THE NEXT SHERLOCK HOLMES: Russel Crowe
He is the greatest detective of all times, albeit a fictional one. Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his numerous cases and adventures have been the subject of films (for nine decades), TV serials and on radios in many languages.
Over a 100 films have been made on Sherlock Holmes, the famed resident of Bakers Street, London. Now, a new version is being planned with the Hollywood star Russell Crowe in the title role.
Many great actors and stars of England and Hollywood have played Sherlock Holmes on the screen and the roster includes the legendary John Barrymore, William Gillette, Ellie Norwood, Clive Brook, Raymond Massey, Reginald Owen, Arthur Wontner, and Basil Rathbone (the most famous Holmes of them all).
John Barrymore was a stage star before he joined films during the silent period. Noted for his lead role in Shakespeare's `Hamlet,' Barrymore played the detective in the silent film, `Sherlock Holmes' (1922), produced by Samuel Goldwyn under the banner of Goldwyn Pictures.
The film was adapted from the well known play by William Gillette who had the blessings of Sir Arthur in dramatising his tales. Gillette also played the great detective on stage successfully. Later he played the role on screen too.
The film was a success and Barrymore gave Holmes' character a touch of class. But his involvement in theatre was too absorbing for him to continue acting in films.
Ellie Norwood's contribution to Holmes movies is impressive but sadly he is forgotten today. He was a British stage actor and within a span of a mere two years, 1921- 1923, he played Holmes in as many as 47 movies, a record to this day. However, most of them were not of the standard feature film length. Norwood was 60 when he played the role first and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was most pleased with his portrayal. He said, "Norwood has that rare quality which can only be described as glamour which compels you to watch an actor even when he is doing nothing His wonderful impersonation of Holmes has amazed me."
The actor who played Holmes for the first time in a talkie was British star Clive Brook. Produced by Paramount, `The Return of Sherlock Holmes' was directed by Basil Dean in 1929..
The next famed Holmes was the Canada-born actor Raymond Massey. The film was `The Speckled Band' (1931), considered as one of the most intriguing and exotic of all Holmes tales.
Reginald Owen was the next Holmes on screen. The film was `A Study In Scarlet' (1933 ). Besides acting, he also wrote the dialogue and scenario. As it often happens in Hollywood, only the title of the book was used and the story was something else! It was built around a lonely mansion where people are murdered one by one.
Hailed by critics
The actor who was hailed by critics and audiences as the best impersonator of Sherlock Holmes was British actor Arthur Wontner. He played the hero in five films. His piercing eyes and prominent nose contributed a lot to his success, apart from his soft portrayal of the detective. He was already 50 when he did the role.
Wontner played on stage another famed detective, Sexton Blake, and many felt that he bore a striking resemblance to the famed drawings of Holmes by the famous illustrator, Paget, in the The Strand magazine in which the Holmes stories first appeared in print. All the five films were made in England at the Twickenham Studios. The most famous of the five was `The Sign of Four' ( 1932).
Then came Basil Rathbone, who is best remembered as Sherlock Holmes. Born in 1892 in Johannesburg, Africa, Rathbone made a mark on stage and then went into films. His first brush with crime films was when he played the famed American detective, Philo Vance, in `The Bishop Murder Case' (1930 ). According to Hollywood grapevine the Twentieth Century Fox boss and legendary movie mogul, Darryl F. Zanuck, met an actor at a party standing next to him and exclaimed that he would make the perfect Holmes. The actor was Basil Rathbone.
Box office hit
Rathbone was introduced as Holmes in `The Hound of Baskervilles' (1939). Produced for Fox by Darryl Zanuck and directed by Sydney Lanfield it had the portly Nigel Bruce as Dr.Watson, considered as the best in that role till today. He made the role comical and proved a prefect foil for Rathbone.
The film was a tremendous success at the box office and with critics. The film was re-released in 1975 and proved to be a success once more. It is today hailed as a classic of crime cinema genre.
Inspired by such success Rathbone was cast as Holmes in a series of films. The list includes `The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' (1939), `Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror' (1942), `Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon' (1943), `Sherlock Holmes in Washington' (1943, the detective's first adventure in America! Based on a story never thought of by Sir Arthur!), `Sherlock Holmes Faces Death' (1943), `Spider Woman' (1944) and finally in 1946, `Dressed to Kill.'
Rathbone played Holmes in 14 films. To Holmes buffs, Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes and autograph-hunters addressed him as such. With the last film in which Holmes died, he bade goodbye to that role.
But Sherlock Holmes did not die in the hearts of his fans.
In 1959 the Holmes movies were revived with Peter Cushing playing the detective in `The Hound of Baskervilles.' The novel underwent changes but the film was a success.
Holmes films were made in Germany and Holland with equal success. The celebrated Hollywood filmmaker Billy Wilder made `The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' (1970). Wilder known for his humour, made the film in his inimitable style but the film was not a success.
`The Hound of Baskervilles' inspired the hit Hindi film `Bees Saal Baad.' Sir Arthur passed away many decades ago, but his creation, Sherlock Holmes, remains immortal. He stays alive in films, TV and in the minds of his fans.
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