A series of fourteen films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories was released between 1939 and 1946; the British actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. The first two films in the series were produced by 20th Century Fox and released in 1939. The studio stopped making the films after these, but Universal Pictures acquired the rights from the Doyle estate and produced a further twelve films. Although the films from 20th Century Fox had large budgets, high production values, and were set in the Victorian era, Universal updated the films to the contemporary era of the Second World War, and produced them as B pictures with lower budgets. Both Rathbone and Bruce continued their roles when the series changed studios, as did Mary Gordon, who played the recurring character, Mrs. Hudson.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1939

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

1939

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

1942

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

1942

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

1943

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

1943

The Spider Woman

1943

The Scarlet Claw

1944

The Pearl of Death

1944

The House of Fear

1945

The Woman in Green

1945

Pursuit to Algiers

1945

Terror by Night

1946

Dressed to Kill

1946