100 years of a nonpareil
100 years of the man who redefined Sherlock Holmes
15th May, 1916 - Essanay Studios release 'Sherlock Holmes' directed by Arthur Berthelet and starring William Gillette as the titular character. It would go on to become one of the most watched films of the year.
February, 2014 - Archivist Emmanuelle Berthault cracks open a film can at the Cinematheque archive. Inside is a copy of a german film , 'The case of the Texas Cow-girl' (1954) and five reels of duplicate negative along with several flash cards - one of which bore the name - William Gilette. It was the 1916 film thought to be lost for 90+ years.
May, 2015 – The film fully restored by San Francisco Silent Film Festival and La Cinémathèque française premieres in the U.S.
On the occasion of a century of the film's initial premiere , Gillette's contribution to the literary character is hard to understate. Before filming at 1333 W. Argyle , Gillette had been portraying Holmes for 15 years on stage with his own script – Sherlock Holmes. [V3 click here.]
One fine morning, wearing a gown, having donned a deerstalker and carrying a magnifying glass Gillette stepped out of his carriage and went to Conan Doyle. Peering at him through his magnifying glass, he said - “Unquestionably an author.” The pair became life long friends.
Apart from being that generations Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone, Gillette introduced several innovations some of which have become synonymous with the character. Conan Doyle himself incroporated one or two of these in his works. Such was Doyle's trust in Gillette that he responded to Gillette's question - “May I marry Holmes?” with “You may marry him, murder him, or do anything you like to him."
Among his famous contributions are the Meerschaum (Curved pipe) , Billy the page (portrayed by a 13 year old Charlie Chaplin in London in 1901) and the coining of the phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson ” - one of the most misquoted phrases ever.
Gillete played Holmes more than 1,300 times before retiring in 1915. He died in 1937 but his legacy as Holmes continues to live on. His script spawned three films before being revived on the stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1973. The suave gown he sported also became a staple 'prop' for later Holmes actors.
