By far my favorite "Sherlock Holmes" movies were
those with Basil Rathbone playing the lead and Nigel Bruce as the
ever-faithful Doctor Watson.
This is a list of the Movies in date order.
1939: The Hound Of The Baskervilles
1939: The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
1942: Sherlock Holmes And The Voice Of Terror
1942: Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon
1943: Sherlock Holmes In Washington
1943: Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
1944: Sherlock Holmes And The Spider Woman
1944: The Scarlet Claw
1944: The Pearl Of Death
1945: The House Of Fear
1945: The Woman In Green
1945: Pursuit To Algiers
1946: Terror By Night
1946: Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Code ("Dressed To Kill"
In The USA)
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The
Hound Of The Baskervilles
Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of a supernatural hound
threatening the life of a Dartmoor baronet.
Basil Rathbone's first appearance as Sherlock Holmes is in a
painstaking studio production which achieves good atmosphere and
preserves the flavor if not the letter of the book but is let
down by a curious lack of pace.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie, Lionel
Atwill, Morton Lowry, John Carradine, Barlowe Borland, Beryl
Mercer, Ralph Forbes, E.E. Clive, Eily Malyon and Mary Gordon.
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The
Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
Moriarty sends Holmes on a false trail while he plots to steal
the Crown jewels.
Highly engaging piece of Hollywood Victoriana, with all the
elements perfect except for an unconvincing plot.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, George Zucco, Ida Lupino, Alan
Marshal, Terry Kilburn, E.E. Clive, Henry Stephenson and Mary
Gordon.
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Sherlock
Holmes And The Voice Of Terror
Sherlock Holmes unmasks a Lord Haw Haw in the war
cabinet.
Fairly risible first entry into the modernized series, with a
Hollywood view of London and a singular haircut for the star.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Reginald Denny,
Evelyn Ankers, Montagu Love, Thomas Gomez and Mary Gordon
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Sherlock
Holmes And The Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes saves a stolen bombsight from Nazi agents.
Slightly stiff modernized Holmes story with amusing ingredients.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill (as Moriarty), Dennis
Hoey, Karen Verne, William Post Jnr and Mary Gordon.
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Sherlock
Holmes In Washington
Sherlock Holmes flies west to prevent Nazi spies
from grabbing a microfilmed document concealed in a match folder.
Moderate adventure in the modernized series, with a good
beginning and end but a sag in the middle.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Henry Daniell, George Zucco,
Marjorie Lord, John Archer and Gavin Muir.
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Sherlock Holmes
Faces Death
Weird murders occur in a convalescent home for retired officers.
One of the better entries in this rather likeable modernized series; fairly close to the original story except the events don't
make a lot of sense.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Milburn Stone,
Halliwell Hobbes, Arthur Margetson, Dennis Hoey, Gavin Muir,
Frederick Worlock, Olaf Hytten, Gerald Hamer, Mary Gordon and
Vernon Downing.
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Sherlock
Holmes And The Spider Woman
Sherlock Holmes mystery in which the sleuthing hero is on the
trail of a woman who drives gamblers to commit suicide and then
pocket their winnings.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Dennis Hoey,
Vernon Downing & Alec Craig.
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The Scarlet Claw
Grisly revenge murders take place in the fog-bound Canadian
village of Le Mort Rouge.
Possibly the best modernized Sherlock Holmes series, with a plot
hastily borrowed from "The Hound Of The Baskervilles".
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Miles Mander, Gerald Hamer, Paul
Cavanagh, Kay Harding and Arthu Hohl.
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The Pearl Of
Death
When a valuable pearl is stolen, Sherlock Holmes has only his
cleverness to blame; but he redeems himself by trapping "The
Creeper".
An amusing picturisation of Doyle's "The Six Napoleons",
with the addition of a horror figure; it plays very well and is
certainly among the best in the series.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Miles Mander, Rondo
Hatton and Evelyn Ankers.
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The House Of
Fear
Members of a club are murdered one by one.
A knotty problem for Sherlock Holmes, but rather tediously unraveled. Despite the orange pips it owes virtually nothing to
Conan Doyle.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Aubrey Mather, Paul
Cavanagh, Holmes Herbert and Gavin Muir.
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Pursuit To
Algiers
Sherlock Holmes guards the young king of Ruritania on a sea
voyage.
After an amiably lunatic first reel, this settles down as one of
the dullest of the series, but it never entirely taxes the
patience.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Martin Kosleck, Marjorie Riordan,
Rosalind Ivan, John Abbott, Frederick Worlock and Martin Lowry.
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Terror By Night
Sherlock Holmes recovers a stolen jewel and solves a murder or
two aboard a speeding train.
An amusing entry in the modernized series despite some bad
support acting and hilarious interposed shots of the supposed
scenery between London and Edinburgh.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Alan Mowbray, Renee
Godfrey, Bill Bevan, Mary Forbes and Frederick Warlock.
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© Ian Mitchell - All Rights Reserved.
Page Created 18/02/1999
Last Updated 24/04/2000
