The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
GenreAnthology
Period drama
Crime
Mystery
Detective
StarringVarious
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time50 minutes
Production companyThames Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release20 September 1971 (1971-09-20) –
7 May 1973 (1973-05-07)

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a British anthology mystery television series produced by Thames Television which was originally broadcast on the ITV Network. There were two series of 13 fifty-minute episodes; the first aired in 1971, the second in 1973.[1] The programme presented adaptations of short mystery, suspense or crime stories featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes took its inspiration – and title – from a series of published anthologies by Hugh Greene, younger brother of author Graham Greene and the former director-general of the BBC.[2] Greene is credited on the programme as a creative consultant.[3]

Recurring characters

Episode list

Series 1 (20 Sep – 9 Dec 1971)

No.TitleFictional detective(s)Author(s) of original storyActor(s) who portrayed detective(s)
1.1A Message from the Deep SeaDr John Thorndyke, forensic scientistR. Austin FreemanJohn Neville
1.2The Missing Witness SensationMax Carrados, blind detectiveErnest BramahRobert Stephens
1.3The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd.Horace Dorrington, corrupt detectiveArthur MorrisonPeter Vaughan
1.4The Duchess of Wiltshire's DiamondsSimon Carne, gentleman thiefGuy BoothbyRoy Dotrice
1.5The Horse of the InvisibleThomas Carnacki, occult detectiveWilliam Hope HodgsonDonald Pleasence
1.6The Case of the Mirror of PortugalHorace Dorrington, corrupt detectiveArthur MorrisonPeter Vaughan
1.7Madame SaraDixon Druce, trade investigatorL. T. Meade and Robert EustaceJohn Fraser
1.8The Case of the Dixon TorpedoJonathan Pryde,[n 1] enquiry agentArthur MorrisonRonald Hines
1.9The Woman in the Big HatLady Molly of Scotland YardBaroness OrczyElvi Hale
1.10The Affair of the TortoiseMartin Hewitt, working-class detectiveArthur MorrisonPeter Barkworth
1.11The Assyrian RejuvenatorRomney Pringle, reformed con artist"Clifford Ashdown" (R. Austin Freeman and John Pitcairn)Donald Sinden
1.12The Ripening RubiesBernard Sutton, professional jewellerMax PembertonRobert Lang
1.13The Case of Laker, AbscondedMartin Hewitt and Jonathan Pryde[n 1]Arthur MorrisonPeter Barkworth and Ronald Hines

Series 2 (29 Jan – 7 May 1973)

No.TitleFictional detective(s)Author(s) of original storyActor(s) who portrayed detective(s)
2.1The Mysterious Death on the Underground RailwayPolly Burton,[n 2] lady journalistBaroness OrczyJudy Geeson
2.2Five Hundred CaratsInspector Lipinzki, South African police detectiveGeorge GriffithBarry Keegan
2.3Cell 13Professor Van Dusen, the Thinking MachineJacques FutrelleDouglas Wilmer
2.4The Secret of the MagnifiqueJohn Laxworthy, reformed criminalE. Phillips OppenheimBernard Hepton
2.5The Absent-Minded CoterieEugene Valmont, private investigatorRobert BarrCharles Gray
2.6The Sensible Action of Lieutenant HolstLieutenant Holst, Danish police detectivePalle RosenkrantzJohn Thaw
2.7The Superfluous FingerProf Van Dusen, the Thinking MachineJacques FutrelleDouglas Wilmer
2.8Anonymous LettersDagobert Trostler, Viennese sleuth"Balduin Groller" (Adalbert Goldscheider)Ronald Lewis
2.9The Moabite CypherDr John Thorndyke, forensic scientistR. Austin FreemanBarrie Ingham
2.10The Secret of the Fox HunterDuckworth Drew of the Secret ServiceWilliam Le QueuxDerek Jacobi
2.11The Looting of the Specie RoomMr Horrocks, ship's purserC. J. Cutcliffe HyneRonald Fraser
2.12The Mystery of the Amber BeadsHagar Stanley, Gypsy detectiveFergus HumeSara Kestelman
2.13The Missing Q.C.sCharles Dallas, defence barrister"John Oxenham" (William Arthur Dunkerley)Robin Ellis

Home media

The first series was released on a 4-disc Region 2 DVD set by Network Distributing on 15 June 2009.[5] Acorn Media released a Region 1 version of this set on 1 September 2009.[6] Series Two was released on a Network DVD 4-disc Region 2 release on 15 February 2010;[7] Acorn followed with a Region 1 version on 27 April.

Bibliography

  • Greene, Hugh; editor. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon Books, 1970; ISBN 0-394-41330-X
  • Greene, Hugh; editor. Cosmopolitan Crimes: Foreign Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon Books, 1971; ISBN 0-394-47340-X
  • Greene, Hugh; editor. Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon Books, 1973; ISBN 0-394-48827-X
  • Greene, Hugh; editor. The American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon Books, 1976; ISBN 0-394-40921-3

Notes

  1. 1 2 Jonathan Pryde is an original TV creation, replacing Martin Hewitt from Arthur Morrison's stories.
  2. ↑ The screenplay for this episode rewrites the original story to make Polly Burton, the secondary character in Baroness Orczy's "The Old Man in the Corner" stories, the detective in this episode.

References

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