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Sherlock Holmes |
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Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes as been the subject of
many radio dramatizations over the years. This CD set consists of the most
significant ones: (I)
BASIL RATHBONE / NIGEL BRUCE
COLLECTION For
seven years, the Sherlock Holmes Radio Show actually starred both Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. They began in 1939 and continued through the mid
40's, while the two were also cranking out 14 Hollywood films. The radio
stories even included commercials & promotional advertisements for their
current Sherlock Holmes movie
offerings. These
programs were action packed, filled with atmosphere, and featured great music
by Lou Kosloff, as well as excellent sound effects. It has been reported that
Denis Conan Doyle, son of the writer, watched a radio production with
Rathbone and Bruce in 1941, and was heard to say, "Éadmirable,
absolutely admirable." (II)
SIR JOHN GIELGUD AND SIR RALPH RICHARDSON COLLECTION In
1954, Harry Alan Towers enticed
noted British stage & screen performers in Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson to play Holmes and Watson (respectively) in an
excellent BBC adaptation of stories from the Sherlock Holmes canon. The first
episode (The Blackmailer) is
actually a story about how Watson meet the crime-solver. Towers,
who had successfully produced The Lives of Harry Lime (aka The Third Man) radio series (also available from this website)
starring Orson Welles, scored a
coup for this Sherlock Holmes series when he talked Welles into playing Professor
Moriarty alongside Gielgud &
Richardson in the gripping episode: The Final Problem. This episode represents the final (?) battle
between Holmes and his great nemesis Moriarty culminating in a thrilling
climax at the Reichenbach Falls. Twelve
shows were aired by the BBC in 1954.
The series aired in the US in 1955 and consisted of the original 12
episodes plus a further 4 new episodes which included the "Holmes has
survived Reichenbach" episode: The Adventure of the Empty House. In all 16 episodes were produced. Continuity
Note: When all 16 programs were
broadcast in the US, the order was changed as repeats from the 12 UK aired
programs were aired along with the 4 new ones. To maintain continuity between
The Final Problem & The Adventure of the Empty House which (logically & chronologically) must follow
one another, the latter has been given a fictitious date: namely 1955-03-13
instead of the actual broadcast date which was 1955-04-24. (III)
ORSON WELLES' MERCURY THEATRE PRODUCTION Harking
back to 1938, Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre broadcast a fascinating 1 hour production called Sherlock
Holmes (often called The
Immortal Sherlock Holmes). It was
based upon the play by William Gillette and featured all the things that one would expect in a story about
Conan Doyle's greatest creation. This classic tale saw Holmes (as played by Orson
Welles) again pitting his wits
against his greatest foe, Professor Moriarty. (IV)
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES In
2002, director Patrick Rayner and dramatist Bert Coules collaborated to produce The Further Adventures
Of Sherlock Holmes. These were
altogether quite different to any Sherlock Holmes stories that had come
before. Bert
Coules set about creating a wholly new set of dramas, which were to be based
on references by Dr Watson to other, un-recorded cases mentioned in the
original Sherlock Holmes tales. So each was an entirely new Sherlock Holmes
story which was based on a Òthrowaway referenceÓ from an actual Arthur Conan
Doyle short story or novel about the famous sleuth. For
example, in the well known Sherlock Holmes short story ÒThe Solitary
CyclistÓ, the following words can be found at the beginning of the tale: ÒÉ Miss Violet SmithÕs É visit
was, I remember, extremely unwelcome to Holmes, for he was immersed at the
moment in a very abstruse and complicated problem concerning the peculiar
persecution to which John Vincent Harden, the well known tobacco millionaire,
had been subjected.Ó No
further mention is made of John Vincent Harden nor of his problem but Coules,
using this reference only, wrote an all new original (and compelling) story
titled ÒThe Peculiar Persecution of Mr John Vincent HardenÓ – the third
of the series and available for immediate download below. For
