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Hammer Films was founded in 1934, but it took an eleven year hiatus on the way to the ‘50s, the decade when the company entered the era it’s best known for. In 1955, the sci-fi horror film The Quatermass Xperiment became their first major international success, inspiring Hammer to start building toward becoming one of the most popular genre companies of all time. Since this year marks the 90th anniversary of Hammer Films, we decided it was time to put together a list of some of The Best Hammer Horror Movies. Here we go:

Horror Of Dracula (1958)

Sure, this is yet another adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula; a re-telling of the story that any horror watcher will see roughly fifty versions of over the course of their fandom. But director Terence Fisher and screenwriter Jimmy Sangster brought some twists to this one that are not present in others and shuffled some of the characters.

Hero Fiennes Tiffin stars in new Young Sherlock series with Guy Ritchie directing - promising a fresh take on the iconic detective. Young Sherlock will explore untold mysteries and shake up perceptions of the beloved character's origin story. The series promises an action-packed origin story of Sherlock Holmes at 19 years old, diving into his first case at Oxford.

Prime Video has officially ordered a Young Sherlock series with Hero Fiennes Tiffin tapped to play the lead role, and Guy Ritchie set to direct. The eight-episode series will be based on the collection of novels by Andrew Lane which began releasing in 2010, and currently features eight books in all. This will be the second collaboration between Tiffin and Ritchie following 2024s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

As per Deadline, Matthew Parkhill will serve as executive producer alongside Ritchie on Young Sherlock, and also act as showrunner. The director says that this...

From left: Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther Strikes Again (Keystone/Getty Images), Angela Lansbury in The Mirror Crack’d (YouTube screenshot), Albert Finney in Murder On The Orient Express (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images), Denzel Washington in Devil In A Blue Dress (D Stevens/Tri Star/Kobal/Shutterstock), Daniel Craig...

Severin Films is celebrating the late Peter Cushing with an unprecedented box set highlighting the most unexpected gems from the filmography of the legendary horror actor.

Cushing Curiosities, releasing August 29, presents 6-discs of rarely seen feature films and television broadcasts restored and scanned from original vault sources, plus a curated plethora of Special Features that celebrate Cushing’s unique career like never before.

From Hammer Films to Star Wars, he remains one of genre films’ best-loved actors. Now celebrate six of the most unexpected, rarely seen and decidedly curious performances from the legendary career of Peter Cushing: Cushing delivers a rare villain turn in the 1960 aviation thriller Cone Of Silence. That same year, Cushing brought gentle dignity to The Boulting Brothers’ cold-war drama Suspect. In 1962’s The Man Who Finally Died, Cushing co-stars opposite Stanley Baker as a former Nazi hiding a grave post-war secret.

Cushing returns to his...

Carl Davis, the composer known for his BAFTA-winning score for “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” (1981), died of a brain hemorrhage on Thursday. He was 86.

Davis’ family issued a statement on social media, writing: “We are so proud that Carl’s legacy will be his astonishing impact on music. A consummate all-round musician, he was the driving force behind the reinvention of the silent movie for this generation and he wrote scores for some of the most loved and remembered British television dramas.”

Born in New York, Davis co-authored revue “Diversions” (1959), which won an off-Broadway Emmy and featured at the 1961 Edinburgh Festival. Davis moved to the U.K. in 1961 and was commissioned by the BBC to compose music for “That Was the Week That Was.” Subsequent work included BBC’s anthology play series “The Wednesday Play” (1964-70) and “Play for Today” (1970-84).

Davis then composed for several iconic British television shows, including...

Step into the mesmerizing world of Peter Cushing, the legendary actor whose name is synonymous with captivating performances and unforgettable characters. In this list, we’re counting down the 10 best Peter Cushing movies that have enthralled audiences and solidified his status as a true icon.

From battling monsters to unraveling mysteries, Cushing’s magnetic presence and exceptional talent have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a thrilling journey through the best of Peter Cushing’s extraordinary filmography.

Warner Bros. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

In this horror classic, Cushing brings the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein to life with unparalleled charisma and intensity. His portrayal of the mad scientist is a masterclass in captivating performances and solidifies his place as a horror legend.

Hammer Film Productions Horror of Dracula (1958)

Witness Cushing’s electrifying performance as the fearless vampire hunter, Professor Abraham Van Helsing,...

Step into the mesmerizing world of Peter Cushing, the legendary actor whose name is synonymous with captivating performances and unforgettable characters. In this list, we're counting down the 10 best Peter Cushing movies that have enthralled audiences and solidified his status as a true icon.

