Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films

“no ordinary merit” [REDH]  In 2014, the Sherlockian world was taken by complete and utter surprise when William Gillette's 1916 film Sherlock Holmes was discovered. It was the closest thing we'd ever have to seeing Gillette on stage, and Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") was part of the team that restored it. We carried the news on our site, but now we're pleased to share the backstory of how it came to be, thanks to an interview with Russell Merritt, a University of California Berkeley film professor and an expert on silent films. In this episode, Russell also discusses the impact of Eille Norwood and the whereabouts of his 45 movies, the recently rediscovered 1929 German film Der Hund von Baskerville, and how he is likely the last person to first read A Study in Scarlet in an original Beeton's. And don't forget to try your hand at the latest Canonical Couplet and win a prize – you don't need to be a Patron of the Arts – now every listener is eligible to participate! (But we could still use your support.) Information on sponsors, links, and notes available below.   Please do consider becoming a Patron of the Arts. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services. SponsorsThis episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites: Wessex PressThe Baker Street Journal Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find more information here. Download [Save As] | File size 35 MB, 1:16:03 LinksThis episode: ihose.co/ihose147The Houghton LibraryHolmes and the Snake Skin Suits: Fighting for Survival on '50s TelevisionZacherle, the "Cool Ghoul"The Scowrers and Molly Maguires of San FranciscoThe British Film Institute (BFI)Eille Norwood's The Sign of Four at the SFSFFThe BSI at ChautauquaLong Lost William Gillette Sherlock Holmes Film from 1916 Found Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Please subscribe on the podcast provider of your choosing: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, GooglePlay, Soundcloud, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or Spreaker — or perhaps another we haven't listed here — and be kind enough to leave a rating and review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). TranscriptDespite not reaching the $100 per episode level on Patreon yet, we are making transcripts available. But we still need your help to fund this—please consider supporting us via Patreon or PayPal to make this process possible! --