[2] The series was based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Some of the surviving episode recordings may be found online, in various audio quality condition.
For most of the show's run, the program starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
[9] Originally, the show starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.
[12] Basil Rathbone's last episode as the famous detective was "The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher".
[citation needed] On October 12, 1946, Tom Conway replaced him in the starring role,[13] though Nigel Bruce got top billing.
During World War II, the show was also broadcast overseas through the Armed Forces Radio Service.
[22][27] Evans played an assassin in the Sherlock Holmes film Pursuit to Algiers.
[22] In each episode, the announcer would be presented as arriving at the home of Dr. Watson, then retired, who would share a story about Holmes and his adventures.
In various episodes of the fourth season, the announcers were Owen Babbe, Marx Hartman, and Bob Campbell.
[29] Actors who performed in multiple roles on the show include Verna Felton, Paula Winslowe, Carl Harbord (who also played Inspector Hopkins in the Sherlock Holmes film Dressed to Kill), Herbert Rawlinson, Paul Frees, Theodore von Eltz, and June Foray.
While Rathbone left the show at the same time, the reason Petri ceased their sponsorship was unconnected to Rathbone's departure according to one source, which states that the decision was made because it was more affordable for Petri to sponsor the radio series The Casebook of Gregory Hood instead.
[35] Season 2 (September 29, 1940 – March 9, 1941; 24 episodes) started with an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Empty House".
The last episode of the season was "The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher", suggested by an incident in The Sign of Four.
[44] Some of the episodes in this season were novelized by Ken Greenwald in his book The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1989).
[47] Season 7 (September 28, 1947 – June 20, 1948; 39 episodes) started with "The Case of the Dog Who Changed His Mind" and ended with an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger".