Sherlock Holmes is one of the most fascinating characters that ever populated the realm of fiction. The consulting detective, his chronicler Dr Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade and Irene Adler have all been protagonists of many a cinematic adventure. And not just that: there have been countless theatre and radio adaptations as well as ballets, music comedies, animated series – even an Alvin and the Chipmunks episode. As noted by author Alan Barnes in his book ‘Sherlock Holmes on screen’, the detective “has appeared on screen more times than any other fictional character”, a fact duly reported by the Guinness World Records, which lists Holmes as the ‘Most Portrayed Literary Human Character’.

It has been 116 years since the first time Holmes appeared on stage. William Gillette and Conan Doyle’s play, simply titled Sherlock Holmes, premiered in October 1899 in Buffalo, New York.

Since then, over 250 films and TV series have been realised around the sleuth, sometimes closely following Conan Doyle’s plots, other times along original storylines. All of them had to solve one common dilemma: how to translate the immortal literary character into his flesh and blood version.

We had a look at Holmes’s most celebrated film and TV adaptations to take you as far as possible from his last bow.

Film

1939-1946 Film Series with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce