Sherlock Holmes (1951 TV series)


Sherlock Holmes was a 1951 television series produced by the BBC featuring Alan Wheatley as Sherlock Holmes, Raymond Francis as Dr. Watson and Eric Maturin as Colonel Moran. This was the first series of Sherlock Holmes stories adapted for television.

Production

Some sources state that a BBC filmed adaptation of "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" starring Andrew Osborn as Holmes and Philip King as Watson was a pilot episode for the series while others claim the "Mazarin Stone" adaptation was a separate thing entirely and was filmed for the Festival of Britain.
Series star Alan Wheatley claimed that the genesis of the series resided with a review of his performance in a television adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's Rope.
C. A. Lejeune did indeed pen the scripts, writing all six episodes. Lejeune claimed the series strived for accuracy claiming "We have tried, as loyally as we can, to preserve the spirit and the high spirits of the original stories."
In an interview for Radio Times, Lejeune stated "we picked the stories that seemed likely to give a variety of subject, while rounding out the portrait of the man..."
Each 35-minute episode was aired live and consequently no tapes exist of the series to date. Live television had its pitfalls of which Wheatley later complained.
Co-stars for the series included Sebastian Cabot, Eric Maturin, Henry Oscar, and Bill Owen as Inspector Lestrade.

Cast

Reception

The 23 October 1951 issue of The Times said "The performance was done in a proper spirit of seriousness. Mr Alan Wheatley, though rather younger and fuller in the face than the Holmes of his opponents' nightmares, yet catches the essential character."