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Tripwire Picks Its Top Ten Sherlock Holmes On TV And Film
The World’s Greatest Detective(s)
With our original Sherlock Holmes illustrated prose novella on Kickstarter, we thought it would be fun to offer our top ten portrayals of the World’s Greatest Detective…
- Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994)
Our list kicks off with the greatest Holmes on the small or big screen: Jeremy Brett played Doyle’s most famous creation with a mixture of pathos and perception. There was a raw humanity to his portrayal.
- Robert Stephens The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Billy Wilder’s comedy thriller gave us a Holmes who was a flawed outsider with Stephens offering a truly memorable performance as a Holmes who is in a situation he has no real control over.
- Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes, (1939-1946)
There is an artificiality about Rathbone’s Holmes, mainly down to where it was shot, but Rathbone has a vulpine approach to the detective which makes every one of his performances mesmerising no matter how outlandish the plot.
- Nicholas Rowe Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
The first in a planned but never made franchise, Rowe gives Holmes a tragic warmth and despite the fact that this tale isn’t In official Doyle canon (the pair didn’t meet as children) Young Sherlock Holmes is an adventure tale shot through with mystery and intrigue. It is helped by one of the best casts in terms of Britich character actors too of any modern film.
- Peter Cushing The Hound of The Baskervilles (1959)
Cushing plays Holmes like a gothic horror investigator which considering that this is a Hammer film, it feels more than appropriate. Cushing has a vulnerability here that very few other actors who have donned the pipe and deerstalker have managed to pull off.
- Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Guy Ritchie’s two Holmes films with Hollywood superstar Downey Jr as the detective modernise Doyle’s stories while still feeling faithful to the source material. Downey Jr is a flamboyant figure who has proper chemistry with Jude Law as his Dr Watson.
- Jonny Lee Miller Elementary (2012-2019)
This modern day TV reinterpretation of Doyle works because Miller has a very human but sharply analytical mind which plays off against female Watson (Lucy Liu) who acts to ground the show in some kind of reality.
- Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock (2010-2017)
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ hit BBC drama gives us probably the most arrogant and annoying iteration of the character but Cumberbatch infuses him with such raw energy and passion that the viewer can’t help but be mesmerised.
- Vasily Livanov The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979-1980)
This Russian interpretation of Doyle’s creation deserves its place here as Livanov’s theatrical Holmes, part mad scientist, part extreme rationalist, feels very true to the spirit and heart of the character.
- Michael Caine Without A Clue (1988)
Our final choice is a slightly idiosyncratic one where Caine is hired by Dr Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play Holmes. But Caine employs his usual south London charm to give us a great detective who is earthier than what we are used to seeing. But it is a performance that really works.
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