Sherlock Holmes (1916 film) Sherlock Holmes (1916 film) Sherlock Holmes is a 1916 American silent film starring William Gillette as Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The film, which was directed by Arthur Berthelet, was produced by Essanay Studios in Chicago. It was adapted from the 1899 stage play of the same name, which was based on the stories, "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Final Problem," and "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle. All surviving prints of the 1916 film "Sherlock Holmes" were once thought to be lost. However, on October 1, 2014, it was announced that a copy had been discovered in
Sherlock Holmes pastiches called "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Many episodes are available on CD as well as downloadable from the Imagination Theater website. Holmes has been an inspiration of both serious and comedy films. A series of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. John Watson were released between 1939 and 1946. Many are loosely based on the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and some are original stories. Those that pit Holmes and Watson against the Nazis, made during the Second World War, were in the spirit of Conan Doyle's patriotism,