From battling monsters to unraveling mysteries, Cushing's magnetic presence and exceptional talent have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a thrilling journey through the best of Peter Cushing's extraordinary filmography.

Warner Bros. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

In this horror classic, Cushing brings the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein to life with unparalleled charisma and intensity. His portrayal of the mad scientist is a masterclass in captivating performances and solidifies his place as a horror legend.

Hammer Film Productions Horror of Dracula (1958)

Witness Cushing's electrifying performance as the fearless vampire hunter, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, in this iconic Hammer Horror production.

While each actor to appear on Doctor Who has a memorable experience, each has gone on to other roles after portraying the famous Time Lord. For any actor who steps into the shoes of the Doctor, it tends to be a life-changing and career-changing experience. Especially when portraying a role that’s been filled by so many others that it has become a pop-culture icon, playing the Doctor always leaves an impact on their actors and often becomes one of the roles they are most known for. But every Doctor must then pass their role on to the next actor, leaving them to grow their career in new ways.

The long-running series tells the story of a time-traveling alien called the Doctor who travels with a human companion in Doctor Who. A key aspect of the Doctor is that they can regenerate their body when they die, becoming an entirely...

The BBC’s Sherlock adapted and mixed the biggest stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, but it forgot about one of Sherlock Holmes’ novels. The Great Detective is one of the most popular and beloved characters in literature, and as such, he and his cases have been adapted to other media for over a century, with some of them making interesting changes to the characters and their stories. Among the most recent and successful adaptations of Sherlock Holmes is the BBC’s TV series Sherlock, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the famous detective and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson.

Sherlock brought the Great Detective to modern-day London, adapting Sherlock’s deduction abilities and investigative methods to modern technology, as well as mixing and adapting some of his most popular cases. Sherlock made sure to include various references and Easter eggs to his classic cases,...

Hello, everyone! Last Friday, we kicked off Indie Horror Month with a tribute to all the great independent genre movies that came out during the 1970s (you can read that article Here), and before we move on to celebrating all the great indie horror from the following decade, I thought it was worth taking some time to tip our hats to several more movies from the ’70s that fans should definitely take some time to check out if they haven’t done so already. And because I always want to try and be as helpful as possible, I’ve also included info on where you can currently stream these films in case you’re looking to fill in some horror history gaps for yourself.

And in case you missed it, we also recapped where a bunch of essential indie horror movies from the 1970s are streaming (you can check out that list Here).

Happy Streaming!

Radar Films, the Mediawan-owned production banner, is reteaming with “The Deep House” filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo on “North Sentinel.” The well-established company, which is headed by Clement Miserez and Matthieu Warter, is developing several other English-language projects including a genre twist on “The Phantom of the Opera” directed by Xavier Gens (“The Divide”).

Rolling off “The Deep House,” an underwater horror film that was just acquired by Blumhouse and Epix, Maury and Bustillo will next direct “North Sentinel.” Pic is inspired by the true story of an explorer who set off to visit a dangerous island located deep in the Indian Ocean, where a tribe of indigenous people live, and was killed. Visiting the island or going anywhere near it has been banned by the Indian government. “North Sentinel” will revolve around a young American woman who embarks on a journey to the island in order find her missing brother.

When Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. came together for Avengers: Infinity War, fans were hoping for a “No sh*t, Sherlock” joke to turn up somewhere, as a nod to both actors having portrayed the Great Detective. As we know, that didn’t happen, but maybe there’s a good reason for that. Maybe the common phrase doesn’t exist in the McU because Sherlock Holmes isn’t a fictional character. Rather, he’s actually a real person in the Marvel universe.

The rights to the crime-solving sleuth have been pretty complicated over the years, but essentially he’s public domain, so comic book companies have been able to insert the literary character into their universes now and again. DC Comics has probably made the more prominent use of Sherlock over time, with Batman teaming up with the other World’s Greatest Detective on occasion. But he’s also knocking around the Marvel world,...

The saga continues, featuring Adam Rifkin, Robert D. Krzykowski, John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, Mick Garris and Larry Wilmore with special guest star Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Key Largo (1948)

I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)

Camila (1984)

I, the Worst of All (1990)

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Le Corbeau (1943)

Diabolique (1955)

Red Beard (1965)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Ikiru (1952)

General Della Rovere (1959)

The Gold of Naples (1959)

Bitter Rice (1949)

Pickup On South Street (1953)

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Viva Zapata! (1952)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

Yellow Sky (1948)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Wall Street (1987)

Women’s Prison (1955)

True Love (1989)

Mean Streets (1973)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

The Abyss (1989)

The China Syndrome (1979)

Big (1988)

Splash (1984)

The ’Burbs (1989)

Long Strange Trip (2017)

Little Women (2019)

Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)

The Guns of Navarone...

