The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) - IMDb (Central City, Kentucky) – See all my reviews This film, directed by Thom Eberhard from a script by Nicholas Meyer presents Sherlock Holmes in a new perspective. The discovery of Cocaine in the 19th century originally seemed like a perfect drug and many doctors perceived it as an ideal cure for everything. Even Freud used it extensively and prescribed it for his patients until he became dependent on it. There are those who say that the same thing happened to Conan Doyle, who eventually kicked the habit, but used in as a part of the Character of Sherlock Holmes, at least in the earlier stories, who claimed that the boredom that set in when his mind was not occupied on a case was only relieved by a seven percent solution of the drug that he would inject himself with. In this film it is realized that he has begun to be overly effected by the drug as he sees incidents of his youth in a distorted view, until Watson is forced to trick him into going to Vienna to see Sigmund Freud. Nicol Williamson is a very sympathetic Holmes, and Robert Duvall, surprisingly essays a very likable Dr. Watson.

Laurence Olivier ha a small role as James Moriarity, who is no villain but a former tutor of the brothers Holmes, who had had an affair with their mother years before, and had been hounded by Holmes since. Alan Arkin is an excellent Freud, and the film is a great adventure and touching drama, as Holmes, in the middle of his cure, once again brings his great intellect to bear on a baffling case. 20 of 24 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Doctor Watson - Actors by Character Doctor Watson - The "Underestimated" Friend The part of Doctor Watson, Sherlock Holmes's best and only friend, can be a thankless task for an actor. And yet the character plays such an important role: As readers of the original stories we see Sherlock Holmes through John Watson's eyes. The stories are nearly all written from the doctor's point of view. John Watson puts the superhuman detective into perspective for us. Because of him we can relate to the intellectual genius of Holmes in the first place. Dr Watson is a retired army surgeon who has seen battle action in Afghanistan. A mutual acquaintance introduces him to the detective. Eventually they decide to share lodgings.

John Watson is a stout and loyal fellow; willing to follow Holmes into every possible dangerous situation. Sounds like the perfect companion for the detective? I am sorry to disappoint you. The original stories are not everything. Some movies paint another picture. Dr Watson looks like a bumbling fool and I ask myself how Sherlock Holmes could ever have put up with him in the first place. Unfortunately, these movies are also some of the best known Sherlock Holmes movies. Yes, I am talking about the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce films. Don't get me wrong. I like Nigel Bruce. His comic talent is fantastic. Some of his scenes as Doctor Watson are hilarious. Check out the scene in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", where he lies on the floor playing a corpse for Holmes and the conversation which ensues, when a pedestrian asks him what he is doing. But Bruce's portrayal also degraded Doctor Watson to a laughing stock. Many people still equalise his interpretation with the character. This is really unfair. Yes, the good doctor might be slightly less intelligent than the detective. But Watson is not stupid (he is a doctor of medicine for god's sake). Nor does he blindly agree to just anything Holmes demands of him.

Fortunately most actors who play Dr Watson have shown their professional strengths. Find out more about the men who had the privilege to play the detective's best and only friend: ~ ~ ~ Hubert Willis joined Eille Norwood in a series of silent black and white movies in the 1920s. ~ ~ ~ Ian Fleming (the Australian actor, not the creator of James Bond) played Doctor Watson opposite Arthur Wontner in a series of films during the 1930s. ~ ~ ~ Ian Hunter took the reins from Fleming for one adventure alongside Wontner. ~ ~ ~ The German actor Heinz Rühmann accompanied Hans Albers in "The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes". ~ ~ ~ The most famous actor duo playing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, joined forces against different villains from 1939 until 1946. ~ ~ ~ Howard Marion-Crawford is perhaps best known to the American audiences as Ronald Howard's Dr Watson. ~ ~ ~ André Morell had to confront the "Hound of the Baskervilles" in his partnership with Peter Cushing.

~ ~ ~ Thorley Walters as Doctor Watson first accompanied Christopher Lee and later joined Douglas Wilmer in the parody "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" as well as Christopher Plummer in "Silver Blaze". ~ ~ ~ Donald Houston faced Jack The Ripper together with John Neville in "A Study in Terror". ~ ~ ~ Nigel Stock offered his services as Watson to two actors playing the detective: Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing. ~ ~ ~ Colin Blakely chronicled "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Stephens in the title role. ~ ~ ~ Patrick Macnee left Emma Peel behind and followed first Roger Moore in New York and later Christopher Lee. ~ ~ ~ The American actor Robert Duvall intervened on behalf of his friend. He duped Holmes and got him to Vienna to consult with Sigmund Freud in "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution". ~ ~ ~ Vitaly Solomin was a youthful John Watson alongside Vasily Livanov in the Russian adaptations. ~ ~ ~ James Mason's Watson challenged Jack the Ripper together with Christopher Plummer. ~ ~ ~ Donald Churchill and David Healy both offered their services to Ian Richardson's Holmes.

~ ~ ~ John Mills' older version of Watson supported Peter Cushing's ageing detective in "The Masks of Death". ~ ~ ~ David Burke and Edward Hardwicke both played Holmes's Boswell in the Granada series with Jeremy Brett. Burke played Watson in the first two seasons and Hardwicke after the hiatus in the remaining seasons. ~ ~ ~ Ben Kingsley had a hard time convincing the editor of the "Strand Magazine" that he as John Watson was the mastermind behind the successful cases. Everyone thought that Michael Caine as Reginald Kincaid was Sherlock Holmes. ~ ~ ~ Kenneth Welsh accompanied Matt Frewer on his quests for the truth in a couple of films produced for Canadian television broadcaster, CTV. ~ ~ ~ Roger Morlidge played a younger version of Watson alongside James D'Arcy. ~ ~ ~ Ian Hart stood his ground as Dr Watson against two brilliant detectives; Rupert Everett and Richard Roxburgh. ~ ~ ~ Bill Paterson helped the Baker Street Irregulars with their investigations in order to help Jonathan Pryce's Sherlock Holmes. ~ ~ ~ Jude Law plays one of the latest incarnations of Dr Watson in the action movies from director Guy Ritchie with Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes.

~ ~ ~ Gareth David-Lloyd left Torchwood to help Ben Syder against dinosaurs amongst other threats. ~ ~ ~ John Rhys-Davies, widely known as Gilmli from the Lord of the Rings movies, voices a rather bumbly cartoon version of Watson in an adventure with Tom and Jerry. ~ ~ ~ Martin Freeman is also a recent addition to the league of good doctors. His modern-day Dr Watson has seen battle in the current Afghanistan conflict. He is teamed up with Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes in the BBC series "Sherlock". ~ ~ ~ Lucy Liu is the only female companion to the Great Detective. She assists Jonny Lee Miller in New York in the CBS TV show "Elementary". ~ ~ ~ The top 10 sidekicks of all time | Hero Complex – movies, comics, pop culture – Los Angeles Times The top 10 sidekicks of all time Oct. 10, 2010 | 10:38 a.m. It’s the 10 o’clock hour on 10-10-2010, and across the Los Angeles Times, we’re creating top 10 lists.

