The Sherlock Holmes Collection

Elementary, my dear! Five of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most riveting stories are finally available in this historic collection from the BBC archives. Peter Cushing brings great authenticity to his Holmes, in dramatizations praised for their unprecedented accuracy in period detail. Accompanied by the faithful Dr. Watson (Nigel Stock) the intrepid Holmes scours the streets of London, investigating patricide, murder, bigamy, blackmail and theft in The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Sign of Four and The Blue Carbuncle.

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Dr. Mortimer, who has a general practice on Dartmoor, consults Holmes. His friend Sir Charles Baskerville has recently died, supposedly of a heart attack but Dr.Mortimer links the death to the myth of the hound of the Baskervilles, which, centuries earlier, killed wicked Hugo Baskerville and is said to haunt each generation. Sir Charles' young heir and nephew Henry is returning from abroad and the doctor fears for his safety. Sir Henry has a boot stolen from his hotel room and is followed by a bearded man. Holmes sends Dr. Watson off to Dartmoor with Mortimer and Henry, where he meets the butterfly collector and his sister Beryl, plus the very nervous housekeeper and valet to the Baskervilles, Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore, who appear to be signalling to someone on the moor... Sir Henry is apparently attacked and killed by the hound but the victim is actually an escaped convict, Seldon, Mrs. Barrymore's brother, to whom she had given old clothes of Henry's and the dog, recognizing the scent from the boot stolen in London, had gone for him. Watson meets a disguised Holmes, living rough on the moors in order to survey the likely suspects. He believes he has seen the man who controls the hound and sets a trap for him with Sir Henry as its bait.

A Study in Scarlet
A corpse is found in an empty house with the word 'Rache' scrawled on the wall next to it. The police arrest a suspect but then a similar murder occurs, proving that they have the wrong man. In exposing the real killer Holmes uncovers a feud stretching back to Salt Lake City and the Morman community.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The dead body of grumpy Bill McCarthy is found, brained with a rock, and his son James, with whom he did not get on, is arrested. James' girl-friend approaches Holmes, who discovers that Bill's dying words were nothing to do with "a rat" but concerned with the days of the Australian Gold Rush, decades earlier.

The Sign of Four
When a woman receives a series of valuable pearls from an unknown party after the disappearance of her father, Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

The Blue Carbuncle
A blue carbuncle, a valuable jewel, is stolen from Lady Morcar, and an innocent workman charged and remanded in the run-up to Christmas. Holmes gets a visitor, a gentleman who belongs to a Christmas Club putting money by to purchase a goose for his Christmas dinner. Someone has tried to steal his goose. Another member of the club finds the carbuncle in the goose he has bought. Who put it there? Holmes must find out if one family is to avoid a miserable Yuletide.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Directed by Graham Evans
Dramatised by Hugh Leonard
Produced by William Sterling
Original Music by Max Harris
Costume Design by Betty Aldiss

A Study in Scarlet

Directed by Henri Safran
Dramatised by Hugh Leonard
Produced by William Sterling Original Music by Max Harris Costume Design by Betty Aldiss

The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Directed by Viktors Ritelis
Dramatised by Bruce Stewart
Produced by William Sterling
Original music by Max Harris

The Sign of Four

Directed by William Sterling
Dramatised by Michael Hardwick, Mollie Hardwick
Produced by William Sterling
Original Music by Max Harris
Costume Design by Sue Taylor

The Blue Carbuncle

Directed by Bill Bain
Dramatised by Stanley Miller
Produced by William Sterling
Original Music by Max Harris
Costume Design by Ian Adiev