Fans of the great detective are typically familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyles original stories.
They also know that those stories have been published, republished, and then published again.
He has been repackaged, reformatted, revamped, reimagined, and rebooted.
But when the writers work is done, who makes the man?
Long thought lost, the film was rediscovered in 1968 (and is available online).
Thus our unknown actor has the distinction of being the first Sherlock Holmes on film!
He got the chance to show off his acting chops as Holmes in eleven silent films.
Gillette was the first actor to lend gravitas to the character while on screen.
In fact, Gillette was the first actor to put on the now iconic deerstalker hat and curved pipe.
But as it turns out, Rathbone starred as Sherlock Holmes in 14 feature films and a television series.
Rathbone pretty much defined the character during the mid-20thcentury.
Only his was a Holmes for the modern audience, a man who fought Moriarty AND Nazis.
This was one busy detective!
Fun fact: Eve Titus named The Great Mouse Detective for this somewhat high strung incarnation of Holmes.
His Holmes was less neurotic and much more deliberate.
The series also deviated from Doyles stories, with my favorite example being The Case of the Texas Cowgirl.
Cushing, like Christopher Lee or Vincent Price, was practically an acting institution.
Unfortunately his first run as the great detective was a great disappointment.
Neither Lee nor the director were pleased with the end result.
Another entirely original story line, which found Nevilles Holmes hot on the trail of Jack the Ripper.
This film was also the inspiration for Manly Wade Wellsons novel,Sherlock Holmess War of the Worlds.
For his efforts, Neville was praised for a Rathbone-esq performance.
Plus it is too easy to picture Scott slapping his would be Watson for crying at a crime scene.
A great time for comedy and a better time for spoofs of Sherlock Holmes.
Cleese, ofMonty Pythonfame, was an obvious choice to take on this particular version of the great detective.
Peter Cook was one half of a famous comedic double act, and Dudley Moore was the other.
It is no surprise then, to discover that Moore played Watson to Cooks Holmes.
Better than Rathbone, and that is saying something!
And it was as riveting as you might imagine watching a play on television might be.
Lawrence of Arabia brings Sherlock Holmes to life, sort of.
OToole leant his voice to this animated series.
I scoured the web, but this seems to be the first time the great detective was animated.
Challenge to all you Sherlock geeks: was there an animated series that predates this BBC production?
Another comedy, this time pairing Michael Caines Holmes with Ben Kingsleys Watson.
Robert Downey Jr. has set himself apart from the previous actors to portray Sherlock Holmes by being scrappy.
Kick your ass in a dark alley scrappy.
Full disclosure, my husband has taught this style of martial arts for years.
And according to him, Downey knows his stuff.
Which added a nice air of authenticity to an otherwise over the top couple of films.
He is like a British version of Sheldon Cooper fromThe Big Bang Theory.
The series pairs Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (who also star in Peter Jacksons newHobbittrilogy) to great effect.
And finally the latest in our long line of detectives.
Miller manages to put even more of a modern spin on Holmes than Cumberbatch.
Scruffy and a bit unhinged, he reminds this viewer of an infinitely sexierMonk.
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