Here at the Hero Complex, we are using the occasion to celebrate sidekicks — those trusty pop-culture pals who forever trail in the shadow of alpha figures but often win the hearts of fans. It was a tough list to assemble, and there were plenty of near-misses. Strong cases could be made for Tinker Bell, Boo-Boo, George Costanza, Dyna Girl, Danno, Renfield, Art Garfunkel and Al Gore — we’re sorry, but really at this point they must be accustomed to the also-ran role. So let’s get on with our companion countdown, in which we nod to a loyal pal, smile and say, “He’s with me.” 10. Mini-Me: The minions of Dr. Evil wanted to keep the criminal mastermind on track with his plans for global domination, and what better way than with a clone? Well, the plan was downsized a bit when the finished product was just 2-foot-8. The villain didn’t mind too much — he just dubbed the small-scale copy “Mini-Me,” and big laughs ensued for the “Austin Powers” franchise. It’s all completely tasteless but, well, pretty funny.

The character is a spoof of Nick-Nack, the diminutive henchman from “The Man With The Golden Gun,” but thanks to actor Verne Troyer, the parody is more famous than the original. Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and David Tennant as the Doctor (BBC) 9. Rose Tyler: Nobody goes through sidekicks like the Doctor — they come and go and with good reason since their human limitations emphasize the immortal and cosmic nature of the Time Lord who skitters through the universe in his TARDIS on “Doctor Who.” There have been some sparkling “companions,” as they are called, in 789 episodes of the British sci-fi show that dates back to November 1963 — among them Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), but we go with former pop singer Billie Piper and her Rose Tyler, the saucy and smart character who was key to the success of the Russell T Davies relaunch of “Doctor Who” in 2005.

She fell in love with the Doctor in a way that made the audience fall in love with her and believe that, just maybe, time was on her side. 8. Patrick Starfish: There are scores of cartoon duos, but sometimes it’s hard to sort out who’s the real sidekick — it gets a bit murky, for instance, to puzzle out the power distribution in the partnership of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo or Rocky and Bullwinkle — but not when it comes to “SpongeBob SquarePants” where No. 2 doesn’t try harder. The pink, lazy and no-so-bright seastar named Patrick lives under a rock, watches way too much TV and shows no evidence of recognizable skill or ambition. In other words, he is exactly like 71% of the adult audience who reach for a bong before watching the Nickelodeon show.

The character is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, by the way, who was also the towering mental midget Dauber on “Coach.” “SpongeBob” celebrated its 10th anniversary and some of the best episodes (“Big Pink Loser” and “Patrick SmartPants” spring to mind) were all about this layabout echinoderm who was both a stoner-nation version of Barney Rubble and a latter-day doofus carrying on the grand tradition of Ed Norton from “The Honeymooners,” so we like to think he represents both of them on this list. 7. Kato: Radio audiences in the 1930s thrilled to “The Green Hornet,” and the masked man and his sidekick, Kato, made the jump to film serials and comics as well. But in the 1960s, something interesting happened when the duo got their own TV show — all eyes were on the sidekick. The show, a sort of serious sister to the popular “Batman” series, starred handsome Van Williams as newspaper publisher Britt Reid, who battled crime as a vigilante-playing-villain called the Green Hornet.

Bruce Lee took on the role of Hornet’s wheelman and hand-to-hand combat expert, Kato, and no one could have predicted that the short-lived role (26 episodes) would be the starting point of an American martial-arts craze and a superstar career for actor Lee. The role of Kato will be reprised by Jay Chou in the Michel Gondry’s “The Green Hornet” film this January. 6. Bucky Barnes: He’s only the second-most-famous sidekick in comics (holy hint-dropper, you’ll see the other one later in the countdown!), but we can’t leave Bucky Barnes off this list. With Jack Kirby’s kinetic magic, the sidekick of Captain America seemed to jump off the page in the 1940s, but his persona took on a whole new element in the 1960s when Marvel Comics revived Captain America but listed Bucky as one of the casualties of World War II. Captain America was haunted by the death — and the fact that maybe a 15-year-old didn’t belong in combat? — and it added new layers to the character.

The mythology would be tweaked and changed through the years — Bucky came back as the Winter Solider and even took on the Captain America costume himself. But for us, Bucky remains the famous fallen sidekick, and we salute him. 5. Igor: When Marty Feldman played Igor (with a long “i”) in “Young Frankenstein,” he was standing up (um, sorta) for a lot of Hollywood horror history. The vertically challenged lab assistant has a long heritage on screen — there was Rotwang in the 1927 film “Metropolis” and the hunchbacked Fritz in the 1931 landmark “Frankenstein,” for instance, or the grave-robbing Ygor played by Bela Lugosi in a pair of “Frankenstein” sequels who was a bit too independent to be a henchman, but he did have that great name. There’s also “House of Wax” where young Charles Bronson played a great Igor, a deaf and devoted disciple of an evil boss.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” gave us an Igor named Riff Raff, and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” went traditional by actually calling the sidekick “Igor.” In 2008, the creepy little guy of pop culture finally realized the sidekick fantasy — he got his own film with the animated “Igor.” Vintage advertisement with Lone Ranger and Tonto 4. Tonto: One thing about radio shows, it’s best if your hero has someone he can talk to, especially if he roams the Old West where it can get lonely sitting around the campfire. That was the reason behind Tonto, the faithful Native American companion to Lone Ranger who began as a narrative aid but became far more than that as the Western masked-man mythology took hold of young imaginations across America. The Lone Ranger and Tonto were created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker (the same tandem behind “Green Hornet,” in fact), and through the years, some have found the character to be offensive (most often due to his fractured, article-free version of English), but others see the brave hero as noble and an equal to the fellow who rides Silver. How big is Tonto in our collective memory?

Well, “kemo sabe” was added to Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary in 2002. Actor Jay Silverheels is the definitive Tonto in the public memory, but Disney announced in 2008 that Johnny Depp (who has some Cherokee heritage) would take on the role in a new film version of the Lone Ranger, although the project seems to have lost momentum. Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson (Los Angeles Times archives) 3. Dr. John Watson: This pick was … elementary. There’s a strong argument to be made, however, that Watson, faithful companion of Sherlock Homes, belongs at the top spot of this or any sidekick ranking. A subtitle of the first Holmes adventure, “A Study in Scarlet,” from 1887, labels the mystery: “Being a reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department,” and from that point on, the marvelous mind of Holmes is presented to the world through the filter of Watson’s perceptions.

