Numerous actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes on the big screen over the course of the past century, but nobody comes close to Eille Norwood, who starred as Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth in 45 shorts and two features for Stoll Pictures between 1921 and 1923. The entire Stoll Collection of Sherlock Holmes films is currently being restored by the BFI, and the first fruits of that invaluable effort were screened at this year’s London Film Festival Archive Gala, which took place in the suitably Victorian surroundings of Alexandra Palace.