Fresh out from Scream Factory today in North America, is the collector's edition Blu-ray release of the 1967 film Frankenstein Created Woman. Helmed by Hammer Films' most well-known director, Terence Fisher, the story goes as thus: Baron Frankenstein is unfrozen (and amazingly re-animated) by his buddy Dr. Hertz for more beyond-the-grave shenanagins. Played by the always amazing Peter Cushing, Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Hertz proceed to experiment with life after death, and in this case, transferring the soul and personality of one person to another. They get their chance to do this when a group of dandy thugs set up the doctors' assistant Hans for murder. He's executed and his deformed girlfriend Christina (Susan Denberg)...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Sherlock Holmes fans have another good version of a favorite Holmes tale to savor, a late German silent film in full expressionist mode, set on an impressively moody English moor. One can see the influence of silent action serials and then-recent haunted house horror hits. And it is said that this is the first picture that presents Holmes and Watson as a fraternal ‘buddy’ team. A major reconstruction of a film once thought lost; presented with informative extras and (on the Blu-ray) a second encoding of a much earlier film version.

Der Hund von Baskerville

Blu-ray + DVD

Flicker Alley

1929 / B&W / 1:33 Silent Ap. / 66 min. (+ extra feature) / Street Date February 12, 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Carlyle Blackwell, Alexander Murski, Livio Pavanelli, Betty Bird, Fritz Rasp, George Seroff, Valy Arnheim, Alma Taylor, Carla Bartheel, Jaro Füruth.

Cinematography: Frederik Fugelsgang

Art Directors: Gustav A. Knauer, Willy Schiller

Original Music (new): Guenter Buchwald, Frank Bockus, Sacha Jacobsen

Written by Hervert Juttke,...

Saucy Jack has long been meat for the horror mill; my first experience with him was Time after Time (1979), where he time traveled to the future and found he was just another serial killer. But in 1888 he was the first, logging around five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London; big numbers for the day and the fact that the case was never solved has turned the Ripper’s exploits into its own cottage industry. As for Jack’s indelible horror image, that starts proper with Jack the Ripper (1959), an effective and grisly independent British shocker brought back to life in a cracking new Blu-ray release from Severin Films.

Released in the U.K. in May of ’58 by Regal Films International, Jack the Ripper was picked up by producer Joseph E. Levine (Magic) and distributed by Paramount stateside in early ’59; some alterations were made for the U.S. release, including...

There is nothing better than curling up under a duvet on the couch with a terrifying book. These five short novels are all heavy on horror, providing a thoroughly creepy read without requiring a huge time commitment. Fast readers may get through some of these books in one sitting, and the short stories are perfect for whiling away an evening. 5 The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle This short Sherlock Holmes novel is one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most recognised works, and also one of his most commonly adapted. It is also an excellent introduction to Sherlock Holmes,...read more...

You pick up a lot of baggage when you live to be 100, a sentiment confirmed by the long, long movie career of Bob Hope. His unofficial status as the preeminent entertainer of the 20th century is open to debate but he was without a doubt that era’s most conspicuous comedian. Marlon Brando’s infamous dismissal, “He’ll go to the opening of a market to receive an award”, was mean-spirited but it had the sting of truth; for over eighty years Hope was everywhere, for better or worse.

Living up to his nickname, “Rapid Robert”, the 31-year old Hope shot out of the gate in 1934 with a series of quick-on-their feet comic shorts revolving around his unique presence as a leading man and comical sidekick rolled into one. It wasn’t long before he was starring in pleasantly prosaic musicals like The Big Broadcast of 1938 and handsomely mounted...

Illogical, you might think, but you’d be wrong…

On paper, the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Spock would seem to be pretty similar. Both are emotionally-detached male humanoids who value logic, reason, and loyalty above all else. Both are highly intelligent, if peculiar for their intelligence, and both require a confidant, Watson for Holmes and Kirk for Spock, as a sounding board/link to reality. But what if the connection goes beyond surface traits, and what if Holmes and Spock are … brace yourselves … related?

It sounds crazy but it’s not as crazy as it seems, and it all hinges on a single quote:

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

But before we get into all that, let’s look at another important connection between the two.

In “The Reichenbach Fall,” the season two finale of Sherlock, the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Holmes...