And, indeed, author Arthur Conan Doyle made a sublime decision with the choice of the brave, big-hearted sidekick who, over the course of their many adventures, became like brother to the brilliant but detached detective. Watson has been portrayed on screen by many fine actors, among them Nigel Bruce, André Morell and Robert Duvall, and these days the role belongs to Jude Law, who is now on the set in London filming with sleuth-star Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie. There are so many other bookshelf sidekicks — the earthy and ironic Sancho Panza from “Don Quixote,” Friday from “Robinson Crusoe” and assorted Hobbits spring to mind — but if we put them on this list, we wouldn’t have room for a goofy cartoon starfish. 2. Robin the Boy Wonder: It’s fashionable to think of Batman as the ultimate humorless loner (hey Chris Nolan, why so serious?), but let’s not forget that long before the “The Dark Knight,” there was the Dynamic Duo. Batman was introduced in May 1939 in the Detective Comics No.

27, but his crusade against the criminals of Gotham City didn’t stay solitary for long — just 11 monthly issues after his debut, Bruce Wayne took on the most famous junior partner in comic books as Robin the Boy Wonder burst on the screen. Just like Batman, young Dick Grayson was orphaned by crime, but instead of responding with rage, he put on a green Speedo, moved in with a rich guy and back-flipped into pop-culture history. The character — shaped by Jerry Robinson, who was a teenager at the time and also a sidekick of sorts to the Batman creative team of Bob Kane and Bill Finger — was a sensation with 1940s readers who saw themselves in the young acrobat who was like a playful, pint-sized Robin Hood, tagging along with the two-fisted Dracula figure of DC Comics. The 1960s television series “Batman” gave Robin his defining moment in the spotlight with actor Burt Ward and his ludicrous trademark, those oddball exclamations.

“Holy 4th Amendment!” “Holy interplanetary yardstick!” “Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods!” (And, yes, those were all used on the show, here’s a list ). Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca and Harrison Ford as Han Solo (Lucasfilm) 1. Chewbacca: When it comes to sidekick contests, there’s a simple rule: Let the wookiee win. We never understood a word he was saying, but there was no one we would have wanted in the copilot seat next to us more than the big walking carpet himself, Chewbacca, the rangy, loyal Bigfoot of the Jedi universe. In the movies, he was born on the spelling-bee planet of Kashyyyk, but he was conceived in the front seat of a car owned by George Lucas — the wizard of Skywalker Ranch got the idea of a devoted, hirsute copilot by driving around with his Alaskan malamute, Indiana, who also would lend his name to a certain action-minded archaeologist.

In the films, the towering Peter Mayhew brought Chewie to life, but he got plenty of help from costume designer Stuart Freeborn (he knitted the costume with mohair and yak hair) and sound designer Ben Burtt, who blended the recordings of bear, walrus, camel and badger to create the guttural lexicon of the wookiee. Chewie is deeply beloved by fans (I myself risked heat stroke back in 1978 when I wore a homemade costume made of shag carpet to my South Florida elementary-school costume contest), but it’s not easy being a sidekick in space — we hear Chewbacca did that sad moan-growl of his when he was the only non-robot that didn’t get a medal for blowing up the Death Star at the end of the original “Star Wars” film. Don’t worry, big guy, you’re No. 1 with us. — Geoff Boucher Kieran McMullen | Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes and Watson's War Years | Page 8 Dr.

Watson, Sherlock Holmes and Watson's War Years Posted on April 19, 2011 by Kieran I’m not sure how anyone can not like Young Sherlock Holmes though I’ve read some less than favorable reviews. It’s definitely not canonical but it is great fun. In the 1860’s a young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet in a London boarding school. Sherlock is played by Nicholas Rowe who is also well known in TV. The future Doctor is played by Alan Cox. The movie was the proving ground for Spielberg’s computer generated special effects revolution in movie making. In one scene the image of a knight in a stained glass window “comes to life” attacking a cleric who has been poisoned by a hallucinogenic drug. The entire scene was done by computer. The story of young Sherlock explains much about Holmes: his violin playing, his pipe, his inverness coat, his deerstalker hat and his decision not to deal with the fairer sex. In the course of the movie Holmes and Watson must solve a mystery involving the deaths of a group of old men who once tried to build a hotel in Egypt.

They are drawn into a tale of secret societies, a pyramid in London’s factory area and the rise of the man who would be Holmes’ greatest adversary. Watson, while initially an indecisive, meek character from the country becomes critical to the solution to the mystery. He also will, through his own deductive reasoning, save Holmes from a sure death and foil the antagonists plot. He becomes the Watson of action. Nigel Stock who we discussed earlier as a portrayer of Watson plays Sherlock’s mentor (and victim of the bad guy) Professor Waxflatter. Alan Cox did a super job playing the transition from mild child to action oriented teenager. Born 6 August 1970 he was about 15 when he made Young Sherlock but he was already a veteran actor having appeared on TV as early as 1976. He had at least 8 other credits before coming on the set of Young Sherlock. Cox has not limited himself to TV and movies (although through 2011 he has 38 titles to his credit). He has also worked on the boards, appearing in works by Shakespeare, Ibsen and Mortimer. Cox comes from an acting family, his father being Brian Cox.

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Kieran The more I look at the people who played Dr. Watson over the years the more I come to the conclusion that there were far more good representations of Watson than poor ones. This is the case of another good one. The mid-‘60s TV series “Sherlock Holmes” started in 1964 Douglas Wilmer was Holmes in the first half of the series and Peter Cushing playedd Holmes in the second half. The are 29 stories in the series and for all of them, Nigel Stock was the stalwart companion. Most of the Douglas Wilmer stories still exist and can be gotten on DVD. The remaining Peter Cushing stories are also available on DVD. Stock plays Watson the way he was. Delightfully he does an exceptional job with Wilmer and even seems better with Cushing . While I believe that Wilmer is a better Holmes, there is a better chemistry between Stock and Cushing, so it’s kind of take your pick. The constant is Stock’s portrayal. You might remember Stock from the 1955 classic “The Dam Buster”. I remember seeing it as a kid. It is one of the classic war films.

Stock shows up again in the movie “Young Sherlock Holmes” in 1985. This was the movie that tested all the theories of animated special effects. Stock played Sherlock’s mentor Professor Waxflatter. It is amazing how many actors cycle through Holmes stories at intervals of 10 or 20 years. The Sherlock Holmes series is well worth the viewing. Nigel Stock Nigel Stock was born in 1919 in Malta. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and he grew up mostly in India. He returned to England in his teens for schooling . He made his first appearance on the stage in 1931. He would go on the play with The Old Vic and on Broadway. In 1937 he made his first film but like many of his generation WWII interfered. Stock served with the London Irish Rifles and the Assam regiment, Indian Army. He served in Burma, China and Kohima. If anyone can confirm he was there during the Battle of Kohima I would like to hear from you. Kohima was also called the Stalingrad of the East, holding out against the “U Go” Japanese offensive. After the war Stock returned to acting.

