Sherlock Holmes (1965 TV series)

Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (a.k.a. The Cases of Sherlock Holmes) are two British series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations for television produced by the BBC in 1965 and 1968 respectively.[1] The 1965 production, which followed a pilot the year before, was the second BBC series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, after one starring Alan Wheatley in 1951.[2]

Sherlock Holmes
StarringDouglas Wilmer (1964-65)
Peter Cushing (1968)
Nigel Stock
ComposersMax Harris (1965)
Alan Fogg (1968)
No. of series2
No. of episodes29 Episode list
Production
ProducersDavid Goddard (1964-65)
William Sterling (1968)
Running time50 minutes
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release1965 (1965) –
1968 (1968)

Plot

Set in the Victorian era, Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant consultant detective, as well as a private detective. He is consulted by the police and by other private detectives to aid them in solving crimes. He also takes private cases himself, and his clients range from paupers to kings. His deductive abilities and encyclopedic knowledge help him solve the most complex cases. He is assisted in his work by military veteran, Dr. John Watson, with whom he shares a flat at 221b Baker Street.

Cast

Recurring

Guest stars

Production

Development

In 1964, the BBC secured rights to adapt any five Sherlock Holmes stories with an option for a further eight[12] from the Doyle estate.[12] A handful of Doyle's stories were excluded from the deal: The Hound of the Baskervilles because Hammer Films' rights would not expire until 1965[12] following their 1959 film adaptation,[12] and "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Final Problem" and "The Adventure of the Empty House" which had been secured by producers of the Broadway musical Baker Street.[12]

In 1964, an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" was commissioned as a pilot for a twelve part series of Sherlock Holmes stories.[13][3] Giles Cooper wrote the adaptation and Douglas Wilmer was cast as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson, with Felix Felton as Dr. Grimesby Roylott.[3]

The hour-long pilot was aired as an episode of the BBC anthology series Detective[2][14] on 18 May[3] and was popular enough to re-air on 25 September[3] this time under the banner of Encore which was a BBC2 repeat slot.[2]

Wilmer and Stock were secured for a twelve part series (in black-and-white) to air the following year. Wilmer was a lifelong fan of Doyle's stories[3] and looked forward to portraying the legendary sleuth.

The part interested me very much because I’d never really, I felt, seen it performed to its full capacity. There’s a very dark side to Holmes, and a very unpleasant side to him. And I felt that this was always skirted round which made him appear rather sort of hockey sticks and cricket bats and jolly uncles… a kind of dashing Victorian hero. He wasn’t like that at all. He was rather sardonic and arrogant, and he could be totally inconsiderate towards Watson. I tried to show both sides of his nature.[15]

Wilmer responded to criticism of his portrayal by pointing out that he played the character as written.

People complained that I wasn't sympathetic but I didn't set out to be. I don't regard Holmes as a sympathetic character at all. It would have been hell to share rooms with him."[14]

Once the series was underway, new opening and closing titles of The Speckled Band were recorded to better match the ongoing series so the pilot episode could be included in a package to be sold abroad.[2] It has been reported that having viewed 25 September repeat of The Speckled Band, Wilmer came to the conclusion that his performance of Holmes was "too smooth, urbane, and civilised"[16] and as filming progressed Wilmer altered his performance to reflect "a much more primitive person, more savage and ruthless."[16] Wilmer himself disputed this in a 2009 interview.

I don’t remember saying that, no. I wonder where you read that! Certainly we had the finest director on that first one, a very good director. I have seen those two recently because I thought I’d better look at them again before writing the book. I don’t remember being unhappy with my performance in the first one; looking at it this time, I thought it was rather better.[15]

At the time, due to strict agreements with the talent unions, BBC drama productions could generally only be repeated once within two years of the first transmission, and thus all twelve episodes were re-run over the late summer and early autumn of 1966,[17] albeit in a different running order. The continued favourable reception led the BBC to proceed with the option of a second series.[17]

