episodes of Sherlock Holmes
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce
before the Mutual microphoneSherlock Holmes is the most oft-portrayed fictional character in movies. (Just for the record, the most oft-portrayed real historical figure is said to be Napoleon Bonaparte.)
NBC started broadcasting Sherlock Holmes in 1930. Many actors essayed the Holmes/Watson characters. But none have become more identified with the role than Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. They created the fictional Arthur Conan Doyle duo on the radio, in the movies, and briefly on television in the early 1950's.In the early radio series the story was introduced by Jospeh Bell (his real name) who was supposed to be visiting the study of Sherlock Holmes. He would engage the detective in a discussion of one of his cases. When Bell bowed out of the series, an announcer named Knox Manning took over and they changed the scenario so Manning was visiting with Dr. Watson. Exactly why this switch of venue was effected is not clear.
The first sponsor of the show was G. Washington Coffee. Later it was picked up by a cold remedy named Bromo-Quinine.
Click on a script title below to view it:
| Dec 11 1939 | The Musgrave Ritual |
| Jul 31 1944 | The Giant Rat of Sumatra |
| Oct 30 1944 | The Case of the Haunted Chateau |
| Jan 22 1945 | The Elusive Umbrella |
| Feb 05 1945 | The Case of the Dead Adventuress |
| Oct 01 1945 | The Problem of Thor Bridge |
| Dec 03 1945 | Murder in the Casbah |
| Dec 10 1945 | A Scandal in Bohemia |
| Dec 24 1945 | The Night Before Christmas |
| Dec 31 1945 | The Case of the Iron Box |
| Apr 07 1947 | The Adventure of the Tolling Bell |
| Dec 14 1954 | The Blue Carbuncle |
| Mar 27 1955 | Silver Blaze |