The main antagonist of the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty, was remembered by readers for the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle and for films created based on their motives. He is the head of a dangerous criminal network operating throughout Europe, with which the famous master of the deductive method is fighting. Who is he, the criminal genius of Europe, and did he have a prototype? What actors embodied his image on the screen?
The prototype of a dangerous criminal
Arthur Conan Doyle took many character traits of the characters of his books from real life. Professor Moriarty also has several prototypes. According to researchers of the work of the English writer, the image of Holmes’s main opponent was mainly copied from Adam Worth, who was called the “Napoleon of the underworld” in the 19th century. It is precisely this characterization that Moriarty gave in the stories of the writer.
The real genius of the underworld of the XIX century - what are the similarities with the literary character?
Worth's parents lived in Europe, but then emigrated to the United States. During the Civil War, Adam fought for the Union. After the end of hostilities, he began a criminal career and became a pickpocket. Very quickly, Worth became the leader of his own gang and engaged in robberies. He was caught and sent to Sing Sing, one of the worst prisons. Safely escaped from her and again returned to the underworld. He became famous for robbing a bank in Boston by breaking into a tunnel dug from a nearby store. Conan Doyle later uses this story in his stories about Sherlock Holmes. After a bold robbery, Worth fled to England, where he created a criminal network engaged in robbery. He arranged the matter in such a way that none of the participants in his criminal schemes knew in the person of their organizer. This is exactly what Moriarty Conan Doyle described - a man in the shadows and leading, through intermediaries, hundreds of his henchmen across Europe.
The fate of Worth is unusually interesting. In the end, he himself came to William Pinkerton and told his story. He spent the last years of his life decently, with his children. Worth's son became a detective at the Pinkerton Agency.
In what original Doyle's stories is the evil genius of the underworld of London present?
This seems strange, but Sherlock Holmes' main opponent, Professor Moriarty, is found in only a few stories. “Norwood Contractor” and “Empty House” - in them the famous detective and Dr. Watson reveal the crimes behind their sinister opponent. The criminal genius himself is not personally shown in them, only Holmes speaks of him as an organizer and compares it with a spider weaving a web.
And only in the story, which at one time caused a storm of indignation, in which the brilliant detective dies, does Professor Moriarty finally appear before the readers. This is the story of Holmes’s Last Affair. With this work, Doyle wanted to put an end to the order of the detective who had bothered him, but caused a flurry of indignation. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty were too bright characters to get rid of them like that. Beloved by readers, the detective had to be resurrected, but his main opponent was not lucky. Professor Moriarty died at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls.
The best adaptation of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes with the participation of his main opponent
In the entire history of cinema, there were a lot of adaptations of the stories about the great detective and his sworn enemy. But the audience liked and remembered only a few.
The 1980 Soviet television movie “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson” is still considered one of the most successful adaptations of Doyle's stories. The British themselves repeatedly recognized Vasily Livanov the best Holmes of all time. Of contemporary paintings, Guy Ritchie's films were very successful. Popular are the British television series Sherlock and the Russian Sherlock Holmes.
Who played Professor Moriarty. Actors and their incarnations
To realize the role of the evil genius of London and Europe on the screen is a complicated matter. Arthur Conan Doyle gives a very definite description of the villain's appearance . Professor Moriarty (photo can be seen below) had a thin face and gray hair. Outwardly, he was most like a priest. Possessed fast high-pitched speech.
In the Soviet film adaptation, Professor Moriarty is actor Victor Evgrafov. He managed to convey the literary appearance of the criminal. Tall, thin, with a piercing gaze, dressed in a black suit, he really looked like a poisonous spider, always ready to jump.
In the second Guy Ritchie film about the adventures of the famous detective, viewers finally saw Holmes' main enemy. During the filming of The Shadow Game, there were many rumors that Moriarty was actor Brad Pitt. In the first part, the director did not show the villain's face, which gave him the opportunity to choose any celebrity for this role. But Richie chose the British actor Jared Harris, and did not lose. Moriarty in his performance turned out to be convincingly cruel and prudent. The image of an ingenious mathematician appears before the audience, developing a plan of action many steps ahead and calmly removing unwanted witnesses. So professors and described Conan Doyle. And although Harris looks a little like Moriarty’s description, he played the role entrusted to him brilliantly.
In the 2003 adventure tape “League of Outstanding Gentlemen”, the most famous characters of 19th century books were collected: Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain, Tom Sawyer, Dorian Gray. Their adversary was the Phantom, under whose name Moriarty was hiding. He was played by Australian actor Richard Roxberg.
In the popular contemporary TV series Sherlock, Professor Moriarty is actor Andrew Scott. The opponent of Sherlock Holmes in his performance is very different from the classic image. He is not a native of a noble family, possessing good manners, but a real villain-psycho. So it was conceived by the creators of the series who wanted to move away from the cliche. Even the action itself they have carried over in our time. Another difference of Moriarty, played by Scott, from the work of other actors - he is very young.
In 2013, the Russian series about the adventures of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, was released. The role of Professor Moriarty in it was played by Alexei Gorbunov.
Paradoxes of the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes"
Actor Anthony Higgins played the ominous professor Moriarty in this 1985 film. In 1993, he embodied the already famous detective on the screen in the television series 1994 Baker Street: The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
This is not the only case when an actor plays the role of ideological opponents in different films. Richard Roxburgh, a year before filming in the League of Outstanding Gentlemen, where he embodied the image of Professor Moriarty, played Sherlock Holmes in the movie The Hound of the Baskervilles.
James Moriarty in works of other authors
The famous criminal of the XIX century, invented by Arthur Conan Doyle and killed by him, received a rebirth in the books of other writers. The most interesting works popular with readers are novels by contemporary author Kim Newman. In them, the main character is not the famous detective, but Professor Moriarty. “Dog d'Herberville” - one of the books of the cycle, dedicated to “Napoleon of the underworld.” In it, he, along with an assistant, Sebastian Moran, solves complex puzzles.
John Edmund Gardner is another author whose professor in the trilogy is Professor Moriarty. Finally, Anthony Horowitz, a popular writer, wrote several works based on Doyle's short stories. His latest novel is simply called Moriarty.
Conclusion
The figure of a genius criminal, an ominous opponent of the famous detective, is no less interesting than Sherlock Holmes himself. And thanks to the actors who perfectly embodied his image on the screen, viewers can imagine what “Napoleon of the underworld” of the 19th century looked like - Professor Moriarty.