Update: 12 September:
Besides the films themselves, the search is on for stills, lobby cards, or any promotional images from those productions. There have been more films made featuring Sherlock Holmes than any other fictional character.
Among the nearly 100 lost films are:
- A Study in Scarlet (1914; G.B. Samuelson) Holmes: James Bragington, d: George Pearson
- Valley of Fear (1916; G.B. Samuelson) Holmes: H.A. Saintsbury; d: Alexander Butler
- Sherlock Holmes Solves The Sign of Four (1913); The Crogmere Ruby (1915); The Crimson Sabre (1915; Thanhouser) Holmes: Harry Benham; d: Lloyd Lonergan
- Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt (1932; Julius Hagen Productions) Holmes: Arthur Wontner; d: Leslie Hiscott
- Sherlock Holmes and the Grey Lady; Sherlock Holmes. “Die graue Dame” (1937; Terra-Filmkunst. Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv) Holmes: Hermann Speelmans; d: Erich Engels
The Archive and the BSI are contacting archives, collectors, Sherlock Holmes societies, and other entities around the world that might have such images.
Answers on an email please [email protected]
First published Aug 31 2019: UCLA Film & Television Archive, the second-largest moving archive in the U.S. after the Library of Congress, and The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), the first and foremost international Sherlock Holmes society, are mounting a world-wide search for the lost Sherlock Holmes films.
According to Dr. Jan-Christopher Horak, Director of the UCLA Archive, more than 100 films about the iconic British detective are lost or are in need of restoration or preservation.
Full details on our Press Photo History project.