Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes

This is a reference book about the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films made between 1939 and 1946, starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. The book includes the films in order of release years, directorial credits, numerous photographs (including film posters), complete cast lists, and a story synopsis for each film.

My own introduction to Sherlock Holmes films-the Basil Rathbone ones-began as a small boy, viewing them on television with my father, who had himself seen them all as a boy or very young adult. Rathbone's portrayal of Holmes seems to me the most accurate, in the regard of following the way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the character, and each of the fourteen films he made playing Holmes have many charming characters and great dialogue. Most of the stories have some elements of Doyle's written works; even the updating where Holmes fights the Nazis, for example, is still great entertainment.

A series of fourteen films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories was released between 1939 and 1946; the first two films in the series were produced by 20th Century Fox, and the latter dozen by Universal.