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The Best of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 (Dramatised) cover art

The Best of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 (Dramatised)

By: Arthur Conan Doyle
Narrated by: John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson
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Editor reviews

On this remastered first volume of The Best of Sherlock Holmes, actors John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson dazzle as the beloved English detective and his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson. Their interpretation of the classic material by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is considered to be the gold standard of Sherlock dramatizations; the dynamic chemistry between the pair is unmistakable. This volume contains “The Blackmailer”, “A Scandal in Bohemia” (where listeners are introduced to the clever and beautiful adversary Irene Adler), “Silverblaze”, and “The Speckled Band”.

Summary

Recognised as the ultimate dramatisation of Conan Doyle's famous stories, these recordings have been acclaimed since their reissue by Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks in 1995. They have been carefully remastered so that the sound is as good as possible without destroying the unique ambience of the original performances.

Contents:

"The Blackmailer": Holmes resorts to some lawbreaking of his own in the pursuit of essential evidence on a powerful blackmailer.

"A Scandal in Bohemia": A delicate case involving an ardent monarch and an indiscreet photograph leads Holmes to the one person he could not outwit: the beautiful Irene Adler.

"Silverblaze": Holmes searches for a murderer and a missing racehorse called Silverblaze.

"The Speckled Band": Holmes and Watson are entreated by a woman to get to the bottom of her sister's horrible and mysterious death.

Public Domain (P)2010 Heritage Media Limited

What listeners say about The Best of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 (Dramatised)

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Superb productions from a bygone age...

The production is simply lovely with outstanding performances from the cast particularly John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson as Holmes & Watson.

What is lovely is to hear a quality piece from the 1950s. The stories were co-produced by the BBC in the UK and ABC in the USA. This explains the American continuity announcer that loudly and proudly introduces each episode.

The audio quality is very good throughout but watch out for Holmes' violin playing - it does tend to hit the high notes and came as quite a shock through my earbuds.

Naturally the stories are superb and the production team really understood how to make radio drama narrative work well.

Treat yourself to a very reasonably priced treasure...

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Somewhat behind the curve...

Sadly, having listened to Steven Fry's recent versions, this older version sounds pretty naff. Even the famous actors don't make this story come to life so it's rather painful listening. The violin sound track does not improve the overall effect. One to avoid.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great performance, shame about the violin!

Classic performances from two superb voices, definitely worth listening too. But too much of the violin makes it a bad choice for a night time listen as we kept being woken up!!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Loud music

I’m sure this rendition would have been ok but couldn’t get far because of too loud violin and bangs. I’m 79 ,have tinnitus and cannot take sudden change in volumes. I wanted to listen to stories not have loud noises in my ear. Shame.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Old-fashioned, wooden

Typical of its time, with two ‘classic ‘ actors, reading beautifully, but with an almost total lack of realism.
Compare this , for example with Jeremy Brett’s melodramatic but entrancing renditions.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

First rate

An excellent interpretation of the Sherlock Holmes’s stories with superb readings by the two Sirs - Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Such a lovely tempo and flow to the acting. I know the stories of course but so lovely hearing them delivered this way.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A trip down memory lane

Every bit as good as when I first heard them over 50 years ago. Memory must have returned for the speckled band if not for the other stories.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bellissimo

Excellent in every respect.
Nothing better than Sherlock and Watson on a wet , rainy evening.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sherlock fan!

This is a good retelling of some of the most famous Holmes stories. The performances were good (a little quaint!) but thorough and the recording was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyable!

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