A Brief History of Sherlock Holmes

Dynamic Duo
The pairing of Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson in the 1939 version of Hound of the Baskervilles was originally envisaged as a one-time deal for 20th Century Fox. Indeed, the studio apparently had such little faith in the project that the main billing went to Richard Greene, the film's romantic lead and a major star at the time. But when it became an unexpected hit, Fox wanted to cash in and asked them to reprise their roles. The pair would star in 14 Holmes films together, but 12 were for Universal Pictures.

• TIME's Sherlock Holmes Video