| Rathbone-bruce Sherlock Holmes Films |
Website Links For Sherlock Holmes |
Information AboutRathbone-bruce Sherlock Holmes Films |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RATHBONE-BRUCE SHERLOCK HOLMES FILMS | |
| american films | |
| english-language films | |
| sherlock holmes films | |
| rathbone-bruce films | |
|
All fourteen movies were filmed in black and white. The first two were released by Twentieth Century Fox , and the remainder by Universal Studios . The movies take great liberties with the Sherlock Holmes Canon :
The series can be divided into three major eras: Pre-war, Propaganda, and Later Films. PRE-WAR 1939's The Hound Of The Baskervilles was originally intended as a one-shot production. It became an unexpected hit and Twentieth Century Fox followed up with The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes , which established the common series technique of combining elements from several Sherlock Holmes stories to create new tales. PROPAGANDA Three of the , Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon , and Sherlock Holmes In Washington . Universal noted at the beginning of each film that Holmes remained "ageless" as they updated him to face 20th century villains - in this case, the Nazis . These movies often parallel real-life events. For example, in Sherlock Holmes And The Voice Of Terror , Holmes battles a Nazi radio program, similar to the real-life "Germany Calling" broadcasts of the British traitor Lord Haw-haw . In Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon , the British and Germans fight to secure the "Tobel Bomb Sight," analogous to the real-life Norden Bombsight . Starting with 1942's Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon , all of the remaining films were directed by Roy William Neill . LATER FILMS Five additional films were made during World War II: The Spider Woman , The Scarlet Claw , The Pearl Of Death , Sherlock Holmes And The House Of Fear , and The Woman In Green (made after the end of European hostilities but prior to the Japanese surrender). These movies have no war reference and are "standard" Holmes mysteries. The Pearl Of Death was an attempt by Universal to launch a new "monster" called "The Creeper", portrayed by Rondo Hatton . Hatton went on to reprise the role in House Of Horrors and The Brute Man , both released in 1946. Following the war, three more films were made: Pursuit To Algiers , Terror By Night , and Dressed To Kill . Rathbone eventually tired of the role (though Bruce never did). The duo also made numerous radio recordings as Holmes & Watson. CAST Mary Gordon plays Mrs Hudson in films in which she appears, and Dennis Hoey is Inspector Lestrade . Throughout the series, supporting actors often reappeared in varying roles. For example, Harry Cording appears as:
Henry Daniell , Frederick Worlock , and Gerald Hamer also made several appearances in different roles throughout the life of the series. Evelyn Ankers , who gained fame as Universal's "scream queen," appears as both the Limehouse barmaid Kitty in Sherlock Holmes And The Voice Of Terror and the villainous Naomi Drake in The Pearl Of Death . Holmes' arch-nemesis, in 1943's Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon and Henry Daniell in The Woman In Green . In both cases, Moriarty falls to his death off-screen, leaving the door open for future returns. He is heavily alluded to in Terror By Night . STATUS Four of the films are in the public domain: These four films have also been released in Colorized format. Terror By Night has been poorly preserved and there is no surviving clear, defect-free copy of the film. In particular, the last few minutes of the film are damaged and the best versions show skips and sound problems. THE FILMS
|
|
|