The film industry goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, and most experts still maintain that 1939 is the greatest single year in movie history. At no other point in the long chronicle of the film industry has Hollywood had such an ability to draw in and hold and audiences. Cinelinx looks at 1939.

In 1939, Americans bought an incrediblel 80 million movie tickets per week. There were 365 films released by the major studios in the United States during 1939. That’s an average of one film each a day. If you went to the theater every day, you’d never have to see the same movie twice. And the best part is that most of them were good.

The American Film Institute, along with such critics as Pauline Kael, Siskle & Ebert, Leonard Maltin and others have dubbed 1939 as the cinema's best single year ever. Looking back, its hard to argue with that opinion.

Louisa Mellor Jan 17, 2017

We’ve scoured Sherlock’s The Final Problem for tiny details and references to other stories, and here’s what we found…

Warning: contains spoilers.

See related Travelers: why you should watch Netflix's new time travel show Travelers: first trailer for Netflix time travel series

With the help of the pause button and a pot of strong coffee, we’ve picked through Sherlock’s series four finale The Final Problem to seek out the nerdy references and painstakingly added background details. (You can find the same for the previous episodes here and here.)

Here goes…

1. Starting with the obvious, The Final Problem is of course the title of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1893 short story in which Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty appear to tumble to their deaths in the Reichenbach Falls. Andrew Scott’s Moriarty references the title several times in series two finale The Reichenbach Fall.

Sean Wilson Jan 16, 2017

From the BBC's Sherlock, through Disney, Hans Zimmer and Young Sherlock Holmes: we salute the music of Mr Holmes...

Few characters have enjoyed as much reinvention as Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth Sherlock Holmes, an enduring icon who is as much bound up with the history of cinema (and indeed stage, TV and radio) as he is with literature. Indeed, adaptations of Holmes stories stretch right the way back to the earliest days of film at the start of the 20th century. Fittingly enough given Holmes' penchant for a violin serenade, the musical scores to his adventures are as richly varied as the outcomes to his mysteries are unexpected. Here are Holmes' musical highlights, from Buster Keaton through to Benedict Cumberbatch.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Not, strictly speaking, a Sherlock movie but as the title implies, the legacy of the character casts a long shadow over Buster Keaton's silent classic.

Fox’s first official monster movie is a terrific-looking but mostly flat mystery that tries its utmost not to be a horror film at all. It’s a head scratcher that will interest fans of the expressive John Brahm, and help completists scratch another werewolf film off their gotta-see lists.

The Undying Monster

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 62 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher, Heather Thatcher, Aubrey Mather, Halliwell Hobbes, Alec Craig, Holmes Herbert, Eily Malyon, Charles McGraw.

Cinematography Lucien Ballard

<Film Editor Harry Reynolds

Original Music Emil Newman, David Raksin

Written byLillie Hayward, Michel Jacoby from a novel by Jessie Douglas Kerrruish

Produced by Bryan Foy

Directed by John Brahm

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

After the heyday of Universal horror in the first half of the 1930s, horror pictures went on the decline for over twenty years.

Hammer hits one out of the park with this 'ripping good' Sherlock Holmes tale, tilted heavily toward gothic mystery and horror. Peter Cushing and André Morell excel in heroic roles, while Christopher Lee doesn't have to play a monster, just a coward. Terence Fisher's directing skill is at its height. The Hound of the Baskervilles Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1959 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 86 min. / Ship Date June 14, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, David Oxley, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson, Ewen Solon. Cinematography Jack Asher Production Designer Bernard Robinson Film Editor Alfred Cox Original Music James Bernard Written by Peter Bryan from the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle Produced by Michael Carreras & Anthony Hinds Directed by Terence Fisher

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In addition to their straight-up gothic horrors, Hammer films produced films in other genres, such as costume adventures and war pictures.

In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, June 14th, 2016.

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Follow-Up Brian’s tweet about The Thing News Twilight Time – September/October Titles Arrow Video – September titles The Deadly Trackers Blue Sunshine Kino Lorber – Moving Violations, The Park Is Mine The Transformers: The Movie Scream Factory Sale Raising Cain The Thing Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Links to Amazon Airport: The Complete Collection Black Dog La Chienne Edvard Munch (1974) (Masters of Cinema) Gold Here Comes Mr. Jordan (The Criterion Collection) Jaws 2 Jaws 3 Jaws: The Revenge Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2 Star Trek XI Star Trek Into Darkness Too Late for Tears Woman on the Run X-Files: The Event Series The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) on Blu-ray Inserts (1975) on Blu-ray The Member of The Wedding (1952) on Blu-ray The Panic in Needle Park...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Michael Haffner, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Peter Cushing, born on this day in 1913, was one of the most respected and important actors in the horror and fantasy film genres. To his many fans, the British star, who died in 1994, was known as ‘The Gentle Man of Horror’ and is recognized for his work with Hammer Films which began in the late 1950’s, but he had numerous memorable roles outside of Hammer. A topnotch actor who was able to deliver superb performances on a consistent basis, Peter Cushing also had range. He could play both the hero and the villain with ease.