He had a long and productive career in film, TV, stage and radio. He died in 1986 in London. His TV credits include some of the best series in the media: The Prisoner, the Avengers, Secret Agent, and Sherlock Holmes. Besides the Dam Busters, another classic movie was The Night of the Generals. Stock was another classically trained actor that did a superb job with Watson. Posted on March 30, 2011 by Kieran The first time that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson were ever filmed in color was in 1959 by Hammer films. The story was “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, the most frequently filmed story of the canon. So far I know of 28 filmed versions of the story, there may well be more. Sherlock is played by Peter Cushing and Dr. Watson by Andre Morell. Hammer was strictly B movies but hit the jackpot in the ‘50s with a couple of horror flicks. Even they didn’t understand the success and so they commissioned a survey of audiences to find out what people liked best about their movies. They liked being scared!

What better to scare you than the “Hound from Hell”? Actually, the movie is very well done, especially from the Morell and Cushing perspective of the year in which it was made, long before computerized special effects. Like all of Doyle’s stories it needs some padding to extend the tale to a full length movie. So there is the addition of killer tarantula spiders, an old mine shaft from which Holmes must escape, and a horrible ritual sacrifice. All these pieces are worked in fairly well to the story. There are some changes in the characters, as usually happens when things go to film. Where you can have many characters in a book it can be confusing in a film of limited length. I won’t explain them for they will be obvious to the reader of the Holmes stories. Andre Morell does an exceptionally fine job as Watson. He is very true to the character, strong independent and intelligent. Morell and Cushing work very well together. Cushing played Holmes perhaps a little more low key than the Holmes of the books. Andre Morell as Watson Andre Morell was born in London on 20 August 1909.

His birth name was Cecil Andre Mesritz but he had it legally changed in 1938. He moved from being a motor mechanic and amateur actor to professional actor in 1934. Until his death in 1978 he would find constant work in theater, movies and television. He is one of those actors you see all the time in films and ask yourself “what’s his name?” His voice is quite unique and carries that tone I always associate with a senior officer. He was a member of the Old Vic theater company and was well known for his abilities with Shakespeare. In WWII he served in the Welch Fusiliers through 1946 and attained the rank of Major. Three of the films he appeared in are among my favorites. Two received Best Picture Academy Awards: Bridge on the River Kwai and Ben Hur. The third movie was his last, The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery. Morell had a tremendously positive reputation for hard work and attention to detail, resulting in superb performances. Posted on March 28, 2011 by Kieran Ian Fleming stared as Watson in four films with Arthur Wontner playing Sherlock Holmes.

They started in 1931 with The Sleeping Cardinal (In the US it was called Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour), The Missing Rembrandt (1932), The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) and Silver Blaze (US title: Murder at the Baskervilles) in 1937. There was a fifth Arthur Wontner as Holmes film, The Sign of Four, but in this case Ian Hunter played the role of Watson. It is curious that Fleming was not used because it was made in 1932. One must assume that Ian Fleming was somehow otherwise engaged. One film, The Missing Rembrandt, is considered a “lost film”. There is no known print. Wontner and Fleming Ian Fleming is not to be confused with the writer of the James Bond books. Very unfortunately computer searches bury the details of this fine character actor under millions of hits for the writer. Fleming really did a sterling job of portraying Watson which would probably not be equaled until Burke or Hardwick in the Jeremy Brett episodes. Fleming comes off as a strong, likeable, intelligent fellow who has more the physique of Doyle’s character.

The interplay between Wontner and Fleming is also excellent. There is a real chemistry. It is really unfortunate that the prints of the available films are of such poor quality. These were, in their original form, B movies to begin with. So remember, if you get to watch, look at them for their story and the acting, not so much for the quality of the staging or the print. Ian Fleming was born Ian Macfarlane in Melbourne, Australia on 10 September 1888 and died in London, England on New2 Years day 1969. Fleming acted in over 100 films. He started his formal acting career in 1916 and is one of those character actors that you see in movie after movie and who also made the transition to the small screen. I remember him showing up in the 1950’s TV series Robin Hood as Maid Marion’s father. Fleming was also a consummate stage actor doing everything, including Shakespeare. Fleming was especially busy during the WWII years when he was too old for active service. During that time he made over 40 films. He worked actively in TV until his death in 1969.

His last role was as Senius in the TV series The Caesars in 1968. Posted on March 16, 2011 by Kieran Patrick Macnee is certainly best known to the world as John Steed, that pillar of the English Secret Service in the long running Avengers TV show. He does however, appear in three made for TV movies as our hero, Dr. John Watson. His first outing is in 1976 in Sherlock Holmes in New York with Roger Moore playing Holmes and John Huston as an excellent Professor Moriarty and Charlotte Rampling as a superb Irene Adler. Macnee does a very credible job as Watson. The one lacking performance is Roger Moore. (I couldn’t get past the bizarre sideburns.) The next time Macnee appears as Watson is in two mini-series with Christopher Lee as Holmes. Again Macnee gives two quite good interpretations of Watson but just a little to the Nigel side. Is it just me or do all the Watson’s seem to do rather well except when Holmes appears with them on screen?

(It is only then that the Gabby Hays Character appears in their performances.) There are two versions of both “Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady” and “Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls”. There is the long mini-series version and a cut down DVD version. I have watched both and there is a tremendous amount lost in the cut down versions, even to the point of some scenes not making sense because of missing information. In the full versions they are well worth watching. The subtitle of these mini-series was “The Golden Years”. I wish they had made more. Macnee also played the Great Detective in a Canadian production in 1996, “Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Temporal Nexus” and the 1994 “Hound of London”. Patrick Macnee was born 6 February 1922 in London England to a fairly wealthy family. His father was a successful racehorse trainer but also a gambler and known to take a drink. He left wife and son and departed for India. Patrick’s mother was a niece of the Earl of Huntingdon (descendants of Robin Hood) and moved in with her female lover who Patrick knew as “Uncle Evelyn”.

At three he was packed off to school. He was eventually expelled from Eton for running a bookie operation. He then attended Weber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art on scholarship and by 1941 had started his formal acting career. From 1942-46 he served as an officer in the British Navy. Once the war was over he really found his footing, constantly traveling between the U.S., the U.K. and Canada making scores of TV and movie appearances. In 1959 he became a U.S. citizen. 1960 was to be the banner year that would make Macnee recognizable to the entire world: “The Avengers” appeared on TV! In case you can’t tell, Patrick Macnee is one of my favorite actors. Posted on March 11, 2011 by Kieran Debrah Farentino may not technically be a Watson but the character is the same. She plays Dr. Amy Winslow who happens to awaken Sherlock Holmes from his self imposed cryogenic sleep in the 1993 made for TV movie “Sherlock Holmes Returns”. Amy, of course, must take Holmes in and help him get through the transition into the future.