Hiatus and changing lead

In the late summer and early autumn of 1966, the Wilmer series was granted a repeat run and the success of the run convinced the BBC to take up an option on a second run of episodes.[17] BBC television drama chief Andrew Osborn reached out to Wilmer's agent about potential availability for a second series.[17] Wilmer declined the invitation after discovering the plan to reduce the number of rehearsal days.[15][18] Wilmer later stated that the series was "fraught with difficulty",[14] riddled with incompetence[15] and the scripts often came in late.[15] He claimed that the scriptwriters ranged from "the brilliant to the absolutely deplorable".[14] Some of the scripts were so lacking in quality that Wilmer himself rewrote them,[15] sometimes staying up until two o'clock in the morning rewriting.[14] Years later, Wilmer would briefly return to the role (albeit in a supporting role) in Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, with Thorley Walters as Dr. Watson.

The BBC searched for a new actor to play Holmes. The first person Osborn suggested was John Neville.[18] Neville had previously assayed the role in A Study in Terror (1965) and Nigel Stock felt the film was quite good.[18] Neville had prior commitments to the Nottingham Playhouse and was unable to appear in a series at the time.[17]

Next, Osborn looked at Eric Porter.[18] While Porter ultimately did not get the role, he did portray Professor Moriarty opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes in Granada Television's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.[18]

While the hunt continued for a new Sherlock Holmes, William Sterling was appointed to produce the second series.[17] Sterling created a wish list of "International Guest Stars" to appear on the programme[19] including Raymond Massey (an early interpreter of Holmes in the 1931 version of The Speckled Band)[19] as Jefferson Hope in A Study in Scarlet,[19] George Sanders as Mycroft Holmes in The Greek Interpreter,[19] Leo McKern (who later portrayed Professor Moriarty in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother)[20] as Black Gorgiano in The Red Circle[19] and Hayley Mills as Alice Turner in The Boscombe Valley Mystery.[19] None of which came to pass as the budgets would not allow for it.[19]

Finally, Peter Cushing was approached to take over the role of Sherlock Holmes for the 1968 series.[3][18] Having already played Holmes in the Hammer films adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Cushing was eager to play the role again. Like Wilmer, Cushing was an avid fan of Doyle[3] and looked forward to portraying the detective correctly.

What are the things that spring to mind about Sherlock Holmes? The way he keeps saying, "Elementary, my dear Watson," and the number of times he puffs that meerschaum pipe. But they are both untrue![21]

Unlike the Wilmer episodes, this series was produced in colour.[18] Economic cut-backs required the production to abandon plans for celebrity villains such as Peter Ustinov, George Sanders, and Orson Welles.[3][22]

The initial plan was for 90% of the programme to be shot on film on location.[23] Production began with a two-part version of The Hound of the Baskervilles giving Cushing another go round at the tale.[3] This version was the first actually filmed on Dartmoor[3] and the cost ran £13,000 over budget[23] causing the BBC to scale back their intentions and the bulk of the remainder of the series was shot on studio sets.[23]

As filming continued Cushing found himself facing production difficulties[3] the likes of which had prompted Wilmer to forgo another round. Wilmer later asked Cushing how he had enjoyed making the series:

I asked him how he had enjoyed doing the Holmes series. He replied tersely to the effect that he would rather sweep Paddington Station for a living than go through the experience again. He had my sympathies![24][15][25]

Filming time was cut back.[3] Cushing stated that the hectic schedule affected his performance.

Whenever I see some of those stories they upset me terribly, because it wasn't Peter Cushing doing his best as Sherlock Holmes - it was Peter Cushing looking relieved that he had remembered what to say and said it![3]

Twelve of the Cushing episodes[26] were repeated between July and September 1970, again in a different running order.