all of these innovative programs, Clive Merrison played Holmes, and Andrew Sachs was Watson. Merrison had already developed a strong
following amongst aficionadas of Holmes on radio having played the role many
times previously, whilst Sachs - perhaps better known as Manuel in TVÕs
Fawlty Towers - played Father Brown
on BBC Radio in the 1980s (also
available from this website). Thus
far there have been 16 of these new stories - each of 45 minutes duration. Want
to check out Jeffery Richards's 30 minute BBC Radio documentary: Sherlock
Holmes on Radio? How about Gielgud,
Richardson & Welles going at it
The Final Problem? Or Bert
Coules' production of The
Peculiar Persecution of Mr John Vincent Harden with Merrison & Sachs? These
can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click on any
link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to that
effect). The files sizes range from about 18Mb to 30 Mb - download time will
depend on your (broadband) speed Radio
Detectives - Sherlock Holmes.mp3 SHGR_1954-12-21
The Final Problem.mp3 SHFA_2002-02-13
The Peculiar Persecution of Mr John Vincent Harden.mp3 These
three MP3 CDs consist of Sherlock Holmes on Radio, a 30 minute documentary
presented by Professor Geoffrey Richards, a 3 minute retrospective from Peggy
Webber who appeared alongside Rathbone & Bruce in several of the radio
shows, as well as 50 thirty minute episodes of Sherlock Holmes starring Basil
Rathbone and Nigel Bruce - each is of excellent quality having been patiently
restored to their former quality. One further episode of lower quality
(though quite "listenable") are also included. Also
included is the entire 16 episode run of the Gielgud / Richardson series
(with The Final Problem starring Orson Welles as Moriarty being a stand-out!)
along with Welles' 1938 Mercury Theatre production: The Immortal Sherlock
Holmes. The
entire collection (thus far) of Bert Coules' The Further Adventures Of
Sherlock Holmes is also included. A. Sherlock
Holmes on Radio Documentaries 1.
A 30 minute BBC
documentary with Professor Geoffrey Richards 2.
A 3 minute
retrospective from Peggy Webber B. Sherlock
Holmes with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce 1. SHRB_1939-11-06
The Bruce-Partington Plans.mp3 2. SHRB_1940-03-11
The Retired Colourman.mp3 3. SHRB_1940-10-06
The Copper Beeches.mp3 4. SHRB_1945-03-26
The Book of Tobit.mp3 5. SHRB_1945-04-02
The Amateur Mendicant Society.mp3 6. SHRB_1945-04-09
The Viennese Stranger.mp3 7. SHRB_1945-04-23
The Notorious Canary Trainer.mp3 8. SHRB_1945-04-30
Unfortunate Tobacconist.mp3 9. SHRB_1945-05-07
The Purloined Ruby.mp3 10. SHRB_1945-05-14
On the Flanders.mp3 11. SHRB_1945-05-21
The Paradol Chamber.mp3 12. SHRB_1945-09-03
The Limping Ghost.mp3 13. SHRB_1945-09-10
Colonel Warburton's Madness.mp3 14. SHRB_1945-09-17
Out of Date Murder.mp3 15. SHRB_1945-09-24
The Eyes of Mr Leyton.mp3 16. SHRB_1945-10-01
Problem of Thor Bridge.mp3 17. SHRB_1945-10-08
The Vanishing Elephant.mp3 18. SHRB_1945-10-15
The Manor House Case.mp3 19. SHRB_1945-10-22
The Great Gandolfo.mp3 20. SHRB_1945-10-29
Murder In the Moonlight.mp3 21. SHRB_1945-11-05
The Fifth of November.mp3 22. SHRB_1945-11-12
The Speckled Band.mp3 23. SHRB_1945-11-19
Double Zero.mp3 24. SHRB_1945-11-26
Accidental Murderess.mp3 25. SHRB_1945-12-03
Murder in the Casbah.mp3 26. SHRB_1945-12-10
A Scandal in Bohemia.mp3 27. SHRB_1945-12-17
The Second Generation.mp3 28. SHRB_1945-12-24
Night Before Christmas.mp3 29. SHRB_1945-12-31
Case of the Iron Box.mp3 30. SHRB_1946-01-07
Hampton Heath Killer.mp3 31. SHRB_1946-01-14
Murder Beyond the Mountains.mp3 32. SHRB_1946-01-21
Telltale Pigeon Feathers.mp3 33. SHRB_1946-01-28
Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber.mp3 34. SHRB_1946-02-04
Indiscretion of Mr Edwards.mp3 35. SHRB_1946-02-11
The Guileless Gypsy.mp3 36. SHRB_1946-02-18
Camberwell Poisoners.mp3 37. SHRB_1946-02-25
Murder at the Opera.mp3 38. SHRB_1946-03-04
The Submarine Caves.mp3 39. SHRB_1946-03-11
The Living Doll.mp3 40. SHRB_1946-03-18
Blarney Stone.mp3 41. SHRB_1946-03-25
Girl with the Gazelle.mp3 42. SHRB_1946-04-01
April Fool's Adventure.mp3 43. SHRB_1946-04-08
Disappearing Scientists.mp3 44. SHRB_1946-04-15
Mystery of the Headless Monk.mp3 45. SHRB_1946-04-22
Tankerville Club Scandal.mp3 46. SHRB_1946-04-29
The Waltz of Death.mp3 47. SHRB_1946-05-06
Man with the Twisted Lip.mp3 48. SHRB_1946-05-13
Uneasy Chair.mp3 49. SHRB_1946-05-20
Haunting of Sherlock Holmes.mp3 50. SHRB_1946-05-27
Baconian Cipher.mp3 C. Lower
Quality Eps : Sherlock Holmes
with Rathbone and Bruce 1.