They live at 1994 Baker Street in San Francisco. Anyone see the set up for a TV series here? While it takes the cryogenic sleep routine from the earlier 1980’s TV movie the rest of the film is a completely different story line involving a descendant of the Morality’s, some drug dealers bent on revenge and Holmes being introduced to some technologically savvy Baker Street Irregulars. It really is an enjoyable TV film and I always thought it would have made an enjoyable series. Again, it’s not for the strict constructionist but for light entertainment. Anthony Higgins took the part of Sherlock Holmes and did an admirable job. Holmes has his technology trials with his new world but quickly overcomes. Higgins played the part of the villain Professor Rathe in “Young Sherlock Holmes” in 1985. It took me at least two viewings before I realized that if you watched that film all the way through the end of the credits you would find out who Professor Rathe really was. Farentino plays a good Watson to Holmes.

She tries to figure him out much as Doyle’s character tried to, she is there when action is required (even if she isn’t sure why) and while a little dull witted (you’ll figure out the clues before she will) is an admirable foil. Born Deborah Mullowney, on 30 September 1959 in California she was educated at UCLA in acting. She has two brothers and a sister and two daughters, Molly and Sophie. In 1995 she was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People Magazine. She has been nominated for two Soap Opera Digest Awards. She is one of those actresses that finds constant work because of her hard work and talents. She has been in TV work constantly since 1984. Her most recent appearance was on the new Hawaii Five-0 this year. Posted on March 8, 2011 by Kieran Fewer people have considered the early life of John H Watson in any depth.

Kieran McMullen, author of Watson’s Afghan Adventure (MX Publishing, 335 Princess Park Manor, Royal Drive, London N11 3GX; and ; £9.99 / €12.99 /$16.95) is a former professional soldier and a specialist in American military history – an appropriate person to tell of Watson’s experiences asan army surgeon. A confrontation with the CO leads to his being, as he said later, removed from the Fighting Fifth and sent to join the Berkshires, who have an appointment at Maiwand. But Watson and a couple of fellow-officers have set themselves additional task: to search for the lost treasure of the Armenian Catholic Church. Catholicism is essential to the Watson of Mr McMullen’s story, though Conan Doyle’s Watson gives no indication of any particular religious faith. The novel could do with better proof-reading, but it’s exciting, and full of authentic military detail. Posted on March 4, 2011 by Kieran James Mason has always been one of my favorite actors and as Watson in “Murder by Decree” he does not disappoint. The movie is another matching of the great detective vs Jack the Ripper.

It is the dramatization of the Stephen Knight book, Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution and uses one of the long postulated theories about the Royal involvement in the case and the Masonic connection. The cast is sterling with Christopher Plummer as Holmes, Mason as Watson, Donald Southerland as the psychic, Sir john Gielgud as the government nemesis and Frank Finley reappears as Inspector Lestrade in his second fight with Jack. Mason is able to portray Watson as an actual partner to Holmes who is willing to take chances and prod Holmes into action. There are even moments when he can bring out the humanity in Holmes. Watson provides actual assistance to Holmes with his medical and scientific training and his better connection to general humanity. In case you haven’t guessed, I really like this Watson. There are some anomalies that most Americans will never notice since we see them all the time in other Holmes Movies. Holmes comes up on Westminster from the wrong side based on his route of travel in the cab, He calls a Growler a Hansom, Tower Bridge is shown but didn’t exist and so forth. These are all minor nit-noids but I’ve heard them mentioned as distractors Okay, if you say so Dave.

Overall this is an excellent film with a wonderfully human and believable Watson. The movie was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best picture and won Five Genie Awards including Best Actor for Christopher Plummer. James Mason is an interesting character in his own right. Born 15 May 1909 he attended Cambridge to study architecture and almost by accident found his way into acting. In fact, at one time Alistair Cooke recommended he return to architectural studies. Instead he continued his work in the theater and became a well known and respected stage actor. By the early ‘30s he was performing in many English made movies and in the ‘40s came to the US. He could play the heavy as well as the sympathetic character. In fact he considered himself a character actor and spoke of himself that way. His credits are very extensive and run beyond his passing in 1984 with the release of two films and a mini series released after his fatal heart attack. Posted on March 2, 2011 by Kieran I know that when I think of Robert Duvall I think first of great cowboy movies, gangsters and napalm in the morning.

But the casting director made an excellent choice in the picking of Duvall as Dr. Watson in “The Seven Percent Solution”. In this movie, based on the Nicholas Meyer book, Watson fears that Holmes is slipping into insanity through his use of cocaine. Nicol Williamson was another great stroke playing Holmes. The good doctor enlists the aid of Mycroft (played by Charles Gray, who would reprise the role for Brett) in a plot to trick Holmes to going to Vienna to see the alienist Dr. Freud. I won’t give away any more of the plot as the movie is well worth seeing. I must have viewed it 10 times and I still love it. Holmes, Watson and Freud are all men of honor and action. While Duvall doesn’t have an overwhelming part, his character is critical to the story and he is there to support both Holmes and Freud. Watson inspires greatness in others. Duvall does not overplay the part nor is the doctor just a stage prop. Overall an excellent job. Oh, and our friend Moriarty is there, but you’ll be surprised to find out his true role.

The movie was nominated for two academy awards, the Golden Scroll from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, and a Writers Guild Award for Best Drama Adapted from another Medium. Anybody who doesn’t know Robert Duvall has not watched movies in the latter half of the 20th and begining of the 21st Centuries. Duvall was born 5 January 1931 in San Diego, California. His father was career navy and retired out as an Admiral. Duvall served two years in the US Army in 1953-1954 after graduating from Principia College. He went to NY to study acting after leaving the army where he was good friends with Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. His first movie role was a bit part in Somebody up There Likes Me with Paul Newman. His first big part was in To Kill A Mockingbird in 1962. From then on he had fairly steady work, splitting time among movies, stage and TV. The big rolls that everyone remembers are in The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Lonesome Dove and one of my favorites, Broken Trail.

He was also the last man John Wayne shot off his horse in True Grit. Robert Duvall has had a role in more AmericanFilm Institute Top 100 films than any other actor (6). He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005. Posted on February 28, 2011 by Kieran Roland Young played Dr. Watson in the 1922 silent movie “Sherlock Holmes”. The movie was not based on the Doyle stories directly but on the William Gillette play, “The Strange Case of Alice Faulkner”. It, in turn, was VERY loosely based on “A Scandal in Bohemia”. Sherlock Holmes marked the film debut of both Roland Young and William Powell (of Thin Man fame). Sherlock Holmes was played by John Barrymore. “Sherlock Holmes” had been lost for decades to the movie audience and was one of the Holy Grails of silent film buffs. In the 1970’s 4,000 feet of negative were found by the George Eastman House in their vaults.

Film historian Kevin Brownlow, working with the help of the original director, Albert Parker took on a project that took a decade and reassembled, to the best the available film would let him, the original movie. There have been complaints that Holmes is not portrayed correctly (he gets married in the end!) But one should remember that Doyle had disowned his creation when allowing Gillette to use him. I think the quote was something like ‘You may marry him or murder him or do what you will”. (That’s close anyway) And in fact Doyle came out with an endorsement of the movie. There are also complaints about too many intertitles and too much information in them. Probably somewhat true. There are complaints about the pace of the movie. Again, true; However, one needs to remember that this film was pieced together and some of the parts from the original script are not there, what is there needs amplified explanation and the pace is fairly common for the transition of what is really a stage play (which has little physical action) to the silent screen. At least as a piece of cinema history it is well worth seeing. Roland Young plays an admirable Dr. Watson but his part is fairly small.

There is actually little opportunity, until the last scene, for Watson to show what he can do. Most people will probably remember Mr. Young as the character Cosmo Topper who had to deal with the ghosts of Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. Mr. Young was born in London, England on 11 November 1887 and made his first stage appearance in London’s West End in 1908 and made his Broadway debut in 1912. When WWI came along he enlisted in the US Army. On returning from France he went back to the stage and became an American citizen. 1922 saw his film career start with “Sherlock Holmes” and started alternating between Broadway and Hollywood. From 1929 to 1932 he was a contract player for MGM and then became a free lance performer who remained busy until his death in New York in 1953. The three Topper movies were his high water mark but my favorite has always been “King Solomon’s Mines” (1937).

IRAN: Officials reject rebel group's claim of kidnapping nuclear scientist | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times IRAN: Officials reject rebel group's claim of kidnapping nuclear scientist October 10, 2010 | 10:49 am A story from Iran this weekend combines elements of tribal banditry and nuclear espionage. The ethnic Baluchi group Jundollah claimed on its website (Persian link) that it had kidnapped an Iranian nuclear scientist and would begin forcing him to tell his secrets unless the Iranians released 200 prisoners from the group. But the story may turn out to be more like a tale from filmmakers the Coen brothers than an espionage thriller. Iranian authorities say the man who was kidnapped, Amir-Hossein Shirvani, is not a nuclear scientist, rather a laborer who was fired from a nuclear facility in Isfahan four years ago. "Amir-Hossein Shirvani worked as a welder and later as a driver in one of the contractor companies of the AEOI for a short time,” Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Hamid Khadem-Qaemi said Saturday, according to the website of Iran's state-owned Press TV .

Another Iranian official, Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, told Iran's Fars news agency that Shirvani was running smuggling operations along the eastern Iranian border and that the kidnapping was over a business dispute. Iran considers Jundollah a terrorist organization Jundollah, which describes itself as a "resistance" group but shares the extremist ideology of Osama binb Laden, has responded to Iran . It claims that 38-year-old Shirvani worked at a "secret facility" and had precious information about Iran's nuclear program that he would be forced to disclose. "The responsible ones know well what important information Mr. Shirvani has, specifically about leading nuclear experts such as Khanzareh Tehrani," the bulletin says. "And publishing these confessions will have a heavy price for the regime." -- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut Photo: Jundollah fighters, from the group's website. Credit: Junbish.blogspot.com Video: Report about the kidnapping of a man purported to be an Iranian nuclear scientist on Al Jazeera International. Credit: YouTube 10-10-10: The top 10 sidekicks of all time Oct.

10, 2010 | 10:38 a.m. It’s the 10 o’clock hour on 10-10-2010, and across the Los Angeles Times, we’re creating top 10 lists. Here at the Hero Complex, we are using the occasion to celebrate sidekicks — those trusty pop-culture pals who forever trail in the shadow of alpha figures but often win the hearts of fans. It was a tough list to assemble, and there were plenty of near-misses. Strong cases could be made for Tinker Bell, Boo-Boo, George Costanza, Dyna Girl, Danno, Renfield, Art Garfunkel and Al Gore — we’re sorry, but really at this point they must be accustomed to the also-ran role. So let’s get on with our companion countdown, in which we nod to a loyal pal, smile and say, “He’s with me.” 10. Mini-Me: The minions of Dr. Evil wanted to keep the criminal mastermind on track with his plans for global domination, and what better way than with a clone?

Well, the plan was downsized a bit when the finished product was just 2-foot-8. The villain didn’t mind too much — he just dubbed the small-scale copy “Mini-Me,” and big laughs ensued for the “Austin Powers” franchise. It’s all completely tasteless but, well, pretty funny. The character is a spoof of Nick-Nack, the diminutive henchman from “The Man With The Golden Gun,” but thanks to actor Verne Troyer, the parody is more famous than the original. 9.

Rose Tyler: Nobody goes through sidekicks like the Doctor – they come and go and with good reason since their human limitations emphasize the immortal and cosmic nature of the Time Lord who skitters through the universe in his TARDIS on “Doctor Who.” There have been some sparkling “companions,” as they are called, in 789 episodes of the British sci-fi show that dates back to November 1963 — among them Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Captain Jack Harness (John Barrowman), but we go with former pop singer Billie Piper and her Rose Tyler, the saucy and smart character who was key to the success of the Russell T Davies relaunch of ”Doctor Who” in 2005. She fell in love with the Doctor in a way that made the audience fall in love with her and believe that, just maybe, time was on her side. 8.

Patrick Starfish: There are scores of cartoon duos, but sometimes it’s hard to sort out who’s the real sidekick – it gets a bit murky, for instance, to puzzle out the power distribution in the partnership of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo or Rocky and Bullwinkle – but not when it comes to “SpongeBob SquarePants” where No. 2 doesn’t try harder. The pink, lazy and no-so-bright seastar named Patrick lives under a rock, watches way too much TV and shows no evidence of recognizable skill or ambition. In other words, he is exactly like 71% of the adult audience who reach for a bong before watching the Nickelodeon show.

The character is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, by the way, who was also the towering mental midget Dauber on “Coach.“ “SpongeBob” celebrated its 10th anniversary and some of the best episodes (“Big Pink Loser” and “Patrick SmartPants” spring to mind) were all about this layabout echinoderm who was both a stoner-nation version of Barney Rubble and a latter-day doofus carrying on the grand tradition of Ed Norton from “The Honeymooners,” so we like to think he represents both of them on this list. 7. Kato: Radio audiences in the 1930s thrilled to “The Green Hornet,” and the masked man and his sidekick, Kato, made the jump to film serials and comics as well. But in the 1960s, something interesting happened when the duo got their own TV show — all eyes were on the sidekick. The show, a sort of serious sister to the popular ”Batman” series, starred handsome Van Williams as newspaper publisher Britt Reid, who battled crime as a vigilante-playing-villain called the Green Hornet.

Bruce Lee took on the role of Hornet’s wheelman and hand-to-hand combat expert, Kato, and no one could have predicted that the short-lived role (26 episodes) would be the starting point of an American martial-arts craze and a superstar career for actor Lee. The role of Kato will be reprised by Jay Chou in the Michel Gondry’s “The Green Hornet” film this January. 6. Bucky Barnes: He’s only the second-most-famous sidekick in comics (holy hint-dropper, you’ll see the other one later in the countdown!), but we can’t leave Bucky Barnes off this list. With Jack Kirby’s kinetic magic, the sidekick of Captain America seemed to jump off the page in the 1940s, but his persona took on a whole new element in the 1960s when Marvel Comics revived Captain America but listed Bucky as one of the casualties of World War II. Captain America was haunted by the death – and the fact that maybe a 15-year-old didn’t belong in combat? – and it added new layers to the character.

The mythology would be tweaked and changed through the years — Bucky came back as the Winter Solider and even took on the Captain America costume himself. But for us, Bucky remains the famous fallen sidekick, and we salute him. 5. Igor: When Marty Feldman played Igor (with a long “i”) in “Young Frankenstein,” he was standing up (um, sorta) for a lot of Hollywood horror history. The vertically challenged lab assistant has a long heritage on screen — there was Rotwang in the 1927 film “Metropolis” and the hunchbacked Fritz in the 1931 landmark “Frankenstein,” for instance, or the grave-robbing Ygor played by Bela Lugosi in a pair of “Frankenstein” sequels who was a bit too independent to be a henchman, but he did have that great name. There’s also “House of Wax” where young Charles Bronson played a great Igor, a deaf and devoted disciple of an evil boss.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” gave us an Igor named Riff Raff, and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” went traditional by actually calling the sidekick ”Igor.” In 2008, the creepy little guy of pop culture finally realized the sidekick fantasy — he got his own film with the animated “Igor.” 4. Tonto: One thing about radio shows, it’s best if your hero has someone he can talk to, especially if he roams the Old West where it can get lonely sitting around the campfire. That was the reason behind Tonto, the faithful Native American companion to Lone Ranger who began as a narrative aid but became far more than that as the Western masked-man mythology took hold of young imaginations across America. The Lone Ranger and Tonto were created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker (the same tandem behind “Green Hornet,” in fact), and through the years, some have found the character to be offensive (most often due to his fractured, article-free version of English), but others see the brave hero as noble and an equal to the fellow who rides Silver. How big is Tonto in our collective memory?

Well, “kemosabe” was added to Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary in 2002. Actor Jay Silverheels is the definitive Tonto in the public memory, but Disney announced in 2008 that Johnny Depp (who has some Cherokee heritage) would take on the role in a new film version of the Lone Ranger, although the project seems to have lost momentum. 3. Dr. John Watson: This pick was … elementary. There’s a strong argument to be made, however, that Watson, faithful companion of Sherlock Homes, belongs at the top spot of this or any sidekick ranking. A subtitle of the first Holmes adventure, “A Study in Scarlet,” from 1887, labels the mystery: “Being a reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department,” and from that point on, the marvelous mind of Holmes is presented to the world through the filter of Watson’s perceptions. And, indeed, author Arthur Conan Doyle made a sublime decision with the choice of the brave, big-hearted sidekick who, over the course of their many adventures, became like brother to the brilliant but detached detective.

Watson has been portrayed on screen by many fine actors, among them Nigel Bruce, André Morell and Robert Duvall, and these days the role belongs to Jude Law, who is now on the set in London filming with sleuth-star Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie. There are so many other bookshelf sidekicks — the earthy and ironic Sancho Panza from “Don Quixote” and Friday from “Robinson Crusoe” spring to mind — but if we put them on this list, we wouldn’t have room for a goofy cartoon starfish. 2. Robin the Boy Wonder: It’s fashionable to think of Batman as the ultimate humorless loner (hey Chris Nolan, why so serious?), but let’s not forget that long before the “The Dark Knight,” there was the Dynamic Duo. Batman was introduced in May 1939 in the Detective Comics No. 27, but his crusade against the criminals of Gotham City didn’t stay solitary for long — just 11 monthly issues after his debut, Bruce Wayne took on the most famous junior partner in comic books as Robin the Boy Wonder burst on the screen.

Just like Batman, young Dick Grayson was orphaned by crime, but instead of responding with rage, he put on a green Speedo, moved in with a rich guy and back-flipped into pop-culture history. The character — shaped by Jerry Robinson, who was a teenager at the time and also a sidekick of sorts to the Batman creative team of Bob Kane and Bill Finger – was a sensation with 1940s readers who saw themselves in the young acrobat who was like a playful, pint-sized Robin Hood, tagging along with the two-fisted Dracula figure of DC Comics. The 1960s television series “Batman” gave Robin his defining moment in the spotlight with actor Burt Ward and his ludicrous trademark, those oddball exclamations. “Holy 4th Amendment!” “Holy interplanetary yardstick!” “Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods!” (And, yes, those were all used on the show, here’s a list ). 1. Chewbacca: When it comes to sidekick contests, there’s a simple rule: Let the wookiee win.

We never understood a word he was saying, but there was no one we would have wanted in the copilot seat next to us more than the big walking carpet himself, Chewbacca, the rangy, loyal Bigfoot of the Jedi universe. In the movies, he was born on the spelling-bee planet of Kashyyyk, but he was conceived in the front seat of a car owned by George Lucas — the wizard of Skywalker Ranch got the idea of a devoted, hirsute copilot by driving around with his Alaskan malamute, Indiana, who also would lend his name to a certain action-minded archaeologist. In the films, the towering Peter Mayhew brought Chewie to life, but he got plenty of help from costume designer Stuart Freeborn (he knitted the costume with mohair and yak hair) and sound designer Ben Burtt, who blended the recordings of bear, walrus, camel and badger to create the guttural lexicon of the wookiee.

Chewie is deeply beloved by fans (I myself risked heat stroke back in 1978 when I wore a homemade costume made of shag carpet to my South Florida elementary-school costume contest), but it’s not easy being a sidekick in space — we hear Chewbacca did that sad moan-growl of his when he was the only non-robot that didn’t get a medal for blowing up the Death Star at the end of the original “Star Wars” film. Don’t worry, big guy, you’re No. 1 with us. Dr. John Watson (Character) Dr. John Watson (Character) from "Sherlock" (2010) The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. There may be more photos available for this character. To select more photos to be displayed in this character's gallery, click the Edit Photos link. Overview Dr. James Watson is a veteran who served as an Army... See more » Alternate Names: Docteur Watson / Doctor John H. Watson / Doctor Watson / Doktor Uotson / Doktor Vatson / Dr Watson / Dr. Joan Watson / Dr. Johanna Watson / Dr.

