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Over the last
year or so I’ve had the opportunity
to review several different Sherlock Holmes
adventures, with Holmes played by a myriad
of actors. I’ve written about the
fantastic work of the late Jeremy Brett
in the BBC series, whom many consider to
be the best Holmes. And most recently I
wrote about Nicholas Rowe’s standout
performance of a “Young Sherlock Holmes.”
I believe my comments to the latter were
along the lines that Rowe’s calm and
quiet demeanor and lanky stature convinced
me he would one day grow up to be Basil
Rathbone.
Speaking of Basil Rathbone, (oh look, a
segue), he is the one person to play Sherlock
Holmes that I had not had the occasion to
review. Rathbone started his career in film
way back in 1921. Though he had quite a
long and illustrious career which included
playing Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein in “Son
of Frankenstein”, and the villainous
Sir Ravenhurst in “The Court Jester”
opposite Danny Kaye, it was the role of
Sherlock Holmes for which he is best remembered.
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During the 1930s and 1940s, Rathbone starred
in at least 14 Holmes films (as best I can remember),
and I still consider him to be the definitive
Sherlock Holmes.
Of course I do not mean to imply that he did it
alone. Holmes needed his Watson and throughout
the film series he was portrayed by the delightful
Nigel Bruce. The two were a team like no other.
I cannot imagine either of them successfully playing
off any other actors.
I never really expected to have the opportunity
to write about Rathbone, but late last year, MPI
Home Video starting releasing DVD collections
of these Sherlock Holmes adventures and I say
it’s about time. Unfortunately, I missed
out on Volume 1 (but certainly plan on getting
it), but had the opportunity to review Volume
2. Beyond the sheer joy of being able to watch
these classic mysteries again, I was completely
blown away by how incredible the audio and video
was. We’re talking about films that were
made seventy years ago and they looked as clean
and crisp as if they were made today.
This incredible quality is thanks to the UCLA
Film and Television Archive. These films were
digitally preserved and restored, and great care
was taken to find every available frame of each
one. Their hard work and dedication has allowed
Holmes fans to have complete versions of these
films, from the opening credits all the way to
the period war bond tag at the end. If my TV screen
were only bigger, it would be like being transported
back to the theatres of the old days. Considering
the age of the films, the few spots and scratches
you might still see are few and far between.
“The Sherlock Holmes Collection: Volume
3” features “The Woman in Green”
(1945), “Pursuit to Algiers” (1945),
and two of my favorite Holmes’ films, “Terror
by Night” (1946), and “Dressed to
Kill” (1946).
This 4-disc set also offers up some wonderfully
enlightening commentary by David Stuart Davies,
a noted expert on Sherlock Holmes, on “The
Woman in Green.” There’s also a short
news reel that features the author, Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, reflecting on how he came to write
Sherlock Holmes. I had never seen any film footage
of the author before, and this little extra was
quite cool. I’m not usually into Photo Galleries,
but I like the way MPI chose to present it here.
As opposed to just static photos that you scroll
through, this is more of a musical photo and poster
montage that flows through the pictures at a nice
pace. It runs just about two and a half minutes
and is a really nice feature.
Inside the DVD case, you’ll find a booklet
that has written commentary and information on
each of the films by Richard Valley, publisher
of the Scarlet Street Magazine. Reading through
these, I’m amazed at the man’s knowledge
of the subject. There’s a lot to be learned
here for amateur film historians.
I’m beyond thrilled that MPI is releasing
these great Sherlock Holmes adventures. There’s
not a bad film in the bunch and they all deserve
to opportunity to be preserved for future generations
of mystery fans. This is a great collection and
I am already eagerly awaiting the release of Volume
4. (Of course, I still really need to get out
and track down Volume 1!!)
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce
Extras: Audio Commentary with David Stuart Davies,
Production Notes by Richard Valley, Photo Gallery
and Original Movie Posters.
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MPI
Release Date: 1/27/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
We'll give Sherlock Holmes Collection: Volume
3 an A.
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