Sherlock Holmes (1939 Film Series) - Beginning at 20th Century Fox

Beginning At 20th Century Fox

The first two films were produced by 20th Century Fox. The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1939 was originally intended as a one-off production. However, as the release met with critical success in the US, the studio followed it up the same year with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which established what was to become a popular trend of combining elements from several Sherlock Holmes stories to create new tales. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was credited as an adaptation of William Gillette's 1899 play Sherlock Holmes, but bears little resemblance.

The two 1939 Sherlock Holmes films were the first ones to be set in the Victorian era; all previous Holmes films had been set at the time of the respective films' release, up to and including the 1930s British series featuring Arthur Wontner.