog.

Aged detective

The age of Sherlock Holmes has always been one of the main problems in most film adaptations. The detective, who was not yet 30 in the first books, was most often played by actors already over 40.

But two versions can be distinguished separately, where Holmes is shown not only as mature, but as old. In the series "Sherlock Holmes: The Golden Years" he is played by Christopher Lee, who at that time was about 70 years old. These paintings are a very loose interpretation of various works about Holmes. Despite his age, in the first film, the detective is still fascinated by the opera singer Irene Adler. As with Jack the Ripper, the plot is woven into real life events. Sigmund Freud and Theodore Roosevelt appear in the films.

Christopher Lee, and before that, has repeatedly starred in films about Sherlock in completely different roles, playing either the detective himself, then his brother, then Sir Henry Baskerville.

Ian McKellen plays the detective in Mr. Holmes, based on Mitch Cullin's novel Mr. Holmes's Bees. The main character is already 93 years old. He retired a long time ago and is mainly engaged only in his beloved apiary. John Watson, Brother Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson are long dead.

Sherlock decides to write the story himself, largely in order to destroy the beautiful but artificial image that Dr. Watson once created in his works. Sherlock writes about his very last case, which made him leave the profession. But the most difficult thing for him is the struggle with his own memory.