Many Watsons

Kieran McMullen

Description

There is always a healthy interest in the actors who have played the role of the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also created the world's best known sidekick, Dr. John H. Watson. The men and women who played the role of stalwart ally is quite an eclectic gathering. Here is compiled a listing and discussion of some of the best known people who have played the part of Watson from the earliest days of silent film to the action heroes of the 21st century. All royalties from this book go towards the Undershaw Preservation Trust. Please visit facebook.com/saveundershaw and -like- to show your support.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 11 octobre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781780923048
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
The Many Watsons
By
Kieran McMullen



Publisher Information
First edition published in 2012 by
MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor
Royal Drive, London, N11 3GX
www.mxpublishing.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed in 2012 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2012 Kieran McMullen
The right of Kieran McMullen to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book, as of the date of publication, nothing herein should be construed as giving advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not of MX Publishing.
Cover design by www.staunch.com



Dedication
There are a few things more important than Holmes and Watson. One of those things is the preservation of our heritage. Therefore, this book is dedicated to the preservation of the home of the creator of Watson and his sidekick Sherlock Holmes, that is, Undershaw. All profits from the sale will go to the preservation and restoration of that site.



Foreword
The list of Watsons that have filled the silver screen, the television tube and trod the boards now seems endless. Some bad but the vast majority pretty darn good in the part. My friend, Dr. Dan Andriacco, asked me a few months back what I would do when I ran out of Watsons. I sit here at the kitchen table looking at the names of another dozen to cover. And while I search for a photograph of the next Watson, I have to consider that there will be another Watson to come in New York. It appears there will be no end to it.
It is really an astounding thing that 130 years after the Good Doctor met the Great Detective we, the audience, are still so fascinated by the concept of a rational, thinking man. Maybe it is the fact that we look about us in our daily lives and see so much that does not make sense that we crave to know there is such a thing as reason and order in the world, and if we could just be like Holmes (or at least Watson) we could put all aright.
What follows is one man’s opinion. It is neither right nor wrong, feel free to disagree. I’ve gone back and relooked all the Watsons I have reviewed so far (after printing it all out and putting it in a 3-ring binder, I hate reading off a computer!) and I still come up with the same evaluation of my top Watsons: David Burke, Edward Hardwicke, and Kenneth Walsh. But you must choose your own favorites; they all have something to offer.
Kieran McMullen
Darien, Georgia
August, 2012



Nigel Bruce
I thought it might be some fun to do a short profile of the many, many actors who have portrayed my favorite character. Such a project MUST start with the most famous Watson of all; Nigel Bruce.
Born William Nigel Bruce on Valentine’s Day 1895 in Ensenada, Mexico Bruce was an actual descendant of Robert the Bruce. His family was British aristocracy, his father a baronet and the title passing to his older brother Michael. His mother, Angelica, was the daughter of General George Selby, Royal Artillery. Bruce went by his nickname, Willie. Willie was educated in England at The Grange (sound familiar?), Stevenage and Abingdon School, Berkshire.
With the start of WWI, Willie received a commission and went to France with the 10 th Service Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. While serving with the Honourable Artillery Company in 1915 he was wounded in the left leg (Hmmm... same leg as Watson!) at Cambrai and spent the rest of the war in a wheelchair. They pulled 11 bullets out of the leg which gave him problems the rest of his life. He started his acting career in 1919.
Bruce acted on the stage and in silent movies and finally came to Hollywood in 1934 where he appeared in 78 full length features. Besides acting he was an avid cricket player and captained the Hollywood Cricket Club. He was a prime member of the “Hollywood Raj,” a group of (mostly) British actors who worked and played together in the many British Empire type movies produced in the ’30s.
Of course, 1939 saw the teaming with Basil Rathbone for the famous 14 film Sherlock Holmes series. While the first two films: Hound of the Baskerville’s and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were fairly true to form, the next 12 were updated to the WWII period in which they were made. Bruce’s role as Watson became more comic relief than stalwart compatriot. And one must admit, that while not true to the Doyle character, Bruce was a truly great character and comic actor. Besides the 14 movies, Bruce and Rathbone reprised their roles in over 200 radio shows.
Bruce died of a heart attack, October 8 th , 1953 in Santa Monica, California. He left behind a wife and two daughters. A great loss at an early age!



