Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce make their second screen appearances as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Ostensibly based on the stage play by William Gillette, the film owes nothing to the play beyond the characters of Holmes, Watson, Billy the page boy and Professor Moriarty. Played with relish (and a bit of pickle) by George Zucco, Moriarty plots to steal the Crown Jewels, and also to confound Holmes by obliging the Great Detective to be in two places at once. Ida Lupino costars as an imperiled young woman who is seemingly plagued by an ancient family curse--a plot development that has been carefully stage-managed by the malevolent Moriarty. Basil Rathbone is excellent not only as Holmes but also in the guise of a cockney music-hall entertainer (if indeed that is Rathbone performing a buck-and-wing in longshot). The second of Twentieth Century-Fox's Holmes films (Hound of the Baskervilles was the first), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the last in which Rathbone and Bruce were seen in a 19th century setting. In the subsquent Sherlock Holmes series at Universal, the exploits of Holmes and Watson were updated to the World War II years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • Audio commentary with Richard Valley
  • Selected theatrical trailers
  • Production notes by Richard Valley
  • Photo gallery

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Basil Rathbone - Sherlock Holmes
       Nigel Bruce - Dr. Watson
       Ida Lupino - Ann Brandon
       Alan Marshal - Jerrold Hunter
       Terry Kilburn - Billy
       E.E. Clive - Inspector Bristol
       George Zucco - Prof. Moriarty
       Henry Stephenson - Sir Ronald Ramsgate
       Arthur Hohl - Bassick
       May Beatty - Mrs. Jameson
       Peter Willes - Lloyd Brandon
       Mary Gordon - Mrs. Hudson
       Holmes Herbert - Justice
       George Regas - Mateo
       Mary Forbes - Lady Conyngham
       Frank Dawson - Dawes
       William Austin - Stranger
       Anthony Kemble - Cooper - Tony

• Director:

  Alfred L. Werker

• Producer:

  Darryl F. Zanuck

• Play Author:

  William Gillette

• Screenwriter:

  Edwin Blum, William A. Drake

• Cinematographer:

  Leon Shamroy

• Composer (Music Score):

  Cyril Mockridge

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Cyril Mockridge

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Raksin

• Editor:

  Robert Bischoff

• Art Director:

  Richard Day, Hans Peters

• Associate Producer:

  Gene Markey

• Set Designer:

  Thomas K. Little

• Costume Designer:

  Gwen Wakeling

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  W.D. Flick, Roger Heman

REVIEW:

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes may owe nothing to Arthur Conan Doyle (or the William Gillette play upon which it is ostensibly based) other than a handful of characters, but that's enough. While some of the plotting and dialogue is not strictly according to Doyle -- Moriarty would never reveal his secrets to his butler in such a blatantly expository manner;Holmes would never be as dismissive of the threat posed by Moriarty nor as easily fooled by the double blind that the villain uses to distract him; the boyfriend's motives would be better explained -- things are kept close enough to the spirit of the book (and characters) that the violations of the letter don't matter too much. Most importantly, the film has in Basil Rathbone an actor that is imminently suited to the role of the world's greatest sleuths. While others have matched (or even perhaps surpassed) his interpretation, it is still the benchmark by which all other Holmes are measured, and he is in superb form here. Nigel Bruce's Watson has here started to develop a bit more of the obtuseness that would become more pronounced as the series progresses, but the actors play it to good comic effect. George Zucco's Moriarty is appropriately evil, and Ida Lupino plays the damsel in distress role with a winning combination of restraint and resilience. Weighing all the evidence, it's clear that Adventures is an engaging detective thriller. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi