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
The Adventure of the Speckled Band script. Conan Doyle was "charmed with the play, the acting, and the pecuniary result," and determined to cash in on its popularity. He wrote his own play in what he later referred to as "record time," and so saved the situation. "The Speckled Band" was Arthur Conan Doyle's third stageplay and was the second Holmes dramatization. It was based with some modifications on the short story of the same name which, according to Adrian Conan Doyle, was his father's favorite Sherlock Holmes tale. Conan Doyle engaged H. A. Saintsbury, who had toured with the Gillette company, to portray Sherlock Holmes;