【2012-6-10】Sherlock Holmes turns 125

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/Sherlock-Holmes-turns-125/articleshow/13964884.cms
Rohit Panikker, TNN | Jun 10, 2012, 12.00AM IST

Take a walk with the world's favourite detective as he turns 125 years old this year.

In late 1887, a detective mystery novel titled A Study In Scarlet written by a young Scottish physician, Arthur Conan Doyle, appeared in the annual edition of the Beeton's Christmas Journal, thus introducing his eccentric "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes to the world. And now, after 125 years, the Sherlock Holmes canon has grown into an international literary entity, with over 5 million books in print annually, translated into 84 languages, and inspiring creative works ranging from stage adaptations to reference books, and multi-million dollar flicks. Deemed the third most read publication on the planet since the Bible and the dictionary, Sherlock Holmes is definitely England's biggest export from the Victorian era that has only grown in popularity every day for the past century. In this regard, it's only an elementary choice that we celebrate the first ever pop culture icon the world has seen!

Holmes on the stage and screen
It has been said that Sherlock Holmes is the most prolific screen character in the history of cinema. In fact, almost every actor worth his salt has sought to play the famous detective either on stage or on screen, with the last few adaptations including Robert Downey Jr's Bohemian Holmes in the Guy Ritchie films or Benedict Cumberbatch's modern-day Holmes from the recent TV series, fuelling further interest in the character. Here are some actors who have played the English detective on screen.

Peter Cushing
With his distinctive, rather bony features, Peter Cushing certainly looked the part of the Baker Street detective. He was one of the most popular TV actors to have played Holmes in the 16-episode, 1965-68 series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes

Basil Rathbone
This South Africa-born British Shakespearean actor is often considered the Sherlock Holmes of his time. He first played the detective in an adaptation of The Hound of Baskervilles in 1939, which became such a hit that it spawned a further 13 films between 1939 and 1946.

Maurice George Costello
This vaudevillian actor appeared in the first ever motion picture to feature the character in the movie Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He later went on to be a well known actor in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Michael Caine
The 1988 comedy film Without A Clue, shows Dr Watson ( Ben Kingsley) hiring an unemployed actor (Caine) to fake the detective's existence.

Christopher Plummer
He played Holmes in the 1979 movie Murder By Decree that got the greatest detective of the century to investigate the greatest crime of the century - the Jack The Ripper murders, featuring James Mason as Watson.

Jeremy Brett
He played Holmes from 1984-1994. Despite his concern at being typecast, Brett played Sherlock Holmes in almost 41 adaptations made for television. Brett had previously played Doctor Watson on stage opposite Charlton Heston as Holmes.

Benedict Cumberbatch
He managed to introduce, or rather, re-introduce Sherlock Holmes to a new generation of fans of the detective of Baker Street. Assisted by Martin Freeman, who plays Watson, the two young Londoners take on a modern network of crime. While the consulting detective enjoys the post as being the only one of his kind, his greatest opponent takes off the traditional garb of professor and introduces himself as a 'consulting criminal'. Watch Cumberbatch as Holmes, with his GPS, texting, and online research for company, and you'll never look for another face to play the character again!

Robert Downey Jr
Discarding his traditional deer stalker hat and tweed coat, Downey Jr's version of Sherlock Holmes in both Guy Ritchie adaptations is Bohemian, unkempt, a master at martial arts and shares extra screen time with the character Irene Adler.

Where is 221B Baker Street?
221B Baker Street, the fictional address created by Conan Doyle, would probably be the most famous address in the English-speaking world after 10 Downing Street. When the Sherlock Holmes stories first came out, Baker Street was said to be a posh area. Later, when the street was extended, letters were often still delivered, addressed to a certain 'Mr. Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street'. The Sherlock Holmes Museum, which is situated close by, has taken ownership of the address and receives letters on behalf of the fictional detective.

The Reichenbach falls
By 1891, Conan Doyle began to feel that he was being distracted from pursuing more serious work because of the Sherlock Holmes stories and decided to do away with the character once and for all. In an attempt to have his detective go down in a blaze of glory, the author pit Holmes against Professor James Moriarty, a crafty and dangerous criminal. In The Final Problem, Holmes and Moriarty have a face off at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland with both going over, falling to their deaths. But the author was flooded with letters and threats from fans to bring Holmes back and he finally yielded. The Reichenbach episode is one that has been the most reinterpreted, be it from Sidney Paget's classic illustrations, the computer-generated fall in the Guy Ritchie adaptation or the 'suicide' of Holmes in the Sherlock TV series, this scene has forever been one of the fans' favourites.