Sherlock Holmes (play)

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Sherlock Holmes
Charles Frohman presents William Gillette in his new four act drama, Sherlock Holmes (LOC var 1364) (edit).jpg
Promotional poster of the play
Written by William Gillette
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Characters Sherlock Holmes
Dr. Watson
Date premieredOctober 23, 1899 (1899-10-23)
Place premieredStar Theatre,
Buffalo, New York, US
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
Setting London, England

Sherlock Holmes is a four-act play by William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, based on Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. After three previews it premiered on Broadway November 6, 1899, at the Garrick Theatre in New York City.

Contents

Background

Recognizing the success of his character Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle decided to pen a play based on him. [1]

American theatrical producer Charles Frohman approached Conan Doyle and requested the rights to Holmes. While nothing came of their association at that time, it did inspire Conan Doyle to pen a five-act play featuring Holmes and Professor Moriarty. [2] Upon reading the play, Frohman felt that it was unfit for production [2] and instead persuaded Conan Doyle that actor William Gillette would be an ideal Holmes [1] and would also be the perfect person to rewrite the play. [2] Gillette, a successful playwright, donned a deerstalker and cape to visit Conan Doyle and request permission not only to perform the part but to rewrite it himself. [1]

Creation

William Gillette as Holmes and Katherine Florence as Alice Faulkner in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes Sherlock-Holmes-1899-2-detail.jpg
William Gillette as Holmes and Katherine Florence as Alice Faulkner in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes

The play itself drew material from Conan Doyle's published stories "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Final Problem" and A Study in Scarlet , [2] [1] [3] [4] while adding much that was new as well. [1] As the plot was largely taken from Doyle's canon, with some dialogue directly lifted from his original stories, Doyle was credited as a co-author, even though Gillette wrote the play. [1] [3]

George Wessells as Moriarty in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes Sherlock-Holmes-1899-1.jpg
George Wessells as Moriarty in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes

Gillette took great liberties with the character, such as giving Holmes a love interest. While Conan Doyle was initially uncomfortable with these additions, the success of the play softened his views; [1] he said, "I was charmed both with the play, the acting, and the pecuniary result." [3] Doyle later recounted how he had received a cable from Gillette inquiring, "May I marry Holmes?", to which Conan Doyle replied, "You may marry him, murder him, or do anything you like to him." [1] [5] The love interest was modelled on Irene Adler's role in "A Scandal in Bohemia", with Gillette reinventing the character and renaming her "Alice Faulkner". [1]

Gillette's play features Professor Moriarty as the villain, but Gillette names him "Robert Moriarty". [6] At this point no forename had been given for Moriarty in Conan Doyle's stories.

Holmes (William Gillette) and his hypodermic, with Dr. Watson (Bruce McRae, left), in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes Sherlock-Holmes-1899-McRae-Gillette.jpg
Holmes (William Gillette) and his hypodermic, with Dr. Watson (Bruce McRae, left), in the 1899 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes

Conan Doyle had mentioned an unnamed pageboy in "A Case of Identity", and Gillette utilized the character and christened him "Billy". Conan Doyle himself would later reintroduce the character into some Holmes stories and continue using the name Billy. [7]

Revisions

The text of the play was revised numerous times during its long series of runs. The original text of 1899 was revised with corrections in 1901. There was a further "corrected and expurgated text" of approximately 1923, and a final revision for the "farewell revival" of 1929–1930. When the play was published in book form (as opposed to a play script) by Doubleday, Doran & Company in 1935, further corrections were made, as described by Vincent Starrett in his introduction:

These have been carefully collated and separate scenes and situations of still other corrected versions also have been examined. Finally, Mr. Gillette has been frequently consulted. ... As made by Mr. Gillette, between seasons or between revivals, the changes were intended to lend speed or effectiveness to the drama as seen and heard by a theatre audience. Long speeches were made into short ones, and some were dropped entirely; references that had little or no bearing on the swift and chronological development of the narrative were eliminated. Now that the play is intended to be read, it has seemed well to replace some of the lines earlier removed, and to eliminate certain later substitutions. In short, the play as now published is believed to be an intelligent blend or fusion of all previous texts, containing the best of each. Stage directions—lights—position—business—with which all existing manuscripts are bursting, have been held to a minimum. [8]

Production

Holmes (William Gillette, right) gets the drop on Moriarty (George Wessells) in the original Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes (1899) Gillette-Sherlock-Holmes-LIFE.jpg
Holmes (William Gillette, right) gets the drop on Moriarty (George Wessells) in the original Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes (1899)
William Gillette - Sherlock Holmes poster 1.jpg
William Gillette - Sherlock Holmes poster 2.jpg
Posters for the 1899 Broadway production

Sherlock Holmes was first seen at the Star Theatre in Buffalo, New York, October 23, 1899. After three previews it opened November 6, 1899, at the Garrick Theatre in New York City. [9] The four-act drama was produced by Charles Frohman, with incidental music by William Furst and scenic design by Ernest Gros. [10] Novel for its time, the production made scene changes with lighting alone. [11]

Cast

The play ran at the Garrick for more than 260 performances [4] before a long tour of the United States. [9]

Sherlock Holmes moved on to London's Lyceum Theatre in September 1901. [1] [4] During the London leg of the tour, a 13-year-old Charlie Chaplin played Billy the pageboy. [4] [7] [12] The play finally closed after 200 performances. [4] In 1903, H. A. Saintsbury took over the role from Gillette for a tour of Great Britain. [9] Between this play and Conan Doyle's own stage adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", Saintsbury portrayed Holmes over 1,000 times. [13]

A burlesque of the play, Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillette Him Off opened at Terry's Theatre in 1901 with Clarence Blakiston in the title role and ran for 138 performances. [14] [15]

Revivals

Peg Entwistle and Gillette in his farewell appearance as Sherlock Holmes, the 1929 Broadway production Entwistle Gillette Sherlock Holmes.jpg
Peg Entwistle and Gillette in his farewell appearance as Sherlock Holmes, the 1929 Broadway production

Gillette revived Sherlock Holmes in 1905, 1906, 1910, and 1915. [4] Gillette returned for a 45-performance run in 1929. [16]

In 1928 there was another brief Broadway revival with Robert Warwick as Holmes, Stanley Logan as Watson and Frank Keenan as Moriarty. The production opened February 20, 1928, at the Cosmopolitan Theatre in New York City, and ran for 16 performances. [17]

The Royal Shakespeare Company revived the play in 1973. [18] Directed by Frank Dunlop and starring John Wood as Holmes, the play was a huge success, [18] which led to a move to Broadway in November 1974 [19] and a subsequent tour. [18] By the end of its Broadway run, the play had been performed 471 times. [19] Wood was succeeded as Holmes by John Neville, [2] Robert Stephens, [2] and Leonard Nimoy; [18] the first two had both played the detective before (Neville in A Study in Terror and Stephens in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes .) Dunlop was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play. [20]

In 1976, the play was performed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the cast included Alan Rickman as Sherlock Holmes and David Suchet as Professor Moriarty. [21]

Frank Langella first performed the part in 1977 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. [22] He took on the role once more for a production taped for HBO's Standing Room Only program in 1981. [22] This would be only the second theater production to be undertaken by HBO. [22]

Adaptations

William Gillette (center) in the Essanay Studios film adaptation of the play, Sherlock Holmes (1916) William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes by Essanay Studio.jpg
William Gillette (center) in the Essanay Studios film adaptation of the play, Sherlock Holmes (1916)

In 1916, a silent film of the play also entitled Sherlock Holmes featured William Gillette in the role of Holmes and has been called "the most elaborate of the early movies". [23] It is one of the earliest American film adaptations of the Holmes character. Long thought to be a lost film, a print of the film was found in the Cinémathèque Française's collection in October 2014. [24] It was restored and screened in 2015.

The play was once again filmed in 1922, this time with John Barrymore donning the deerstalker. [25] 1932 brought another adaptation of Gillette's play, with Clive Brook taking over the role in Sherlock Holmes . [26]

On September 25, 1938, Orson Welles starred in his own radio adaption of Sherlock Holmes for The Mercury Theatre on the Air . The cast included Ray Collins as Dr. Watson, Mary Taylor as Alice Faulkner, Brenda Forbes as Madge Larrabee, Edgar Barrier as James Larrabee, Morgan Farley as Inspector Forman, Richard Wilson as Craigin, Alfred Shirley as Bassick, William Alland as Leary, Arthur Anderson as Billy, and Eustace Wyatt as Professor Moriarty. Music was conducted by Bernard Herrmann. [27] [28] [29]

The 1939 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , the second film to star Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, is credited as an adaptation of the play, though they bear little resemblance. [30]

In 1953, BBC Home Service dramatized the play with Carleton Hobbs as Holmes and Norman Shelley as Watson. [31]

In 1979 composer Raimonds Pauls and songwriter, poet Jānis Peters wrote a musical Šerloks Holmss. It premiered in Riga, Latvia's Dailes Theatre with Valentīns Skulme as Holmes and Gunārs Placēns as Watson. [32] There was a 2006 revival, again in Dailes Theatre.

Cultural impact

Gillette's Holmes is widely credited with being the first to utter "Elementary, my dear Watson" [2] [7] —a phrase that never appears in Conan Doyle's stories. [33]

It was also Gillette who introduced the famous curved pipe as a trademark Holmes prop. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Gillette</span> American manager and playwright

William Hooker Gillette was an American actor-manager, playwright, and stage-manager in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best remembered for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a 1916 silent film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Final Problem</span> Short story by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes

"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom, and McClure's in the United States, under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Scandal in Bohemia</span> Short story by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes

"A Scandal in Bohemia" is the first short story, and the third overall work, featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It is the first of the 56 Holmes short stories written by Doyle and the first of 38 Sherlock Holmes works illustrated by Sidney Paget. The story is notable for introducing the character of Irene Adler, who is one of the most notable female characters in the Sherlock Holmes series, despite appearing in only one story. Doyle ranked "A Scandal in Bohemia" fifth in his list of his twelve favourite Holmes stories.

<i>The Valley of Fear</i> Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was copyrighted in 1914, and it was first published by George H. Doran Company in New York on 27 February 1915, and illustrated by Arthur I. Keller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector Lestrade</span> Fictional character from Sherlock Holmes

Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade, is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel A Study in Scarlet, which was published in 1887. The last story in which he appears is the short story "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", which was first published in 1924 and was included in the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.

Arthur Wontner was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937.

<i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i> (film) 1939 film by Alfred L. Werker

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 American mystery adventure film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Although claiming to be an adaptation of the 1899 play Sherlock Holmes by William Gillette, the film bears little resemblance to the play.

<i>Sherlock Holmes</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Sherlock Holmes is a 1932 American pre-Code film starring Clive Brook as the eponymous London detective. The movie is based on the successful stage play Sherlock Holmes by William Gillette, in turn based on the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, and is directed by William K. Howard for the Fox Film Corporation. Brook had played Holmes previously in The Return of Sherlock Holmes and the "Murder Will Out" segment of Paramount on Parade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederic Dorr Steele</span> American illustrator

Frederic Dorr Steele was an American illustrator best known for his work on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.

<i>Sherlock Holmes</i> (1916 film) 1916 film by Arthur Berthelet

Sherlock Holmes is a 1916 American silent film starring William Gillette as Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Arthur Berthelet, it was produced by Essanay Studios in Chicago. The screenplay was adapted from the 1899 stage play of the same name, which in turn was based on the stories, "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Final Problem," and A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle.

<i>Sherlock Holmes</i> (1922 film) 1922 American silent mystery drama film by Albert Parker

Sherlock Holmes is a 1922 American silent mystery drama film starring John Barrymore as Sherlock Holmes, Roland Young as Dr. John Watson and Gustav von Seyffertitz as Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes is a film series running from 1931 to 1937. Arthur Wontner portrayed Sherlock Holmes in five films.

The Valley of Fear is a British silent adventure film of 1916 directed by Alexander Butler and starring Harry Arthur Saintsbury, Daisy Burrell and Booth Conway. The film is an adaptation of the 1915 novel, The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes. This is now considered a lost film.

From 1921 to 1923, Stoll Pictures produced three series of silent black-and-white films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Forty-five short films and two feature-length films were produced featuring Eille Norwood in the role of Holmes and Hubert Willis cast as Dr. Watson with the exception of the final film, The Sign of Four, where Willis was replaced with Arthur Cullin. Consequently, Norwood holds the record for most appearances as Sherlock Holmes in film.

The Hound of London is a television film directed by Peter Reynolds-Long and starring Patrick Macnee as Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professor Moriarty in other media</span>

Professor James Moriarty is the fictional archenemy of Sherlock Holmes in some of the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He has appeared in several forms outside of the original stories.

The Three Garridebs is a 1937 television presentation that aired on NBC, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1924 story "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs". Louis Hector played Sherlock Holmes, the first actor to do so on television.