Forest Holger-Madsen
One of the interesting things about film and Sherlock Holmes is how quickly the Great Detective came to the screen. Holmes was born of pen in the very earliest days of attempts to bring the moving picture to audiences. Holmes is introduced to the world in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887. In 1888 Thomas Edison met with Eadweard Muybridge, at Muybridge’s request. Muybridge asked Edison to combine the Zoopraxiscope (invented by Muybridge in 1879) which used a series of cameras to make “moving pictures” with Edison’s phonograph. Muybridge already saw the need for sound with his moving pictures. Edison turned down the venture but decided to develop a system that would take multiple pictures from one camera. By 1892 Edison’s Kinetoscope (from the Greek, meaning “to watch movement”) was in production. By 1905 Holmes was on the screen and by 1908 the Danish film company Nordisk was producing a series of Sherlock Holmes films. Nordisk was founded in 1906 by Ole Olsen and is still in business today.
At first the Sherlock Holmes series of films would be one reelers running about 11 to 14 minutes. And one of the earliest actors to play Holmes on the screen was Viggo Larsen. Larsen was born in 1880 in Copenhagen and would die there in 1957. His movie career included 87 films and he directed 60. He was active in the movie industry from 1906 until 1942. During that time he played Sherlock Holmes in a number of movies, including “The Gray Lady” (Den Graa Dame). The Grey lady was the sixth in the Nordisk Sherlock Holmes series and was directed by Larsen as well as being it’s star.
Our man Watson was played by Forest Holger-Madsen. Forest Holger-Madsen had previously appeared in two earlier Sherlock Holmes movies by Nordisk but each time he appeared as the villain: A.J. Raffles. The story line of the movie short “The Gray Lady” is that there is a ghostly “gray lady” who appears shortly before each victim’s death. Sherlock Holmes arrives on the scene and finds the very mortal culprit.
Forest Holger-Madsen was born in Copenhagen on 11 April 1878 and died on 30 November 1943. Holger-Madsen started his acting career in 1896 on the stage. The stage was always special to him and he returned to it frequently. In 1908 he made his film debut and by 1912 was not only acting but directing for Nordisk. This was a time when Nordisk was turning out 190 films a year, granted they were mostly one reelers, but Nordisk would be the company that some say invented the feature length film. Forest Holger-Madsen’s main achievement was not his acting but his directing. He was known for his use of camera angle, the close up shot and lighting effects.



H. Kyrle Bellew - First Film Watson
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom of 1905 is considered to be the first “serious” attempt at bringing Holmes to the big screen. In 1900 had been the short “Sherlock Holmes Baffled”, which is one of those early shorts that just don’t seem to make much sense. Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom was an adaptation of Doyle’s “The Sign of Four” by Theodore Liebler. It was also a one reel short. “One Reelers”, in the silent era ran between 11 and 14 minutes. Now how you can possibly complete The Sign of Four in 11 to 14 minutes is something I would love to see. Unfortunately, the movie is considered lost as no known print exists. There is, however, 14 feet of paper print in the Library of Congress and if I can ever get up that way it is one of my missions to find it.
There are only three known credits for the film: Maurice Costello as Sherlock Holmes, H. Kyrle Bellew as Watson, and J. Barney Sherry in an unnamed part. There is some dispute as to whether or not Costello really played the part of Holmes. In those days “credits” were not usually given and Costello never mentioned playing the part nor included it in his biography. In spite of this the conventional wisdom is that this was Costello’s first film outing. Costello would have an incredible 278 other film credits as well as 79 directorial outings in a lifetime that spanned from his birth in Pittsburgh in 1877 to his death in Hollywood in 1950. He was the first “superstar” of film. He made his stage depute as an “Irish” comic in vaudeville in 1894 and was the father of Dolores and Helene Costello and great-grandfather of Drew Barrymore. But most importantly, to any guy, is the fact that Costello discovered Moe Howard