John H Watson / Dr. John H. Watson / Dr. John Hamish Watson / Dr. Watson / Jamie Watson / Jane Watson / Joan Watson / John H. Watson / John H. Watson, M.D. / John Watson / Johnny 'Juan' Watson / Le docteur Watson / Older Watson / Watson Filmography ... aka "Sherlock V Monsters" - USA (TV title) ... aka "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes" - USA (complete title) ... aka "Sôru îtâ" - Japan (original title) ... aka "Soul Eater Late Show" - Japan (English title) ... aka "CSI: Las Vegas" - South Africa (English title) (informal alternative title), USA (syndication title) ... aka "C.S.I." - USA (short title) ... aka "CSI: Weekends" - USA (promotional title) ... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" - USA (complete title) ... aka "SNL" - USA (informal title) ... aka "SNL 25" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "Saturday Night" - USA (first season title) ...

aka "Saturday Night Live '80" - USA (sixth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 15" - USA (fifteenth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 20" - USA (twentieth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 25" - USA (twentyfifth season title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four" - USA (DVD box title) ... aka "The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four" - USA (video box title) ... aka "Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear" - UK (video title), USA (original script title) ... aka "Pyramid of Fear" - New Zealand (English title) (alternative title) ... aka "Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sobaka Baskerviley" - Soviet Union (original title) ... aka "The Hound of the Baskervilles" - , International (English title) (imdb display title) ...

aka "Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Smertelnaya skhvatka" - Soviet Union (original title) ... aka "Mortal Fight" - USA (as Dr. John H. Watson) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes and Saucy Jack" - USA (alternative title) (as Dr. Watson) ... aka "Sherlok Kholms i doktor Vatson: Krovavaya nadpis" - Soviet Union (original title) ... aka "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Bloody Signature" - International (English title) (literal title) ... aka "Prelude to Murder" - USA (working title), USA (DVD title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes: Dressed to Kill" - USA (DVD title) (as Dr. John H. Watson) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes: Terror by Night" - USA (DVD title) (as Dr. John H. Watson) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes in Pursuit to Algiers" - USA (series title), USA (DVD title) ...

aka "Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green" - USA (promotional title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes: The Woman in Green" - USA (DVD title) (as Doctor John H. Watson) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes: The House of Fear" - USA (DVD title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman" - USA (review title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes in the Spider Woman" - USA (DVD title) ... aka "Sherlock Holmes and 'The Sign of the Four'" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "The Sign of Four" - USA (short title) (as John H. Watson, M.D.) ... aka "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for a Ransom" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "Brotherhood 2.0" - USA (original title) ... aka "Brotherhood 2.0.0.9" - USA (new title) ... aka "The Vlog Brothers" - USA (new title) ... aka "Basil, the Great Mouse Detective" - Australia (imdb display title), International (English title), UK (alternative title) ...

aka "The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective" - USA (reissue title) ... aka "Scotland Yard: The Golden Thread" - USA (original title) Additional Details Dr. Joan Watson : [coming downstairs] Hey, are you going to get the-? [sees Gwen in the living room, wearing Sherlock's t-shirt and little else] Gwen Lynch : Hey! Sherlock's still asleep, I wasn't sure if I should get the door. I'm Gwen. You're the companion, right? Gwen Lynch : [laughs] I guess I should get dressed. [Watson turns off the TV, then goes to the foyer to open the door] Olivia Lynch : Sorry, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to get the-! Oh, you're not Sherlock. [Watson does a double take] Olivia Lynch : You're the companion, right? [...] Sherlock Holmes past and present - Cave News Cave News A potpourri of interesting current events, new products, humor and just plain fun, so pull up a chair and stay a while. If your favorite post has disappeared out of sight, you can find it by selecting a category from the left hand side bar.

* I am Perry Peterson, a retired auditor and tax accountant. My wife Valeta and I live along the front range of the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains. Please note: some of the links in older postings on this website may have expired by the time you see them. August 13, 2010 Sherlock Holmes past and present The release of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie prompts a review of previous portrayals of the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The earliest American film adaptation of Sherlock Holmes was in 1916 when actor William Gillette portrayed Holmes in a silent film. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A 1922 Sherlock Holmes movie starred John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Dr. Watson. Young as Dr. Watson is shown on left and Barrymore as Sherlock Holmes is on right.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In this 1939 film Nigel Bruce (on left) was cast as Dr. Watson and Basil Rathbone (on right) as Holmes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - André Morell was cast as Dr. Watson (on left) and Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes (on right) in this 1959 movie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The 1988 British comedy Without a Clue featured two of the Briton's best-loved actors, Michael Caine (on left) as Holmes and Sir Ben Kingsley (on right) as Watson. This Sherlock Holmes movie turns the tables with the novel premise that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by Dr. Watson to allow him to solve crimes incognito. However, when the public demands to see Holmes in person, he hires an alcoholic unemployed actor, Reginald Kincaid (played by Michael Caine), to play Holmes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jeremy Brett (on left) as Sherlock Holmes and David Burke (on right) as Dr. Watson appeared in a series of Sherlock Holmes movies. Edward Hardwicke later replaced David Burke as Dr. Watson in the Jeremy Brett series. Until the latest movie, most agreed that Jeremy Brett was the best Sherlock Holmes. The consensus seemed to be that he played the definitive Sherlock Holmes roll. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Charlton Heston played the part of Sherlock Holmes when it played in Los Angeles for two months ending January, 1981. It is interesting that Jeremy Brett, who played the best Sherlock Holmes roll on camera, played the roll of Dr. Watson in the LA production of the stage play, which featured Charlton Heston as Sherlock Holmes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The latest Sherlock Holmes movie stars Jude Law as Dr. Watson (on left) and Robert Downey, Jr.

as Sherlock Holmes (on right). A short preview of this movie found on the Internet shows enough unrealistic violence and action one would expect them to be wearing Superman suits. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is probably rolling over in his grave. Re-runs of the Jeremy Brett series have been airing on Public Broadcasting. They were filmed about 20 years ago and are nearly as popular here in America as they were in Britain when they were first released. They are in black & white and appear to have authentic scenery and props. I watch them when I get the chance and enjoy the old trains and horse-drawn carriages, which seem to be appropriate for 1880’s London.

Question: Which character has been portrayed on film by Andre Morell, Robert Duvall and Ben Kingsley?
Answer: Dr John Watson