The Speckled Band is a 1910 play in three acts by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, based on his own 1892 short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band".

<i>Sheerluck Jones, or Why DGillette Him Off</i>

Sheerluck Jones, or Why D'Gillette Him Off is a burlesque on the popular 1899 play Sherlock Holmes. The comedy starred Clarence Blakiston as Sheerluck Jones and ran at Terry's Theatre (1901-02) for 138 performances.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Eyles, Allen (1986). Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration. Harper & Row. pp.  34. ISBN   0-06-015620-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bunson, Matthew (1994). Encyclopedia Sherlockiana: an A-to-Z guide to the world of the great detective. Macmillan. pp. 228–230. ISBN   978-0-671-79826-0.
  3. 1 2 3 Starrett, Vincent (1993). The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes . Otto Penzler Books. p. 140. ISBN   1-883402-05-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dick Riley; Pam McAllister (1998). The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Sherlock Holmes . Continuum. pp.  60. ISBN   0-8264-1116-9.
  5. ↑ Starrett, Vincent (1993). The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes . Otto Penzler Books. p. 139. ISBN   1-883402-05-0.
  6. ↑ Starrett, Vincent (1993). The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes . Otto Penzler Books. p. 141. ISBN   1-883402-05-0.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Eyles, Allen (1986). Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration. Harper & Row. pp.  39. ISBN   0-06-015620-1.
  8. ↑ Gillette, William (1935). Sherlock Holmes: A Play. Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. pp. xv–xvi. OCLC   1841327.
  9. 1 2 3 Kabatchnik, Amnon (2008). Sherlock Holmes on the Stage: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Plays. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN   9781461707226.
  10. ↑ "Sherlock Holmes". Internet Broadway Database . Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Dramatic and Musical: William Gillette as Conan Doyle's Wonderful Detective". The New York Times . 8 November 1899. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Starrett, Vincent (1993). The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes . Otto Penzler Books. p. 142. ISBN   1-883402-05-0.
  13. ↑ Eyles, Allen (1986). Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration. Harper & Row. pp.  57. ISBN   0-06-015620-1.
  14. ↑ Marvin Lachman, The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End, MacFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers (2014) - Google Books pg. 30]
  15. ↑ Clarence Blakiston on Historical & Fictional Characters in Sherlockian Pastiches - Sherlockian Theatre
  16. ↑ Cartmell, Van H.; Cerf, Bennett, eds. (1946). Famous Plays of Crime and Detection. Philadelphia: The Blakiston Company. pp. x.
  17. ↑ "Sherlock Holmes". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Eyles, Allen (1986). Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration. Harper & Row. pp.  116. ISBN   0-06-015620-1.
  19. 1 2 Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock . Mysterious Press. p. 373. ISBN   978-0-8021-2789-1.
  20. ↑ "1974-1975 21st Drama Desk Awards". Drama Desk Award. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  21. ↑ "See how Alan Rickman wowed Birmingham Rep as Sherlock Holmes before he found fame". Birmingham Live. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 "HBO offers Sherlock Holmes". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  23. ↑ Phil Hardy, The BFI companion to crime (British Film Institute, 1997), p. 168
  24. ↑ Andrew Pulver; Kim Willsher (2 October 2014). "'Holy grail' of Sherlock Holmes films discovered at Cinémathèque Française". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  25. ↑ Joseph W. Garton, The film acting of John Barrymore (1980), p. 85
  26. ↑ Robert W. Pohle, Douglas C. Hart, Sherlock Holmes on the Screen: The Motion Picture Adventures of the World's Most Popular Detective (A. S. Barnes, 1977), pp. 100, 111, 113
  27. ↑ Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles . New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p.  346. ISBN   0-06-016616-9.
  28. ↑ Orson Welles on the Air: The Radio Years. Catalogue for exhibition October 28 – December 3, 1988. New York: The Museum of Broadcasting. 1988. p. 51.
  29. ↑ "Sherlock Holmes". Orson Welles on the Air, 1938–1946. Indiana University Bloomington . Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  30. ↑ "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  31. ↑ DeWaal, Ronald Burt (1974). The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes. Bramhall House. p.  383. ISBN   0-517-217597.
  32. ↑ "Atceramies izrādi "Šerloks Holms"". lr2.lsm.lv. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  33. ↑ Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock . Mysterious Press. p. 182. ISBN   978-0-8021-2789-1.
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