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| Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes |
There are few actors who have as
fervent a fan following as Jeremy Brett and Sir Basil Rathbone is one of those
privileged few.
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce were
cast as the legendary duo in 14 films in the 1940s. Most of these movies were
updated to reflect the times in which they were made rather than the Victorian
times in which the novels were originally written. The makers wanted to make
Sherlock a heroic figure during those tumultuous times faced by the Great
Britain. Some of the movies, such as “Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of
Terror” and “Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon” were in fact
based on real-life events.
Rathbone was actively involved in World
War II and had even donned disguises as part of his duties. These experiences
no doubt made Rathbone the perfect choice to play Sherlock Holmes. His tall and
gaunt appearance and aquiline features give the impression that he just leapt
right out of Sidney Paget’s drawings. Rathbone’s deep voice and the mischievous
twinkle in his eyes are only the icing on the cake.
One of the often overlooked Holmesian
habits in the adaptations is his addiction to drugs. The needle is mentioned very briefly at the end of the adaptation
of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The series makers obviously did
not like the reception to this (seemingly unsavory) trait of Holmes and there
is no mention of this in the next 13 movies in the series.
The actor playing Dr Watson always gets
second billing and is very vital to the success of the series. Vitaly Solomin
was as much a highlight of the Russian adaptation as Vasily Livanov himself. In the same vein, David Burke and Edward Hardwicke
greatly enhance the appeal of the Granada series. As for Rathbone, he is
saddled with the gentleman below:
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| Nigel Bruce as some old bumbling fool called John Watson |
Nigel Bruce (bless his soul) makes the
most comical Watson I have ever seen and this is not a compliment at all.. Sir
Doyle created Watson as a competent doctor and an able ally/friend of the
Bohemian detective. Dr Watson is the everyman that readers can relate to and he
is our guide to the enigma that is Sherlock Holmes.
Making Dr Watson a bumbling fool is in
my humble opinion, a big disservice to the genius of Arthur Conan Doyle. But to
be fair to Bruce, he does share excellent on-screen chemistry with Basil
Rathbone and this results in some truly memorable moments, mostly at the expense
of Bruce's Watson!
Thankfully, Mary Gordon is the
canonical Mrs Hudson: caring, affectionate and grudgingly tolerant of her
Bohemian tenant.
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| Mary Gordon as Mrs Hudson |
Scotland Yard detective Lestrade is
portrayed by Dennis Hoey who is even taller than Rathbone. It is an amusing sight to
watch a Lestrade taller than Holmes, as Lestrade is defined as being a man of small build in
the canon.
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| Dennis Hoey as Lestrade with Holmes |
Of the 14 movies, the only one based on the Canon is the
adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. This is one of the
best adaptations of arguably the most famous Sherlock Holmes novel.
Incidentally, this was the first movie to star Rathbone and Bruce as the famous
residents of 221B Baker Street. Basil is in top form as Holmes here and it is
sheer pleasure to watch him leave his imprint on the role.
The supporting cast is good and does justice to their respective
roles. There are some deviations from the Canon, such as Beryl Stapleton being
the step-sister of John Stapleton (she is his wife in the novel) and Dr
Mortimer is quite aged (he is described as being quite young in the canon).
There is a séance sequence, where Mrs Mortimer acts as the medium. This scene
is a nice touch and adds to the atmosphere.
Click on the link below to buy your copy of the entire collection of 14 movies:
Most of the remaining movies are based on one or more of the
canonical stories. “The Pearl of Death” is based on The Adventure of
the Six Napoleons. “Sherlock Holmes faces death” is based on The
Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. “Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear”
is based on The Five Orange Pips.
Another significant fact is that there are a lot of recurring
actors who portray various supporting roles in many of these 14 movies. I will
not go into too many details, but suffice to say that it is quite disconcerting
to watch no less than 3 different actors portray Professor Moriarty and
interestingly he dies in each of these 3 incarnations!
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| Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes |
The
series is still a recommended watch for the sole purpose of enjoying Basil
Rathbone’s superb portrayal of the world's premier fictional detective.
Click here to read all my posts about Basil Rathbone.
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Sources: Wikia, Rotten Tomatoes, MovieActors.com, RadioMickDanger.com, Cinema.de
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