Sherlock Holmes Fictional Character

Haunted lately by an eerie, ripping noise? That's the sound of Sherlock Holmes purists rending their garments at the prospect of Guy Ritchie's $80-million extravaganza "Sherlock Holmes," which stars Robert Downey Jr. as the inimitable master detective, Jude Law as a surprisingly edgy Dr. John Watson -- and Rachel McAdams as a seductive Irene Adler. The movie opens today, but trailers already have mingled gorgeous views of Edwardian London with jolting shots of a bare-chested, bloodied Holmes in a makeshift boxing ring.

Haunted lately by an eerie, ripping noise? That's the sound of Sherlock Holmes purists rending their garments at the prospect of Guy Ritchie's $80-million extravaganza "Sherlock Holmes," which stars Robert Downey Jr. as the inimitable master detective, Jude Law as a surprisingly edgy Dr. John Watson -- and Rachel McAdams as a seductive Irene Adler. The movie opens today, but trailers already have mingled gorgeous views of Edwardian London with jolting shots of a bare-chested, bloodied Holmes in a makeshift boxing ring.

"Sherlock Holmes," the latest incarnation of Arthur Conan Doyle's analytical, coke-loving sleuth, opens Christmas Day, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Baker Street detective and Jude Law as Watson, his cohort in crime-solving. So it's elementary that the game is afoot to pay homage to previous cinematic Holmeses. On Monday at the Billy Wilder Theatre in Westwood, the UCLA Film and Television Archive is screening 1944's "The Scarlet Claw" and "The Spider Woman," which star the most famous celluloid Holmes and Watson: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

"Sherlock Holmes," the latest incarnation of Arthur Conan Doyle's analytical, coke-loving sleuth, opens Christmas Day, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Baker Street detective and Jude Law as Watson, his cohort in crime-solving. So it's elementary that the game is afoot to pay homage to previous cinematic Holmeses. On Monday at the Billy Wilder Theatre in Westwood, the UCLA Film and Television Archive is screening 1944's "The Scarlet Claw" and "The Spider Woman," which star the most famous celluloid Holmes and Watson: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.