Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom
Encyclopedia
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom was a 1905 American silent film
directed by J. Stuart Blackton
for Vitagraph Studios
. It was the second film based on Arthur Conan Doyle
's Sherlock Holmes
stories, following the 1900 Mutoscope
trick film Sherlock Holmes Baffled
, and is usually regarded as the first attempt to film a "serious" Holmes adaptation. The scenario was by Theodore Liebler based on elements of Conan Doyle's novel The Sign of Four
.
Released on 7 October 1905, the film starred Maurice Costello
as Sherlock Holmes, H. Kyrle Bellew as John Watson with J. Barney Sherry
in an unlisted role. The film was the first screen appearance of Costello, who later became regarded as one of the first "matinee idol
s". Robert Pohle notes that "Deprived of his voice in those early silent films, Holmes was also transformed from an intellectual, armchair detective into a more kinetic action figure—almost a sort of cowboy-in-deerstalker."
Although sometimes considered a lost film
, fragments are still extant in the Library of Congress
paper print
collection. The film was shot on 35mm black-and-white film, running to one reel of 725 feet in length.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
directed by J. Stuart Blackton
J. Stuart Blackton
James Stuart Blackton , usually known as J. Stuart Blackton, was an Anglo-American film producer of the Silent Era, the founder of Vitagraph Studios and among the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation...
for Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
. It was the second film based on Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories, following the 1900 Mutoscope
Mutoscope
frame|right|An 1899 trade advertisementThe Mutoscope was an early motion picture device, patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894. Like Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope it did not project on a screen, and provided viewing to only one person at a time...
trick film Sherlock Holmes Baffled
Sherlock Holmes Baffled
Sherlock Holmes Baffled is a very short American silent film created in 1900 with cinematography by Arthur Marvin. It is the earliest known film to feature Arthur Conan Doyle's detective character Sherlock Holmes, albeit in a form unlike that of later screen incarnations. The inclusion of the...
, and is usually regarded as the first attempt to film a "serious" Holmes adaptation. The scenario was by Theodore Liebler based on elements of Conan Doyle's novel The Sign of Four
The Sign of Four
The Sign of the Four , also called The Sign of Four, is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 stories starring the fictional detective.The story is set in 1887...
.
Released on 7 October 1905, the film starred Maurice Costello
Maurice Costello
Maurice Costello was a prominent vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s, who later played a principal role in early American films, as both a leading man, supporting player and a director....
as Sherlock Holmes, H. Kyrle Bellew as John Watson with J. Barney Sherry
J. Barney Sherry
J. Barney Sherry was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 215 films between 1905 and 1929.He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from heart disease....
in an unlisted role. The film was the first screen appearance of Costello, who later became regarded as one of the first "matinee idol
Matinee idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans.The term almost exclusively refers to male actors. Invariably the adulation was fixated on the actor's looks rather than performance...
s". Robert Pohle notes that "Deprived of his voice in those early silent films, Holmes was also transformed from an intellectual, armchair detective into a more kinetic action figure—almost a sort of cowboy-in-deerstalker."
Although sometimes considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
, fragments are still extant in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
paper print
Paper print
Paper prints were an early mechanism to establish the copyright of motion pictures by depositing them with the Library of Congress. Thomas Alva Edison’s company was first to register each frame of movie film onto a positive paper print, in 1893...
collection. The film was shot on 35mm black-and-white film, running to one reel of 725 feet in length.