Episodes

As it was standard practice at the time for the BBC to wipe tapes and reuse them,[27] of the Cushing series only six episodes are known to exist.[27] The Wilmer series was more fortunate with all but two episodes complete.[28]

Detective (1964)
No Series Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
001 00 1 "The Speckled Band" Giles Cooper Robin Midgley 18 May 1964 (episode of Detective) Survives

Sherlock Holmes (1965)
No Series Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
002 01 1 "The Illustrious Client" Giles Cooper Peter Sasdy 20 February 1965 Survives
003 01 2 "The Devil's Foot" Giles Cooper Max Varnel 27 February 1965 Survives
004 01 3 "The Copper Beeches" Vincent Tilsley Gareth Davies 6 March 1965 Survives
005 01 4 "The Red-Headed League" Anthony Read Peter Duguid 13 March 1965 Survives
006 01 5 "The Abbey Grange" Clifford Witting Peter Cregeen 20 March 1965 First half of
episode missing
007 01 6 "The Six Napoleons" Giles Cooper Gareth Davies 27 March 1965 Survives
008 01 7 "The Man with the Twisted Lip" Jan Read Eric Tayler 3 April 1965 Survives
009 01 8 "The Beryl Coronet" Nicholas Palmer Max Varnel 10 April 1965 Survives
010 01 9 "The Bruce-Partington Plans" Giles Cooper Shaun Sutton 17 April 1965 Second half of
episode missing.
Full soundtrack exists
011 01 10 "Charles Augustus Milverton" Clifford Witting Philip Dudley 24 April 1965 Survives
012 01 11 "The Retired Colourman" Jan Read Michael Hayes 1 May 1965 Survives
013 01 12 "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" Vincent Tilsley Shaun Sutton 8 May 1965 Survives

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (1968)
No Series Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
014 02 1 "The Second Stain" Jennifer Stuart Henri Safran 9 September 1968
(brought forward from
16 September 1968)		 Missing
015 02 2 "The Dancing Men" Mollie and Michael Hardwick William Sterling 16 September 1968 Missing
016 02 3 "A Study in Scarlet" Hugh Leonard Henri Safran 23 September 1968 Survives
017 02 4 "The Hound of the Baskervilles
(part 1)"		 Hugh Leonard Graham Evans 30 September 1968 Survives
018 02 5 "The Hound of the Baskervilles
(part 2)"		 Hugh Leonard Graham Evans 7 October 1968 Survives
019 02 6 "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" Bruce Stewart Viktors Ritelis 14 October 1968 Survives
020 02 7 "The Greek Interpreter" John Gould David Saire 21 October 1968 Missing
021 02 8 "The Naval Treaty" John Gould Antony Kearey 28 October 1968 Missing
022 02 9 "Thor Bridge" Harry Moore Antony Kearey 4 November 1968 Missing
023 02 10 "The Musgrave Ritual" Alexander Baron Viktors Ritelis 11 November 1968 Missing
024 02 11 "Black Peter" Richard Harris Antony Kearey 18 November 1968
(postponed from
16 September 1968)		 Missing
025 02 12 "Wisteria Lodge" Alexander Baron Roger Jenkins 25 November 1968 Missing
026 02 13 "Shoscombe Old Place" Donald Tosh Bill Bain 2 December 1968 Missing
027 02 14 "The Solitary Cyclist" Stanley Miller Viktors Ritelis 9 December 1968 Missing
028 02 15 "The Sign of Four" Mollie and Michael Hardwick William Sterling 16 December 1968 Survives
029 02 16 "The Blue Carbuncle" Stanley Miller Bill Bain 23 December 1968 Survives

Planned continuation

The Cushing series was a success and the BBC's Andrew Osborn was interested in making a third series.[18] Had this third series commenced, the plan was to dramatise stories from The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, a short story collection written by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr,[18] but was not eventually made.

Unused scripts

German remake

The West-German WDR channel produced Sherlock Holmes (1967-1968), a six-episode series based on the scripts from Detective and Sherlock Holmes.[31] Erich Schellow starred as Holmes, and Paul Edwin Roth as Watson.

Reception

The initial 1965 series attracted over 11 million viewers per episode.[3] The 1968 series was more successful, with upwards of 15.5 million viewers[18] and one episode topping the top 20 programmes chart.[18]

Reviewing the series for DVD Talk, Stuart Galbraith IV wrote, "To my surprise I generally preferred the Wilmer episodes to those starring Peter Cushing, even though I consider myself more a fan of Cushing while I merely admire Wilmer as an excellent actor. ... This series may seem downright prehistoric to some, but I found it to be surprisingly atmospheric, intelligent, and engaging, and Wilmer and Stock make a fine Holmes and Watson, in the top 25% certainly."[32]

Galbraith further said of the Cushing episodes, "The 1968 Sherlock Holmes television series isn't really up to the level of the best film and TV adaptations, but it's still fun to see cult character actor Peter Cushing sink his teeth into the role again, and the adaptations themselves are respectable, just not distinctive."[33]

Home media

In 1996 BBC Video released a single VHS cassette in the UK, containing The Speckled Band and The Illustrious Client.

