Basil Rathbone was an English actor and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, starting in 1939 and ending in 1946. He made fourteen movies alongside Nigel Bruce as Dr John Watson over the next seven years. But, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rathbone became bored with the great detective and felt typecast as Holmes. Rathbone quit the role in 1946, and returned to the stage work which he loved. Soon, however, he missed the financial rewards that Holmes had brought him, and decided to make one more reappearance as the character. Rathbone starred as Sherlock Holmes again in a play written by his wife Ouida, but the production was a complete flop and only managed to run for three performances.