The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection

A series of fourteen films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories was released between 1939 and 1946; the British actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. The first two films in the series were produced by 20th Century Fox and released in 1939. The studio stopped making the films after these, but Universal Pictures acquired the rights from the Doyle estate and produced a further twelve films. Although the films from 20th Century Fox had large budgets, high production values, and were set in the Victorian era, Universal updated the films to the contemporary era of the Second World War, and produced them as B pictures with lower budgets. Both Rathbone and Bruce continued their roles when the series changed studios, as did Mary Gordon, who played the recurring character, Mrs. Hudson.

Dressed to Kill

Terror by Night

Pursuit to Algiers

The Woman in Green

The House of Fear

The Pearl of Death

The Scarlet Claw

The Spider Woman

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Hound of the Baskervilles