Here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are Peter Cushing’s ten best roles:

Dr. Maitland

During the 1960s, Amicus Studios had a knack for borrowing from the pool of Hammer Studios actors and filmmakers to make their own Hammer-inspired films. While...

Above: 1929 Swedish poster for The Hound Of The Baskervilles (Richard Oswald, Germany, 1929). Designer uncredited.It’s time once again for my countdown of the most popular (the most “liked” and “reblogged”) posters on my Movie Poster of the Day Tumblr over the past three months. The most popular by far, and deservedly so, was this extraordinary 1920s Swedish poster for an adaptation of Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, which looks like some modern Mondo marvel. I had never seen it before it showed up on Heritage Auctions in March, where it sold for over $5000 (a steal). I’m not sure how Heritage dated the poster or divined which version of Hound of the Baskervilles this was for, since there are no acting or directing credits on the poster. They claim it for Richard Oswald’s 1929 German version though IMDb has a variant of the poster attached to a 1914 German adaptation.

By Tim Greaves

Numerous actors have occupied the role of Sherlock Holmes over the decades, some more suited to the shoes of author Arthur Conan Doyle's famous consulting detective than others. One of the finest portrayals is that by Ian Richardson. Yet, sadly, his is also one that is often overlooked, not leastways because he played the character just twice (in a pair of 1983 films made for television), but also because his light was to be quickly eclipsed a year later by the arrival on TV screens of Jeremy Brett, whose interpretation of Holmes is considered by many to be the definitive one.

Sy Weintraub – who produced several Tarzan movies throughout the 60s and was executive producer on the popular long-running Ron Ely TV series –teamed up with Otto Plaschkes (whose producer credits include Georgie Girl and The Holcroft Covenant) with the intention of making several Holmes adventures headlining Richardson.

I’ll be honest and admit that it takes a lot to get me to drop 40 dollars on a single title release, but the recent limited edition Steelbook of Dario Argento’s slasher masterpiece Tenebrae was something that I just could not pass up. I’ve had a longtime fascination with the movie, so when Synapse Films announced they’d be putting out a definitive edition of Tenebrae, there’s no way I could resist. Thankfully, Synapse Films does the movie justice with an edition packed to the brim with a ton of extras, a CD featuring a remastered version of the soundtrack, an informative booklet, and stunning artwork to boot. This is also the best I’ve seen Tenebrae look, with the Synapse restoration giving Argento’s film new life and keeping his vivid blood-soaked vision purely intact.

Tenebrae follows American mystery writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) to Italy...

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We’ve scoured the scenes of Sherlock special, The Abominable Bride, to dig out its nerdy details. Spoilers ahead…

Warning: contains spoilers for The Abominable Bride.

If, by the time Sherlock special The Abominable Bride came around, your usually-shining powers of observation had been dulled by New Year’s indulgence, never fear.

We’ve hunted around the episode with (mostly) clear heads and stumbled upon a few fun titbits, from Wilder the Diogenes butler, to set design jokes, nods to Doyle’s original stories, Paget’s illustrations, previous Sherlock episodes and more…

1. This dilated pupil (we'd suggest Cumberbatch’s rather than Freeman’s?) is the first hint-in-hindsight that what’s to follow involves narcotics.

2. Both A Study In Pink and The Abominable Bride start with Watson waking up from a nightmare of his time in an Afghan war, centuries apart.

3. Joining the regular cast’s Victorian counterparts...

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Here's what Mary Morstan, aka Amanda Abbington, had to say on a visit to the set of the Sherlock Christmas Special this February...

Warning: contains spoilers for Sherlock series 3.

How will Sherlock's trip back in time to Conan Doyle's original era affect the role of series three newcomer Mary Watson? That's what the huddle of journalists visiting the set of Sherlock's The Abominable Bride this February tried to find out in this round-table interview with Amanda Abbington.

Mary won't be quite the same as her series three self, Abbington told us, but neither will she be a subservient Victorian lady. "Not by a long chalk..."

We just saw a brief clip of the Special…

Oh, did you? More than I’ve bloody seen!

