Sherlock Holmes early 1900s, H. A. Saintsbury took over the role from Gillette for a tour of the play. Between this play and Conan Doyle's own stage adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", Saintsbury portrayed Holmes over 1,000 times. Basil Rathbone played Holmes and Nigel Bruce played Watson in fourteen U.S. films (two for 20th Century Fox and a dozen for Universal Pictures) from 1939 to 1946, and in "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" on the Mutual radio network from 1939 to 1946 (before the role of Holmes passed to Tom Conway). While the Fox films were period pieces,
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother Sacker, shares a similar name with that originally applied to John Watson, Ormond Sacker. The film's title and premise are a joke referring to the character of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes' "older" brother, who was by both of their estimates a good deal smarter than Sherlock. He was, however, too lazy to become a detective, and did indispensable work for the British government. Mycroft was described by Sherlock in conversation with Watson: Mycroft is mentioned briefly in the beginning of the film, which presupposes that Holmes was one of three brothers. Sigerson's name refers to an alias used by Sherlock