Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce starred in two Sherlock Holmes films for Fox which were set in the 1890s. Then they made twelve more for Universal, only those were set in contemporary times.
How did the transition come about? Did Universal purchase the rights from Fox or was Sherlock Holmes in the public domain by this point and Fox was unable to stop Universal from casting the same principle actors in the lead?
Its a bit like when the Narnia films went from Disney to Fox I suppose.
Fox decided not to make any more films and Universal decided to continue with them. They were not in the public domain as the creator of Sherlock Holmes only died a few years earlier.
Its that man again!!
Ah, so Fox sold the rights to Universal. Thanks, Prism.
shareNot correct, Fox couldn't agree on terms with the Conan Doyle estate for more movies, so they didn't renew the rights. Universal purchased the rights from the estate for a reduced rate and an agreement that 2 out of every 3 movies had to be adapted from a Conan Doyle story.
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