Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes faithful adherence to the original characterization. One famous radio appearance starred Orson Welles as Sherlock Holmes in an adaptation of one of William Gillette's plays. This was broadcast in September 1938 as part of "The Mercury Theater on the Air" series on CBS Radio. Throughout the early 1940s on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories on "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" radio show. These broadcasts were loosely based on Doyle's cases. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes Wilder and rather daring Sherlock Holmes, not a perfect mix, perhaps, but a fond and entertaining one". Kim Newman, reviewing it in "Empire" magazine, described it as the "best Sherlock Holmes movie ever made" and "sorely underrated in the Wilder canon". Roger Ebert was more critical, giving the film two-and-a-half stars out of four. He wrote that it is "disappointingly lacking in bite and sophistication", that it "begins promisingly enough" but that "before the movie is 20 minutes old, Wilder has settled for simply telling a Sherlock Holmes adventure". Gene Siskel gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and