Sherlock Holmes (1954 TV series)
| Sherlock Holmes | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Ronald Howard Howard Marion Crawford Archie Duncan |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sheldon Reynolds |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Original release | |
| Release | October 18, 1954 |
The first and only American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films, starring Ronald Howard (son of Leslie Howard) as Holmes and Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. Archie Duncan appeared in many episodes as Inspector Lestrade (and a few as other characters). Richard Larke, billed as Kenneth Richards, played Sgt. Wilkins in about fifteen episodes. The series' associate producer, Nicole Milinaire, was one of the first women to attain a senior production role in a television series.
Most of the episodes were non-Canonical stories except for an adaptation of "The Red-Headed League". Other episodes used the basic ideas of Holmes stories but changed details (e.g. "The Greek Interpreter" became "The French Interpreter").
History
Sheldon Reynolds had been successful with his 1951 European-made series Foreign Intrigue (in 1956 he directed a movie with the same title starring Robert Mitchum) and decided a Sherlock Holmes series made in France for the American syndication market might also be successful. Several sets were built in Paris for the street outside 221B Baker Street and the flat itself. There were a number of other sets build for a variety of locations and then re-dressed as necessary (homes, Scotland Yard, shops, parks, offices, etc.). Besides the three principals (Howard, Crawford and Duncan), a number of actors appeared regularly in the series including French-born Eugene Deckers who played no fewer than seven different characters, including both victims and villains. The most famous actor to appear as a guest was Paulette Goddard but others who would gain fame or near-fame in the future included Delphine Seyrig, Michael Gough, Dawn Addams, Mary Sinclair, and Natalie Schafer.
There was very little location work and most of the series was filmed in the studio with many stock shots of carriages on London Bridge and near Big Ben giving the impression of London. However, on a few occasions like "The Case of the Eiffel Tower" the French filming locations were used. French actors were extensively used in small parts and several affected English accents with varying levels of success.
Many of the episodes were directed by Steve Previn, the brother of composer Andre Previn.
Episode list
| № | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Case of the Cunningham Heritage" | 1954 October 18 |
| 2 | "The Case of Lady Beryl" | 1954 October 25 |
| 3 | "The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun" | 1954 November 1 |
| 4 | "The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" | 1954 November 8 |
| 5 | "The Case of the Belligerent Ghost" | 1954 November 15 |
| 6 | "The Case of the Shy Ballerina" | 1954 November 22 |
| 7 | "The Case of the Winthrop Legend" | 1954 November 29 |
| 8 | "The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff" | 1954 December 6 |
| 9 | "The Case of Harry Crocker" | 1954 December 13 |
| 10 | "The Mother Hubbard Case" | 1954 December 20 |
| 11 | "The Case of the Red-Headed League" | 1954 December 27 |
| 12 | "The Case of the Shoeless Engineer" | 1955 January 3 |
| 13 | "The Case of the Split Ticket" | 1955 January 10 |
| 14 | "The Case of the French Interpreter" | 1955 January 17 |
| 15 | "The Case of the Singing Violin" | 1955 January 24 |
| 16 | "The Case of the Greystone Inscription" | 1955 January 31 |
| 17 | "The Case of the Laughing Mummy" | 1955 February 7 |
| 18 | "The Case of the Thistle Killer" | 1955 February 14 |
| 19 | "The Case of the Vanished Detective" | 1955 February 21 |
| 20 | "The Case of the Careless Suffragette" | 1955 February 28 |
| 21 | "The Case of the Reluctant Carpenter" | 1955 March 7 |
| 22 | "The Case of the Deadly Prophecy" | 1955 March 14 |
| 23 | "The Christmas Pudding" | 1955 April 4 |
| 24 | "The Night Train Riddle" | 1955 April 11 |
| 25 | "The Case of the Violent Suitor" | 1955 April 18 |
| 26 | "The Case of the Baker Street Nursemaids" | 1955 April 25 |
| 27 | "The Case of the Perfect Husband" | 1955 May 2 |
| 28 | "The Case of the Jolly Hangman" | 1955 May 9 |
| 29 | "The Case of the Impostor Mystery" | 1955 May 16 |
| 30 | "The Case of the Eiffel Tower" | 1955 May 23 |
| 31 | "The Case of the Exhumed Client" | 1955 May 30 |
| 32 | "The Case of the Impromptu Performance" | 1955 June 6 |
| 33 | "The Case of the Baker Street Bachelors" | 1955 June 20 |
| 34 | "The Case of the Royal Murder" | 1955 June 27 |
| 35 | "The Case of the Haunted Gainsborough" | 1955 July 4 |
| 36 | "The Case of the Neurotic Detective" | 1955 July 11 |
| 37 | "The Case of the Unlucky Gambler" | 1955 July 18 |
| 38 | "The Case of the Diamond Tooth" | 1955 September 19 |
| 39 | "The Case of the Tyrant's Daughter" | 1955 October 17 |
DVD release
On August 25, 2005, Mill Creek Entertainment released all 39 episodes of the 1954-55 Sherlock Holmes series, in broadcast order, on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.
- Selected episodes are available elsewhere and some may have been restored
External links
- Sherlock Holmes at IMDb
- Episode 1 "The Case of the Cunningham Heritage" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode 2 "The Case of Lady Beryl" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode 3 "The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode 4 "The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode 5 "The Case of the Belligerent Ghost" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode 6 "The Case of the Shy Ballerina" is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Episode Guide
- Sherlock Holmes page of Ronald Howard website
- Mr. Howard's reflections on the program