How is it playing the Victorian Mary? You put the costume on, do you immediately stand up straighter?

Yeah, you do.

From spoofs to point-and-click adventure games, here are 10 of the most memorable unusual incarnations of Sherlock Holmes...

We don’t know a great deal about the content of the 90-minute Sherlock special set to air later this year, but one thing has emerged from the set photos and tantalising titbits of information we’ve seen so far. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will be in nineteenth-century garb, pitching them back into the setting of the legendary detective’s original adventures: 1895, to be precise. Why that happens is as yet unclear, but all will be revealed.

For those still craving their Holmes fix in the meantime, the new film Mr. Holmes offers us Ian McKellen’s take on the character, musing upon an old case as he looks back on his long career from the vantage point of retirement. Jonny Lee Miller’s ultra-modern, Us-based Sherlock will be entering his fourth...

Ian McKellen brings affection and grace to a whimsical portrait of an elderly Sherlock Holmes, struggling with his memory and his myth

Is there a version of Sherlock Holmes we haven’t seen? Screen incarnations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated character date back to the birth of cinema (the tricksy short Sherlock Holmes Baffled was made at the turn of the century), and Conan Doyle himself praised actor Eille Norwood’s “wonderful impersonation of Holmes” in shorts and features from the early 1920s. John Barrymore, Raymond Massey and Clive Brook all played the detective before The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) established Basil Rathbone as the iconic bearer of the deerstalker and pipe combo. More recently we’ve had Robert Downey Jr as a pugilist detective in Guy Ritchie’s punchy reboots, and Benedict Cumberbatch as a thoroughly modern Sherlock in the hit BBC TV series.

Now comes Sir Ian McKellen,...

Ian McKellen brings affection and grace to a whimsical portrait of an elderly Sherlock Holmes, struggling with his memory and his myth

Is there a version of Sherlock Holmes we haven’t seen? Screen incarnations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated character date back to the birth of cinema (the tricksy short Sherlock Holmes Baffled was made at the turn of the century), and Conan Doyle himself praised actor Eille Norwood’s “wonderful impersonation of Holmes” in shorts and features from the early 1920s. John Barrymore, Raymond Massey and Clive Brook all played the detective before The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) established Basil Rathbone as the iconic bearer of the deerstalker and pipe combo. More recently we’ve had Robert Downey Jr as a pugilist detective in Guy Ritchie’s punchy reboots, and Benedict Cumberbatch as a thoroughly modern Sherlock in the hit BBC TV series.

Now comes Sir Ian McKellen,...

Stars: Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, David Oxley, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson, Ewen Solon, John Le Mesurier, Helen Goss, Sam Kydd, Michael Hawkins, Judi Moyens, Michael Mulcaster | Written by Peter Bryan | Directed by Terence Fisher

I’ve always been a Sherlock Holmes fan, and my horror leanings turned me to The Hound of the Baskervilles, a story I grew to love. It is evident by all different movies based on the tale and their popularity, that I’m not the only one. One of the best has to be Hammer’s with Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes. This is why when Arrow Video revealed their Blu-ray release I looked forward to seeing it, especially with the amount of behind the scenes material on the disc.

When Charles Baskerville is found slain on Dartmoor, the next in line Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee) inherits the estate, and...

Ever since childhood, I’ve loved the character of Sherlock Holmes. Whether it was the movies or books I was enjoying, I was fascinated by the mysteries and adventures the World’s Greatest Detective and his companion Dr. Watson embarked upon. I’d stay up late at night reading The Hound of the Baskervilles or taking in any one of the films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

As an adult, I still get excited to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law keep the crime solving couple alive and hard at work. With the continued success of new and classic published books, two television shows, and a blockbuster movie franchise, I’d say interest in Sherlock Holmes is at a fever pitch right now. When I heard that the Perot Museum was bringing the International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes to the Dallas area, I knew I would have to attend the impressive display.

Elementary always sides with the lunatics, which is just how we like it. Here's our review of this week's fun, varied episode...

This review contains spoilers.

3.19 A Stitch In Time

This week’s case was a picnic. A hamper full of Elementary entertainment. The episode may not have pushed along any arcs or provided new insights into our leads - no addiction, grieving, or relationship stuff here - but it was chock-full of diverting twists.

A Stitch In Time bound together elements from multiple genres into one fun Katamari of intrigue. A murder investigation became a ghost mystery, then a cyber-thriller, ending finally on the sort of wealthy white-collar criminal that Elementary repeatedly takes as its target.

Anyone who pays attention to the show would have fingered Colin Eisley for the perp from our first glimpse of that original Picasso. Eat the rich, says Elementary, well, the ones only interested in getting richer,...

