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
Adrian Conan Doyle and later, a book: "The True Conan Doyle" (John Murray, 1945). According to Lycett, "When the BBC commissioned an anniversary talk from Hesketh Pearson, Adrian announced that if it went ahead it would never broadcast another Sherlock Holmes story. The Corporation caved in." Lycett states that Pearson had met Arthur Conan Doyle at Francis Galton's home before the First World War. Pearson had idolised him from an early age, but was disappointed to find a thick-set broad-faced man with no more mystery than a pumpkin, who fulminated against Sherlock Holmes for preventing him from writing the historical novels he wanted.