In 2002, BBC Learning released The Hound of the Baskervilles on DVD, for sale by direct mail order in the UK only. The episodes was re-released by BBC Video for retail Region 2 sale in 2004, along with two further discs containing A Study in Scarlet and The Boscombe Valley Mystery, and The Sign of Four and The Blue Carbuncle respectively. The Region 1 release of these issues as a single box-set followed on 15 December 2009. These six episodes are the only ones to survive from the Cushing series.[27]

Following the success of the Cushing release, the Region 1 Wilmer collection was released on 14 September 2010. This set contains all the surviving complete episodes from the 1965 series, but not the two incomplete episodes.[34]

The BFI released a Region 2 collection of the Wilmer episodes on 30 March 2015. The set includes all surviving episodes and reconstructions of the incomplete episodes, as well as five audio commentaries, an interview with Wilmer, an illustrated booklet, and other special features.[35]

References
  1. Haining, Peter (1994). The Television Sherlock Holmes. Virgin Books. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-86369-793-7.
  2. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. pp. 52–54. ISBN 9780857687760.
  3. Haining, Peter (1994). The Television Sherlock Holmes. Virgin Books. pp. 61–67. ISBN 978-0-86369-793-7.
  4. Haining, Peter (1994). The Television Sherlock Holmes. Virgin Books. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-86369-793-3.
  5. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 187. ISBN 9780857687760.
  6. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. pp. 242–243. ISBN 9780857687760.
  7. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 242. ISBN 9780857687760.
  8. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 142. ISBN 9780857687760.
  9. Redmond, Christopher (2009). Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition. Dundurn Press. p. 243. ISBN 9781459718982.
  10. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 249. ISBN 9780857687760.
  11. Redmond, Christopher (2009). Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition. Dundurn Press. p. 244. ISBN 9781459718982.
  12. Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-903111-04-8.
  13. Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 138–143. ISBN 978-1-903111-04-8.
  14. Smith, Daniel (2011). The Sherlock Holmes Companion: An Elementary Guide. Castle Books. pp. 79–81. ISBN 9780785827849.
  15. Coniam, Matthew (10 May 2009). "An Interview With Douglas Wilmer". Movietone-news.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  16. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 188. ISBN 9780857687760.
  17. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 245. ISBN 9780857687760.
  18. Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 178–186. ISBN 978-1-903111-04-8.
  19. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 246. ISBN 9780857687760.
  20. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 13. ISBN 9780857687760.
  21. Radio Times, 19 September 1968.
  22. Earnshaw, Tony (2001). An Actor and a Rare One. Scarecrow Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8108-3874-1.
  23. Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock. Mysterious Press. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-8021-2789-1.
  24. "Peter Cushing (1919-1994)". Sherlock-holmes.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  25. Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock. Mysterious Press. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-8021-2789-1.
  26. Omitting The Second Stain, The Greek Interpreter, Black Peter, and The Blue Carbuncle.
  27. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 250. ISBN 9780857687760.
  28. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 190. ISBN 9780857687760.
  29. The Kaleidoscope BBC Television Drama Research Guide, 1936-2011 edited by Simon Coward, Chris Perry and Richard Down, Kaleidoscope Ltd, 2011, p.2206.
  30. The Kaleidoscope BBC Television Drama Research Guide, 1936-2011 edited by Simon Coward, Chris Perry and Richard Down, Kaleidoscope Ltd, 2011, p.2210.
  31. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 191. ISBN 9780857687760.
  32. "Sherlock Holmes - The Classic BBC Series Starring Douglas Wilmer : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  33. "The Sherlock Holmes Collection : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  34. "Sherlock Holmes News". Sherlocknews.com. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  35. "BFI Sherlock Holmes Press Release" (PDF). BFI. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
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