The play's afoot Sherlock Holmes battles one of his greatest mysteries to date at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Ken Ludwig's Baskerville A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, a world-premiere adaptation from Tony Award-winning playwright Ludwig Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved The Hound of the Baskervilles, this fast-paced comedic tale of murder, intrigue and a wild hound is directed by Amanda Dehnert Arena Stage's The Fantasticks as part of Arena Stage's 65th anniversary season. A co-production with McCarter Theatre Center, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs now through February 22, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below...

The play's afoot Sherlock Holmes battles one of his greatest mysteries to date at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Ken Ludwig's Baskerville A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, a world-premiere adaptation from Tony Award-winning playwright Ludwig Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved The Hound of the Baskervilles, this fast-paced comedic tale of murder, intrigue and a wild hound is directed by Amanda Dehnert Arena Stage's The Fantasticks as part of Arena Stage's 65th anniversary season. A co-production with McCarter Theatre Center, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs tonight, January 16, through February 22, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Old monsters or new? Dracula or Freddy Kruger? The Bride of Frankenstein or the Bride of Chucky? How do you like your monsters…Classic or neo-nasty contemporary?

Most people like a good horror film around Halloween. It’s the time of year for a good scare. But what kind of scare do you want…classic or modern? Do you prefer the gothic grand guignol of yesteryear or the deranged demons of today? Who’s cooler and creepier?

Just for clarity’s sake, we’ll draw the old vs. new line at 1978, with John Carpenter’s excellent Halloween being the start of the modern age of Horror. Everything before that (The B&W Universal monster films, the Hammer Studios films with Cushing and Lee, the Poe/Hawthorn adaptations with Vincent Price, etc.) are classic horror flicks.

Let’s start with the names of the monsters. In this category, you have to go with old Hollywood.

'Sherlock Holmes' movie found at Cinémathèque Française (image: William Gillette in 'Sherlock Holmes') Sherlock Holmes, a long-thought-lost 1916 feature starring stage performer and playwright William Gillette in the title role, has been discovered in the vaults of the Cinémathèque Française. Directed by the all-but-forgotten Arthur Berthelet for the Chicago-based Essanay production company, the approximately 90-minute movie is supposed to be not only the sole record of William Gillette's celebrated performance as Arthur Conan Doyle's detective, but also the only surviving Gillette film.* In the late 19th century, William Gillette himself wrote the play Sherlock Holmes, which turned out to be a mash-up of various stories and novels featuring the detective, chiefly the short stories "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Final Problem." ("May I marry Holmes?" Gillette, while vying for the role, telegraphed Conan Doyle. The latter replied, "You may marry or murder or do What you like with him.

Last month's Emmy awards saw an unexpected and wildly impressive victory for Sherlock, with the series three finale 'His Last Vow' picking up three major awards for Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Steven Moffat's script.

Thrilling though this is, the reminder of how good Sherlock is has only served to make the inevitably long wait for series four that bit more painful, and Moffat didn't help matters by enigmatically declaring that the upcoming series will be "devastating". Gulp.

Sherlock series 4 predictions: What's next for Sherlock and John?

Since we were in the mood to marathon all thirteen and a half hours of Sherlock this week, we took the opportunity to pit the nine episodes against each other. Read our list from worst to best below, then tell us all the reasons why we're wrong in the comments!

9. 'The Blind Banker' (Series 1, Episode 2)

There are no truly bad episodes of...

A slew of classic Disney movies are hitting for the first time on Blu-Ray, including one double-pack release, and you’re going to want to make sure to pick these up. You haven’t paid attention to some of these titles for a while, and it’s about time you got the chance to catch them on Blu-Ray. The best part is that there’s a great mix of releases hitting. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is all but lost in the cultural consciousness, and it deserves a return. The Academy Award-winning movie from the year I was born is filled with a lot of fun and adventure, and like most Disney films, holds up well for a whole new generation.

The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...

1976 saw the publication of John Brosnan’s excellent book The Horror People. Written during the summer of 1975, it makes interesting reading 40 years down the line. Those who feature prominently in the book – Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Jack Arnold, Michael Carreras, Sam Arkoff, Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson and Milton Subotsky – were still alive, as were Ralph Bates, Mario Bava, Jimmy Carreras, John Carradine, Dan Curtis, John Gilling, Robert Fuest, Michael Gough, Val Guest, Ray Milland, Robert Quarry and Michael Ripper, all of whom were given a mention. Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Junior, Michael Reeves and James H Nicholson were not long dead. Hammer, Amicus and American International Pictures were still in existence. George A Romero had yet to achieve his prominence and Stephen King wasn’t even heard of!