SHRB_1944-05-15
Adventure of the Missing Bloodstain.mp3 D. Sherlock
Holmes with Sirs John Gielgud & Ralph Richardson 1.
SHGR_1954-10-05 The
Blackmailer.mp3 2.
SHGR_1954-10-12 A
Scandal In Bohemia.mp3 3.
SHGR_1954-10-19 The
Red-Headed League.mp3 4.
SHGR_1954-10-26 The
Traitor.mp3 5.
SHGR_1954-11-02 A Case
of Identity.mp3 6.
SHGR_1954-11-09 Rare
Disease.mp3 7.
SHGR_1954-11-16 The
Second Stain.mp3 8.
SHGR_1954-11-23 The
Norwood Builder.mp3 9.
SHGR_1954-11-30 The
Solitary Cyclist.mp3 10.
SHGR_1954-12-07 The
Six Napoleons.mp3 11.
SHGR_1954-12-14 The
Blue Carbuncle.mp3 12.
SHGR_1954-12-21 The
Final Problem.mp3 (Orson Welles as Moriarty) 13.
SHGR_1955-03-13 The
Adventure of the Empty House.mp3 14.
SHGR_1955-03-20 The
Specked Band.mp3 15.
SHGR_1955-03-27 Silver
Blaze.mp3 16.
SHGR_1955-04-03 The
Golden Prince-Nez.mp3 E. Orson
Welles' Mercury Theatre 1.
MT_1938-09-25 The
Immortal Sherlock Holmes.mp3 F. The
Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes 1.
SHFA_2002-01-30 The
Madness of Colonel Warburton.mp3 2.
SHFA_2002-02-06 The
Star of the Adelphi.mp3 3.
SHFA_2002-02-13 The
Peculiar Persecution of Mr John Vincent Harden.mp3 4.
SHFA_2002-02-20 The
Singular Inheritance of Miss Gloria Wilson.mp3 5.
SHFA_2002-02-27 The
Saviour of Cripplegate Square.mp3 6.
SHFA_2004-05-18 The
Abergavenny Murder.mp3 7.
SHFA_2004-05-25 The
Shameful Betrayal of Miss Emily Smith.mp3 8.
SHFA_2004-06-01 The
Tragedy of Hanbury Street.mp3 9.
SHFA_2004-06-08 The
Determined Client.mp3 10.
SHFA_2004-06-15 The
Striking Success of Miss Franny Blossom.mp3 11.
SHFA_2008-12-26 The
Remarkable Performance of Mr Frederick Merridew.mp3 12.
SHFA_2009-01-02 The
Eyes of Horus.mp3 13.
SHFA_2009-01-09 The
Thirteen Watches.mp3 14.
SHFA_2009-01-16 The
Ferrers Documents.mp3 15.
SHFA_2010-04-05 The
Marlbourne Point Mystery (Part I).mp3 16.
SHFA_2010-04-06 The
Marlbourne Point Mystery (Part II).mp3 |