Brosnan devoted a chapter to a new British company called Tyburn Films. Founded by the charismatic and ambitious Kevin Francis,...

With Hugh Jackman currently negotiating to play Wolverine for a seventh and eighth time, Cinelinx takes a look at actors who’ve played the same role eight times or more. Who has played the same character most often? Come in and find out.

Hugh Jackman has already played Wolverine five times--x-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United (2003) X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and The Wolverine (2013)—as well as a cameo in X-Men:First Class (2011). Soon we’ll be seeing him fully clawed again on the big screen in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Recently, he told Collider that he might shoot Wolverine 3 and X-Men: Apocalypse “back-to-back”, which would make a total of eight times (9 times with the cameo) that he’ll portray the Canadian mutant.

You might be thinking “Wow! That’s amazing! I’ve never heard of anyone playing the same role so many times.” Well, for those who may not know it,...

Elementary approaches its season two finale, but has it already played its cards? Here's Frances' review...

Review

This review contains spoilers.

2.22 Art In The Blood

“Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms.” The Adventure Of The Greek Interpreter, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

So which is it? Is Mycroft Holmes an MI6 mole or framed asset? Was his return to MI6 precipitated by his insolvency or by his little brother’s imminent prison sentence? Is he tinker, tailor, soldier or spy?

Spy is a given after the revelations of the past two episodes, which saw the arrow swing wildly around Mycroft’s character dial from hero to villain and back again before appearing to settle on ‘wronged man’.

Just as it seemed that Sherlock was piecing together the evidence to convict his brother (he’d already wished Mycroft dead, why would he hesitate to have him charged for suspected murder?...

Feature Alex Westthorp 19 Feb 2014 - 07:00

Nostalgia ahoy! With Sherlock Holmes more popular than ever, Alex looks back at eighties children's drama, The Baker Street Boys...

The BBC's contemporary take on Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories has made Sherlock the most popular television drama series in many years. Benedict Cumberbatch has made Sherlock his own, his approach to the role as radical for the current era as the late, great Jeremy Brett's was a generation ago. Martin Freeman has banished our memories of his role as Tim Canterbury in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's The Office, with his wonderful re-assessment of Dr John Watson. The corporation is making the most of the Conan Doyle franchise. After from two rather lacklustre yuletide cases, firstly with Richard Roxburgh in 2002 then Rupert Everett in 2004; they finally have a hit on their hands. The benchmark hitherto has always been Granada Television...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Michael Haffner, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

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Peter Cushing (1913-1994) was one of the most respected and important actors in the horror and fantasy film genres. To his many fans, the British star was known as ‘The Gentle Man of Horror’ and is recognized for his work with Hammer Films which began in the late 1950’s, but he had numerous memorable roles outside of Hammer. A topnotch actor who was able to deliver superb performances on a consistent basis, Peter Cushing also had range. He could play both the hero and the villain with ease.

Super-8 Peter Cushing Movie Madness takes place February 4th at The Way Out Club in St. Louis and will be a great way to celebrate the actor’s career. The event is on February 4th beginning at 8pm. Condensed versions (average length:...

How to be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective

Sunday 12th January, 10.00Pm, BBC Four- UK Broadcast

Narrated by Peter Wyngarde

For over a hundred years, more than 80 actors have put a varying face to the world’s greatest consulting detective - Sherlock Holmes. And many of them incorporated details - such as the curved pipe and the immortal line ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’ - that never featured in Conan Doyle’s original stories.

In charting the evolution of Sherlock on screen, from early silent films to the latest film and television versions, BBC Four’s Timeshift shows how our notion of Sherlock today is as much a creation of these various screen portrayals as of the stories themselves.

How to be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective includes clips from feature films such as Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes...

BBC

After a two year absence, Sherlock was back. And in that time, it had built something of an Internet following; fanfics were written about the two leads, theories were created as to how the title character cheated death at the conclusion of The Reichenbach Fall, and the return of the show was hyped-up to phenomenal proportions (such is the effect of only producing an average of one and half episodes per year). But, when it did return, it would seem the writers had become over-confident, and now wanted to make the show for the fans, not the audience. The result was disappointment from those who don’t engage in Internet fanaticism. Allow me to explain…

The episode is titled The Empty Hearse, following a tradition of adapting original Holmes stories with a twist, eg: The Hounds Of Baskerville from The Hound Of The Baskervilles, A Scandal In Belgravia from...