Episode 285: Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“I am one of the hounds” [STUD]  </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIorT77PGPL4jzmXaECdaNOEaufGDjlfoUwPArIzfflO2YEP2-k1yfz-EUM_q2tNnZL7BK7sTEIDUquqX-9QGGU-jFKXgfFNkWGBoH9rMELUH2-xS8BeVs_4HuzCYZILMOcfTauk54NJnS1fj9mHq4pJA3V_UV_GmJNDj4NQ35xnj8fCxQKJqx0PYbSRUi/s2019/ihearofsherlock285%20widescreen.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="2019" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIorT77PGPL4jzmXaECdaNOEaufGDjlfoUwPArIzfflO2YEP2-k1yfz-EUM_q2tNnZL7BK7sTEIDUquqX-9QGGU-jFKXgfFNkWGBoH9rMELUH2-xS8BeVs_4HuzCYZILMOcfTauk54NJnS1fj9mHq4pJA3V_UV_GmJNDj4NQ35xnj8fCxQKJqx0PYbSRUi/w640-h360/ihearofsherlock285%20widescreen.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><p>The golden age of Hollywood brought us stars like William Powell and Myrna Loy, and of course Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.</p><p>In Elizabeth Crowens' new novel <i>Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles</i>, we find them (and Dashiell Hammett) intervowen in a story that begins with the disappearance of Asta from The Thin Man movies, and Rathbone's own lost pup. Young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt team up with him to dig up the reasons behind these canine crimes.</p><p>Elizabeth joined us to talk about her Sherlockian and historical fiction writing amid her busy book launch schedule. It's a fascinating and fun conversation.</p><p>We have Sherlockian news, as well as another round of the <b>Canonical Couplet</b> quiz. It's a super-easy one this time. The winner, chosen at random from all correct answers, will receive a copy of <i>Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles</i>. Send your answer to comment @ ihearofsherlock .com by April 29, 2024 at 11:59 a.m. EDT. All listeners are eligible to play.</p><p>If you become a <a href="https://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank">supporter</a> of the show, not only will you help to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and transcription services, but we have thank-you gifts at certain tiers and ad-free versions of the episodes for all patrons.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></p><div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3><br /></h3><h3><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock285.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size: 91.6 MB, 1:06:42</h3><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="1458" data-dashlane-rid="6f3851b33886206c" data-form-type="other" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/30841848/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/414851/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/FFFFFF" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-wrap: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-wrap: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-wrap: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><h4 style="line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://www.episodes.fm/258126625" target="_blank">Listen to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere anywhere</a></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.episodes.fm/258126625" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="639" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyAfMy7WsxQV7D-7YxXoJ7uyOK4l3ZKzNMFZT0_e2g_3u8z2Gbtn4x3WQzTw0OqaSsP-k13-QHde9EnFgO3uzikjHmQ3rK2_0Xmvb_v6ggUV32CnZ2ZeqiSrAkGL0SUYMvr0JEiMJupjFvq8dQL8CuZqAWTTbMcYBZVV1NHgYP4X5XME7qekOhj2fZg/w400-h145/Pod%20Link.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="margin: 0px;">Sponsors</h2><div style="margin: 0px;"><ul><li><a href="https://mxpublishing.com" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> regularly issues a <b>Thank Holmes It's Friday</b> newsletter, filled with first-to-know information and discounts for regular subscribers. Sign up today.</li></ul></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Would you care to advertise with us? You can find <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" target="_blank">more information here</a>. Let's chat!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h2><b>Links</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles</i> (<a href="https://amzn.to/49BTfLB" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/93253/9781685125424">Bookshop.org</a>) </li><li><a href="https://www.elizabethcrowens.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Crowens</a> </li><li>IHOSE reviews some of Elizabeth's books:</li><ul><li><i><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/05/silent-meridian-review.html" target="_blank">The Silent Meridian</a></i></li><li><i><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2019/10/review-pocketful-of-lodestones-by.html" target="_blank">A Pocketful of Lodestones</a></i></li></ul><li>Find all of our relevant links and social accounts at <a href="http://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock">linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock</a>.</li></ul><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at 5-1895-221B-5. That's (518) 952-2125.</div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><h3><br /></h3><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div></div></div>

Episode 285: Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

“I am one of the hounds” [STUD]   The golden age of Hollywood brought us stars like William Powell and Myrna Loy, and of course Basil Rathbo...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 252: The Devil's Blaze

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“You can go to blazes!” [3STU]  </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wpzoq6olnFN3P7Tc3hinJQTzWnZJaIyTjHQKowCEgp-c_nLpb2YY9VQyeoZMRx_AtB2FmtwiYdGmzlJM9-S1estRX_XexJG0dgak96GcoTZZXgnD2mKTxKdtwyzPZXEN_mCu_jUwHrk-jTZjVQOTlqzA7E2CZVvRrsMORxHMD-0u9cwsIS0GfAvzqA/s1355/Devils%20Blaze%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1355" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wpzoq6olnFN3P7Tc3hinJQTzWnZJaIyTjHQKowCEgp-c_nLpb2YY9VQyeoZMRx_AtB2FmtwiYdGmzlJM9-S1estRX_XexJG0dgak96GcoTZZXgnD2mKTxKdtwyzPZXEN_mCu_jUwHrk-jTZjVQOTlqzA7E2CZVvRrsMORxHMD-0u9cwsIS0GfAvzqA/w640-h546/Devils%20Blaze%20cover.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><p>The Devil's Blaze: Sherlock Holmes 1943 is the follow-up novel to Robert J. Harris' highly-acclaimed first novel, A Study in Crimson: Sherlock Holmes 1942.</p><p>Fans of the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce films will recognize the setting, as Holmes and Watson are in wartime London and prominent figures in science and the military are bursting into flame and being incinerated.</p><p>Author Bob Harris joins us in this episode to talk about his inspiration for this very different approach to writing continued adventures of Sherlock Holmes.</p><p>If you try your hand at the <b>Canonical Couplet</b> (we give you two lines of poetry, you identify the Sherlock Holmes story), your correct answer could be randomly chosen to win a copy of Bob's book.</p><p>Send your answer to comment @ ihearofsherlock .com by November 29, 2022 at 11:59 a.m. EST. The winner will be chosen at random from among all the correct answers. All listeners are eligible to play.</p><p>For our supporters, a very special challenge is still open for you, where you'll have a chance to win six Sherlock Holmes books: <i>The Sherlock Holmes Little Book of Wisdom, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, In and Out of Character, </i>and <i>Conan Doyle</i>. See what awaits on <a href="https://ihearofsherlock.substack.com/p/ihose251-bonus" target="_blank">Substack</a> or <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/73999427" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div><div style="margin: 0px;">Please do consider becoming a <a href="https://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and transcription services. And now, Patreon supporters get ad-free versions of the episodes.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock252.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size: 87.6 MB, 1:03:48</h3><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="1881" data-dashlane-rid="a7aeedfcc84ddb12" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/25031904/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/a93a3a/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><h4 style="line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://pod.link/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Listen to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere anywhere</a></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://pod.link/ihearofsherlock" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCIkwuVBamXWgWlu0frtZ10DWQQflqTD3OV6wU0vFHrGbfCDjtCgA3z5t7YRp_aa-pNjMbiok2vIaTpM66UZ5kEhrBsMkQDNsEr-1Y67kLU0wf4CGrNhqSScZnTm68gxZvXU9hek86TaD/w200-h200/IHOSE+logo+-+headphones+HR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="margin: 0px;">Sponsors</h2><div style="margin: 0px;"><ul><li><a href="https://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> is the premier publisher of books about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, including <i><a href="https://wessexpress.com/html/bookman.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and The Bookman</a></i>.</li><li><a href="https://www.mxpublishing.com" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> is a publishing dynamo, with new titles every week. Most recently: <a href="https://mxpublishing.com/blogs/news/thif-thank-holmes-its-friday-2022-week-45" target="_blank">four free audiobooks</a>, including <i>The Adventure of the Wordy Companion: An A-Z Guide to Sherlockian Phraseology</i>.</li></ul></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Would you care to advertise with us? You can find <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" target="_blank">more information here</a>. Let's chat!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h2><b>Links</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>This episode: <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose252" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ihose.co/ihose252</a></li><li><i>The Devil's Blaze: Sherlock Holmes 1943</i> (<a href="https://amzn.to/3V1623j" target="_blank">Amazon</a>)</li><li><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2021/11/book-review-study-in-crimson-sherlock.html#.Y3RoenZKjb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Book Review: <i>A Study in Crimson: Sherlock Holmes 1942</i></a></li><li><a href="http://www.harris-authors.com/index.html" target="_blank">Bob Harris' website</a></li><li>Other episodes mentioned:</li><ul><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose36" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 36: Michael Hoey and the Fabulous Faces of Universal</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose136" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 136: Sherlock Holmes: The Lost Radio Scripts</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose206" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 206: Sherlock Holmes Magazine</a></li></ul></ul><div>Many more links, articles, and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="https://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a>  as well as through our accounts on <a href="https://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at 5-1895-221B-5. That's (518) 952-2125.</div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><h3><br />Transcript</h3><div style="margin: 0px;">We are so grateful for your support <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">on Patreon</a>, which makes our transcripts possible. Every amount helps. A transcript will be here soon.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div></div></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">--</p><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div></div></div>

Episode 252: The Devil's Blaze

“You can go to blazes!” [3STU]   The Devil's Blaze: Sherlock Holmes 1943 is the follow-up novel to Robert J. Harris' highly-acclaime...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Happy 130th Birthday, Basil Rathbone

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"Basil ... was working somewhere under one of the numerous disguises" [BLAC] </h4><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3-JifXpXL_Z5bA8YjLJusATq5Ouw5fdXxtTg5U-Pkrj-qYZJc8YdIcgTzek9yXOGZ70ZaMgL3x2SoibzuALFNKXCM8BBdkfOIy_XGWsGCCqYoo7nmV9syAzdr7WVFMRIQQG3REtC3WR0/s1600/Basil+Rathbone+-+desk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="952" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3-JifXpXL_Z5bA8YjLJusATq5Ouw5fdXxtTg5U-Pkrj-qYZJc8YdIcgTzek9yXOGZ70ZaMgL3x2SoibzuALFNKXCM8BBdkfOIy_XGWsGCCqYoo7nmV9syAzdr7WVFMRIQQG3REtC3WR0/s640/Basil+Rathbone+-+desk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>On June 13, 1892, Philip St. John Basil Rathbone was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He entered the world at a time when Sherlock Holmes was making a name for himself in the <i>Strand Magazine</i>, specifically in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches." Little did he or his parents realize that he would go on to become one of the most famous portrayers of Sherlock Holmes on the screen.<br /><br />He attended <a href="http://www.repton.org.uk/" target="_blank">Repton</a> from 1906 to 1910, and by the time he left school, he was convinced he wanted to make a life for himself in the theatre. After spending some time in local theatrical productions, he entered war service in 1916, where he continued to hone his acting skills, albeit as more of a stationary object. According to <a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/biography/" target="_blank">BasilRathbone.net</a>, Rathbone told Edward R. Murrow in a 1957 interview:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white;"> "I went to my commanding officer and I said that I thought we'd get a great deal more information from the enemy if we didn't fool around in the dark so much . . . and I asked him whether I could go out in daylight. I think he thought we were a little crazy. . . .  I said we'd go out camouflaged -- made up as trees -- with branches sticking out of our heads and arms . . . . We brought back an awful lot of information, and a few prisoners, too."</span></blockquote><br />Rathbone eventually moved from England to the United States, settling in New York in 1923 and then moving on to Hollywood in 1935. His <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t4" target="_blank">Hollywood years</a> brought him fame in <i>Captain Blood</i> and <i>The Adventures of Robin Hood</i>, where he became known as an able swordsman and a fine villain. And it was in 1938 when he joined forces with Nigel Bruce for a collaboration that lasted from 1939 to 1946 as the most <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Basil%20Rathbone#.WT8SS2grLb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">enduring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson</a> to grace the screen.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZYqInrKUU_dqvzJ0vFegGraLheoSiBi5M9LAAB2Gx7GmRDF4lpBrKb-ftO4uhyphenhyphen9zO18uqgYOIaG81LNIQJArB3YykJ2Wekt4XipxMjgm2sjn1UaXyISP68KCIRjjeopwg-4as10pZUKQ/s1600/gamesafoot+Rathbone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZYqInrKUU_dqvzJ0vFegGraLheoSiBi5M9LAAB2Gx7GmRDF4lpBrKb-ftO4uhyphenhyphen9zO18uqgYOIaG81LNIQJArB3YykJ2Wekt4XipxMjgm2sjn1UaXyISP68KCIRjjeopwg-4as10pZUKQ/s1600/gamesafoot+Rathbone.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Basil Rathbone by <a href="http://tomrichmond.com/" target="_blank">Tom Richmond</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />It is that collaboration that we covered in <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose122" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 122 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>. </div><div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="4076" data-dashlane-rid="82e4d620bc15189f" data-form-type="" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5450502/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/000000/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br />Rathbone left the role of Sherlock Holmes in 1946, fearful of typecasting (he was correct, of course, but too late). His wife Ouida wrote a stage play, "Sherlock Holmes," in 1953, but it closed after poor reviews and only three performances. He made a handful of middle-rate movies in the 1960s, toured in the one-man play "An Evening with Basil Rathbone," and wrote his biography <i><a href="https://amzn.to/39iClsh" target="_blank">In and Out of Character</a></i>, which was published in 1962.<br /><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Rathbone" target="_blank">Basil Rathbone</a> died on July 21, 1967 at the age of 75. He is interred in <a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/potpourri/ferncliff.htm" target="_blank">Ferncliff Cemetary</a> in Hartsdale, NY.<br /><br />While Holmes purists may find something to quibble about in the later 12 films of the 14-film series that Rathbone and Bruce made, it's clear that they continue to be accessible and popular. Every generation has its own Sherlock Holmes. But since the 1940s, it seems that every generation has been exposed to Rathbone's Holmes.<br /><br />We're pleased to reflect on that fact today, 130 years after Rathbone was born.<br /><br />--</div>

Happy 130th Birthday, Basil Rathbone

"Basil ... was working somewhere under one of the numerous disguises" [BLAC]  On June 13, 1892, Philip St. John Basil Rathbone was...

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by Scott Monty

The 1932 Clive Brook Sherlock Holmes Feature — Restored at Last

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"The air of London is the sweeter for my presence" [FINA] </h4><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYNyoOUM2yXmghNTe56xyaQeM4rwtElM3la5BVeMPLq3bODecz9bVuKg9zGxGADOi5UnoR_VBxEC3Xk4zRCHSjGQqaE-8ihKv-izx8Lidn3zXcPmvrsR5NHk7kQ3K9yZ4ooW5O09K2Gg/s1280/Clive+Brook+1932+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYNyoOUM2yXmghNTe56xyaQeM4rwtElM3la5BVeMPLq3bODecz9bVuKg9zGxGADOi5UnoR_VBxEC3Xk4zRCHSjGQqaE-8ihKv-izx8Lidn3zXcPmvrsR5NHk7kQ3K9yZ4ooW5O09K2Gg/w640-h360/Clive+Brook+1932+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: screen capture (YouTube)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>Bitter-sweet news on the Sherlockian film front.   </p><p>The good news first: the <a href="https://www.moma.org/" target="_blank">Museum of Modern Art</a> has restored the 1932 Fox <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023460/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_25" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></i> with Clive Brook in a sparkling new print with a crystal clear soundtrack. Technically, this has not been a lost film, but the nasty DVD dupe we’ve been stuck with does the film a cruel disservice, making it all but unwatchable.   </p><p>What the MoMA restoration reveals is a droll pre-Code feature that ranks among the most stylish Sherlocks made in the black-and-white era.  This was a major studio production, directed by one of Fox’s leading directors, William K. Howard, and filmed by the legendary cinematographer, George Barnes.</p><p>This is not a production for Sherlockian purists, but for non-purists it’s a pleasure to watch a great studio director in top form having fun with Holmes and Hollywood genres: Moriarty is on the loose, importing American gangsters and their continental allies to wreak havoc on London pubs [!] with Tommy guns, hand grenades, and speeding cars. </p><p>Holmes, not to be undone, counters with his genius for scientific investigation. Clive Brook, usually the stiffest of British matinee idols, loosens up with sardonic one-liners and elegant banter, having a fine time jumping off a balcony to fight one of Moriarty’s henchmen. </p><p>Howard and Barnes turn this into a series of visual tours-de-force. The first scene sets the tone, a court sentencing Moriarty to death in a series of silhouettes and close-ups slowly revealed behind raised veils. Moriarty then delivers a curse in a rich Scottish burr by the great silent actor Ernest Torrence. This sets the tone for a virtuoso display of powerful shadow effects, whip pans, shock cuts, flash-backs, weird angles, and complexly staged deep focus shots.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">From Gillette to Rathbone</h3><p>Of particular interest to Sherlockians is how the movie fits into the trajectory from William Gillette to Basil Rathbone. The Fox film illustrates what gets revealed when we can see fine prints: a benchmark with links to the past and future. </p><p><i>Sherlock Holmes</i> was adapted by young Bertram Millhauser, the first of several Millhauser-Holmes screenplays that starts with Gillette’s play<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>or rather with Gillette’s reinvented characters. The plot itself owes nothing to Gillette<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>it might be called a sequel but Millhauser is too unbridled. Alice Faulkner is now Holmes’s long-suffering fiancée; Moriarty has been turned into a homicidal jewel thief; and Watson has been replaced by both Billy, Holmes’ adoring apprentice, and Holmes’ Scotland Yard arch-rival turned co-conspirator [Alan Mowbray]. </p><p>Brook himself provides the clearest through-line to Gillette, the patrician Holmes par excellence. If Rathbone and his successors are high strung<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>the high E-notes on the Sherlockian violin<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>Brook continues, along with Wontner, on the Gillette low G, graceful and imperturbable. This is the debonair Holmes, whether in his spats and cutaway, or in his smoking jacket and Gillettian dressing gown. </p><p>And much would be recycled into the Rathbone films. The opening court scene would be re-used (to flabbier effect) in Rathbone’s 1939 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, as would the idea of Moriarty being a cunning jewel thief. And Millhauser would steal from himself when recycling the jewel thief angle (<i>Pearl of Death</i>) and placing a gangster hideout behind the shooting gallery at an amusement park (<i>The Spider Woman</i>).</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Now for the Challenge</h3><p>So much for the good news. The difficulty is that MoMA’s restored print is currently all but inaccessible. Currently, it has only been shown for a month as a one-off in MoMA’s online film series, available to <a href="https://membership.moma.org/" target="_blank">members only</a>.   </p><p>Otherwise, The Walt Disney Company controls distribution rights, and getting them to release the film is likely to be an uphill battle. So far Disney has shown little interest in vintage Fox films, and in fact, has discharged Fox’s restoration chief of staff.  </p><p>Even Fox’s Cinema Archives series, which had been the studio’s quirky way of distributing its old movies on an expensive, on-demand line of no-frills DVD-Rs, has been put on hold.  And even if the merged company were to add the 1932 <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> to the list, there is no guarantee they would use MoMA’s sparkling print.   </p><p>So, for now, we need to wait and see what Disney plans to do. Or perhaps some enterprising individual ought to petition Disney to get things started...</p><p>Watch this space. </p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Further reading by Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder")</h4><p>Gillette’s performance in the 1916 film version of Sherlock Holmes: the 2016 <i>Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual <a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2016/12/27/bsj-2016-christmas-annual/" target="_blank">The Day After Christmas: First Encounters with Gillette's Silent Sherlock Holmes</a></i>.</p><p><a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/movies/1950s-tv-history.htm" target="_blank">Holmes and the Snake Skin Suits: Fighting for Survival on '50s Television</a> (Best of Sherlock)  </p><p> </p><p> </p>

The 1932 Clive Brook Sherlock Holmes Feature — Restored at Last

"The air of London is the sweeter for my presence" [FINA]  Source: screen capture (YouTube) Bitter-sweet news on the Sherlockian f...

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by Russell Merritt

Remembering Basil Rathbone Co-Star Patricia Morison

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "trained as an actress" [SCAN] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguq4wjfpvQQAtY4GiQH7Ct8gBMXz72nGDidf5qmwSR7TgjFHjddtcVLGcId1H3kIuHuTjPTS5Bh88VSgMmU3drSIcjZ1vd1rpNaySc-fz8W4lzi5NBWZi7NL4KKc_TTQWSvY0-AhMxlkCP/s1600/Patricia+Morison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguq4wjfpvQQAtY4GiQH7Ct8gBMXz72nGDidf5qmwSR7TgjFHjddtcVLGcId1H3kIuHuTjPTS5Bh88VSgMmU3drSIcjZ1vd1rpNaySc-fz8W4lzi5NBWZi7NL4KKc_TTQWSvY0-AhMxlkCP/s640/Patricia+Morison.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Patricia Morison, widely remembered as the first Kate in "Kiss Me, Kate" on Broadway in 1948, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/20/obituaries/patricia-morison-dies-kiss-me-kate.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below">has died at the age of 103</a>. Sherlockians, of course, have another reason to remember her.<br /> <br /> A trained singer and dancer for the stage, Ms. Morison made her Broadway debut in 1933, and was an understudy for Helen Hayes in "Victoria Regina" in 1935. Hayes, of course, was very close with <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose34">William Gillette</a>. She signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1938 and moved to Hollywood, which only lasted about a decade before she returned to the stage.<br /> <br /> But while she was there, she appeared as the femme fatale in <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038494/?ref_=nv_sr_2">Dressed To Kill</a></i> with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, the last of the 14 films that the duo made together. As Mrs. Hilda Courtney, Morison played an evil and capable villain who was adept at donning disguises and acting, in her efforts to recover a music box that held a key to the missing plates from the Bank of England.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcly8IiPRrt0DMEVWQtZn0kZoBwGYvq7qOnuBOdU079qD0bS5cAGA8QHfV-j5AqWLgfBY77EzqJ7FKoT-uDo3Q_BD1iLQcyiY0AFQVqGyQJPKxi9yVi6j-tdqdrGrD5IHOGftcIGlDHMf/s1600/Dressed_to_Kill+-+Patricia+Morison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="800" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcly8IiPRrt0DMEVWQtZn0kZoBwGYvq7qOnuBOdU079qD0bS5cAGA8QHfV-j5AqWLgfBY77EzqJ7FKoT-uDo3Q_BD1iLQcyiY0AFQVqGyQJPKxi9yVi6j-tdqdrGrD5IHOGftcIGlDHMf/s640/Dressed_to_Kill+-+Patricia+Morison.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> So effective was Morison in this role that when she visited Universal commissary for her lunch, still wearing Hilda Courtney's cockney disguise, Morison was <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038494/trivia?item=tr1410292">sternly ordered</a> by the maitre d' to eat with the rest of the extras at the counter, rather than at the actors' tables.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0qILka1Lz2U" width="560"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> By our estimation, Patricia Morison was the last major credited cast member from the Sherlock Holmes films from Universal in the 1940s. She will be missed by all who knew her and saw her performances, but her presence will live on through the magic of Hollywood.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNx-bIg3p2KQokFDoAj1NO_pVhnDcEJNgRiMYm-_DE-9lAV-iByU2pjdqgsCouSH72ZG223gYhtka7Xg35o-eogVJCx0-6DKa4EZmnUpA6lr4qpxgwdFxWoaxZC87ZAEGbdbMdYP6sV8Z/s1600/Dressed+to+Kill+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="736" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNx-bIg3p2KQokFDoAj1NO_pVhnDcEJNgRiMYm-_DE-9lAV-iByU2pjdqgsCouSH72ZG223gYhtka7Xg35o-eogVJCx0-6DKa4EZmnUpA6lr4qpxgwdFxWoaxZC87ZAEGbdbMdYP6sV8Z/s640/Dressed+to+Kill+poster.jpg" width="450" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Remembering Basil Rathbone Co-Star Patricia Morison

"trained as an actress" [SCAN]  Patricia Morison, widely remembered as the first Kate in "Kiss Me, Kate" on Broadwa...

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by Scott Monty

75th Anniversary Screening of Sherlock Holmes in Washington

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "if they let me loose in the treasury at Washington" [VALL] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_fSO5W7lTmAR8hGgGo5DJqnjA_cOd7BdJzeyWYBcXkEO1N3vd0_rdgiPhzouCUSZlXSfNJ0c6Ouyxq2SArpDe3Bf0UrCUVIFuxa8ofl_gmawDzYeL91NEfeMEIYLFBLoxUTtnYavOoaH/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+in+Washington+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="1356" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_fSO5W7lTmAR8hGgGo5DJqnjA_cOd7BdJzeyWYBcXkEO1N3vd0_rdgiPhzouCUSZlXSfNJ0c6Ouyxq2SArpDe3Bf0UrCUVIFuxa8ofl_gmawDzYeL91NEfeMEIYLFBLoxUTtnYavOoaH/s640/Sherlock+Holmes+in+Washington+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The year 1943 marked the fifth film in the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce series of 14 films, with <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036349/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Sherlock Holmes in Washington</a></i> making its debut on April 30.<br /> <br /> The plot of the film involved Sherlock Holmes being engaged by the Home Office to locate a British subject traveling for his law firm to Washington, DC. The man flew to New York City and then took the train to Washington. On the outskirts of the city, the man was kidnapped and had not been seen for several days. Holmes learns from the Home Office that the man was in fact a government agent who was delivering a highly secret, two-page document to the U.S. government. In verifying the contents at his flat, Holmes concludes the document had been reduced to microfilm. The question becomes whether he may have had the opportunity to pass the microfilm to someone else on the train before he was taken. <br /> <div> <br /></div> <h3> See <i>Sherlock Holmes in Washington</i> on the big screen!</h3> And now, 75 years after its debut, the Diogenes Club of Washington, DC announces its first "Matinee at Diogenes Club" with a special screening of <i>Sherlock Holmes in Washington</i> at the <b>AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center</b> in Silver Spring, Maryland on <b>Saturday, April 14</b> at <b>11:30 a.m</b>.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> Details on reservations below.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Return to a world where Holmes visits our nation's capital to fight deadly Nazi sympathizers, hobnobs with Georgetown society, and collaborates with the “Washington Police” to recover ultra-secret intelligence documents.<br /> <div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFYeiEwE7qkiVEqe6Ub9csjsNJcjjH6KHL82UbyRrmWu83_oYMYUMzKToDPlJVcNjp_d_DplTp6zBUuEPoqI13aMzgT-0Q-K5eoQ3oZnt7r9v0O5I_y0bEaNdf0OfQPMGAEWq9YNF12Kv/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+in+Washington+75.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1061" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFYeiEwE7qkiVEqe6Ub9csjsNJcjjH6KHL82UbyRrmWu83_oYMYUMzKToDPlJVcNjp_d_DplTp6zBUuEPoqI13aMzgT-0Q-K5eoQ3oZnt7r9v0O5I_y0bEaNdf0OfQPMGAEWq9YNF12Kv/s640/Sherlock+Holmes+in+Washington+75.JPG" width="424" /></a></div> <br /> The screening will be preceded by featured speaker Russell Merritt, BSI (“The Trepoff Murder”), Professor of American and European Film History in the Film and Media Department of the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Merritt is the foremost expert of Sherlock Holmes and the cinema, and was instrumental in the screening of <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film">the rediscovered William Gillette film of 1916</a>.<br /> <br /> This is the film that features not only Henry Daniell, but George Zucco – two of the foremost villains in the entire series. In addition, you'll be able to see Basil Rathbone's famous windswept hair, making a repeat appearance following <i>Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon</i>.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltUW-mloCteV-CaCmB7pNIxiSaH3kmTplLAt2QFcB0uUHhLRBY-YyCvKQAzVp71VdQgcepaKfZYdNsZSB6NHRgsjodzpiqqHZQ4hIKUYjvs2T6jQtRBtcWlY3tbRnTdLWSV1av-QtGItJ/s1600/Bad+hair+Basil+-+WAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltUW-mloCteV-CaCmB7pNIxiSaH3kmTplLAt2QFcB0uUHhLRBY-YyCvKQAzVp71VdQgcepaKfZYdNsZSB6NHRgsjodzpiqqHZQ4hIKUYjvs2T6jQtRBtcWlY3tbRnTdLWSV1av-QtGItJ/s1600/Bad+hair+Basil+-+WAT.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> We hope you'll take advantage of this very special opportunity to see Basil Rathbone appear as Sherlock Holmes on the big screen, in a wonderful setting.<br /> <br /> And if you'd care to learn about the Rathbone-Bruce partnership, please tune in to <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose122">Episode 122</a> of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere:<br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5450502/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/0498da/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> <h3> The Details</h3> <b>Location:</b> AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=8633+Colesville+RoadSilver+Spring,+MD+20910&entry=gmail&source=g">8633 Colesville Road</a>, <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=8633+Colesville+RoadSilver+Spring,+MD+20910&entry=gmail&source=g">Silver Spring, MD 20910</a><br /> <b><br /> </b> <b>Time:</b> 11:30 am – 2:00 pm<br /> <b><br /> </b> <b>Cost:</b> $35 per person covers admission. Refreshments, including beer and wine, will be available but are <b>not </b>included in admission.<br /> <br /> <b>Payment:</b> You may send a cheque for $35 per person made payable to Michael J. Quigley, to <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=2651+Fort+Scott+Drive%C2%A0+Arlington,+VA+22202&entry=gmail&source=g">2651 Fort Scott Drive</a>, <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=2651+Fort+Scott+Drive%C2%A0+Arlington,+VA+22202&entry=gmail&source=g">Arlington, VA 22202</a><br /> <b><i>OR</i></b><br /> You may pay via <b>PayPal</b> to: <a href="mailto:cemartin@umich.edu">cemartin AT umich DOT edu. </a>Please choose the "<b>Send Money to Family and Friends</b>" option. If you choose this method of payment, tickets are available for just <b>$30</b>.<br /> <br /> Call Michael Quigley at <a href="tel:(443)%20827-2626">443-827-2626</a> for reserved seating preference <br /> <br /> <b>Parking: </b>AFI Silver Theatre is conveniently located near several public parking garages. Both the Wayne Avenue Garage and the Town Square Garage offer FREE parking all day on weekends and holidays. The Wayne Avenue Garage is located on Wayne Avenue, between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street. The Town Square Garage is located on Fenton Street, between Roeder Road and Ellsworth Drive. For additional parking options, visit <a href="http://silverspringdowntown.com/">silverspringdowntown.com</a>.<br /> <br /> <b>Metro Station:</b> The AFI Silver Theater is located two blocks north of Metro's Red Line station in Silver Spring<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div> </div>

75th Anniversary Screening of Sherlock Holmes in Washington

"if they let me loose in the treasury at Washington" [VALL]  The year 1943 marked the fifth film in the Basil Rathbone / Nige...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 136: Sherlock Holmes: The Lost Radio Scripts

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "the faded script" [HOUN] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0bm6SuxA2OWT6tq6jAKJLOtvITVS3ZaEF8J_LC9IfqIMSlSVyCl2s8Nuv8MSwuW5wyoPEvgPSr-awvO6L4ErhYpFhWw6I1zjI6tZYGs9ctzQdVZurXy9IDVqGqpIkOA_uXlGeDr39zgo/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+-+Lost+Radio+Scripts+header.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1600" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0bm6SuxA2OWT6tq6jAKJLOtvITVS3ZaEF8J_LC9IfqIMSlSVyCl2s8Nuv8MSwuW5wyoPEvgPSr-awvO6L4ErhYpFhWw6I1zjI6tZYGs9ctzQdVZurXy9IDVqGqpIkOA_uXlGeDr39zgo/s640/Sherlock+Holmes+-+Lost+Radio+Scripts+header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> We've all had experience listening to Sherlock Holmes audio programs. Right? RIGHT??<br /> <br /> And just as we have favorite screen adaptations, we also have our special audio heroes as well. Rathbone and Bruce, Gielgud and Richardson, Shelley and Hobbes, Merrison and Williams... they all bring to mind a feeling of nostalgia for the stories.<br /> <br /> But there are many original episodes that have gone missing. And our guest, Ian Dickerson, has managed to track down some of the original scripts of the Rathbone/Bruce radio series that were lost to the ages. Between the Edith Meiser era and the Anthony Boucher / Denis Green era, there was another writer — one known more for his stories about Simon Templar than anything else. And Ian managed to unearth them and put together a fine book on the topic.<br /> <br /> <div> Information on sponsors, links, and notes available below.</div> <br /> <div style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;">  <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank"><img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" style="color: #0000ee; cursor: move;" width="204" /></a></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <br /> <br /> And please consider becoming a <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Sponsors</b></h2> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a><i></i></li> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;">The Baker Street Journal</a></li> </ul> </div> <br /> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko">more information here</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock136.mp3">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 31.2 MB, 1:06:00</h4> <div> <div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: center;"> <iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6149989/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/513b3c/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/FFFFFF" height="192" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;" data-dashlane-rid="a329577c1bd4c390" data-dashlane-classification="other" data-dashlane-frameid="985"></iframe><br /> <br /> <br /></div> <h2> <b>Notes</b></h2> <div> 3:55 A warm welcome<br /> 6:00 New titles from Wessex Press<br /> 7:41 A secret announcement<br /> 9:33 Welcome Ian Dickerson<br /> 13:52 Edith Meiser's contributions<br /> 19:47 Leslie Charteris was a busy fellow<br /> 22:16 The radio business in the 1940s<br /> 25:42 Who was behind getting Sherlock Holmes on the radio<br /> 26:26 The early sponsors<br /> 29:51 How Ian managed to find the scripts<br /> 35:50 What's coming in the next volume<br /> 37:15 A short biography of Leslie Charteris<br /> 43:50 Who is the Falcon?<br /> 46:30 Similarities/differences between Holmes and Templar<br /> 48:49 Radio in the U.K.<br /> 59:49 <i>The Baker Street Journal</i><br /> 1:01:19 The secret unveiled</div> </div> <br /> <h2> <b>Links</b></h2> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <ul> <li><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Lost-Radio-Scripts/dp/1617094722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516002990&sr=8-1&keywords=ian+dickerson">Sherlock Holmes: The Lost Radio Scripts</a> </i>by <b>Ian Dickerson</b></li> <li>Also by Ian Dickerson: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Radio-Ian-Dickerson/dp/1942881002/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516002990&sr=8-3&keywords=ian+dickerson" style="font-style: italic;">The Saint on the Radio</a> and <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Who-Falcon-Detective-Print-Movies/dp/1617093882/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1516002990&sr=8-2&keywords=ian+dickerson">Who Is the Falcon: The Detective in Print, Movies, Radio and TV</a> </i></li> <li><b>Bert Coules</b> was with us on Episodes <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose68">68</a> and <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose69">69</a> to discuss Sherlock Holmes on the radio</li> <li>Intro music: <a href="https://musopen.org/music/4158/eugene-ysaye/poeme-elegiaque-op-12/">Poème élégiaque, Op. 12 - Fragment by Eugène Ysaÿe, performed by Jean-Claude Féret</a></li> </ul> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYkIf6nPvJZpBfm2Noa-YSVqCZ3PujGcOstpkGwuQ1oZyzqa9gZ7L2_ANGDLlVQ12WM6NDCYWSs-aU2vF4Rk9AfzN6UEbNPTtFYzJlgjmSO0LXTukO91dUFJMHg-T4mTcJ7lCgledYvtY/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Lost+Radio+Scripts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1052" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYkIf6nPvJZpBfm2Noa-YSVqCZ3PujGcOstpkGwuQ1oZyzqa9gZ7L2_ANGDLlVQ12WM6NDCYWSs-aU2vF4Rk9AfzN6UEbNPTtFYzJlgjmSO0LXTukO91dUFJMHg-T4mTcJ7lCgledYvtY/s320/Sherlock+Holmes+Lost+Radio+Scripts.jpg" width="210" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a>.<br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywh-27577121/">iHeartRadio</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock">Spreaker</a>—or the podcast player of your choice—and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br /> <div style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <br /></div> <h3> <br /> Transcript</h3> Transcript not yet released.  We need your help with transcripts: if we can reach <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock.com">the $100 level on Patreon</a>, we'll have enough funds to afford a proper transcription service for each episode. All it takes is your help to get us to that level. So gather up a few friends and help us — we're currently within reach, and we'd sincerely like to help as many people enjoy the show as possible, including the hearing-impaired.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

Episode 136: Sherlock Holmes: The Lost Radio Scripts

"the faded script" [HOUN]  We've all had experience listening to Sherlock Holmes audio programs. Right? RIGHT?? And jus...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 122: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "actors in this drama" [SECO] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCyEdSCJmWSbRRASW0gtTByRJltRbFYbL90WMCAqhxB-j9O-G7Gd3pCZl005-UcDYtRt-LIFAqrvyxNOHCzy78fO7Axc3gUrc1fmg_xvoU5UTuzqNa-Zp4BRLSw-WR4n4JRFVFlnXxyjb/s1600/Rathbone+and+Bruce+-+Sherlock_Holmes_and_the_Secret_Weapon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1200" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCyEdSCJmWSbRRASW0gtTByRJltRbFYbL90WMCAqhxB-j9O-G7Gd3pCZl005-UcDYtRt-LIFAqrvyxNOHCzy78fO7Axc3gUrc1fmg_xvoU5UTuzqNa-Zp4BRLSw-WR4n4JRFVFlnXxyjb/s640/Rathbone+and+Bruce+-+Sherlock_Holmes_and_the_Secret_Weapon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Their names are forever linked, just as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are. And it is their remarkable seven-year collaboration that we discuss in this episode.<br /> <br /> You've seen their likenesses in still photos. You've probably heard their voices in audio recordings. And you've had a chance to see their films from the late 1930s and early 1940s, whether in the theater, as a Saturday afternoon matinee on television, public TV pledge drive, or perhaps on a DVD or on YouTube.<br /> <br /> The point is this: regardless of your level of fondness or distaste for this pairing, they remain iconic and inextricably linked to their portrayals of the world's greatest detective and his medical companion. Yes, it was Nigel Bruce's version of Dr. Watson that was called <i>boobus Britannicus</i>, but it seemed to fit with the times and with the air of the series.<br /> <br /> We take you on a journey from their initial outing in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> and <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i> in 1939 at 20th Century Fox, to their radio drama collaboration under Edith Meiser and later Anthony Boucher, and through the 12-film series under the Universal banner. Audio clips from the films and the radio show are included as we All of these portrayals left a permanent mark on their careers as well as on the world of Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div> Information on sponsors, links, timing notes and transcript available below.</div> <div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;">  <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=4921564"><img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" style="color: #0000ee;" width="204" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> And please consider joining our <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon community</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.</div> <br /> <br /></div> <div> <div> <h3> Sponsors</h3> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors, plus a new addition. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br /> <ul> <li><i><a href="http://www.baskervilleproductions.com/books">Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues: A Grave Undertaking</a></i> by Michael McClure. You should buy it. We're deadly serious.</li> <li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" style="font-style: normal;" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a>, publishers of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/drury.html">The Drury Lane Theatre Mystery</a> </i>by Inspector Lestrade himself, Dennis Hoey. </li> <li style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">The Baker Street Journal</a>, which has been published since the same year as the last of Rathbone/Bruce films.</li> </ul> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div> <div style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> </div> </div> <div> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock122.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 45.2 MB, 1:38:20</h4> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="4076" data-dashlane-rid="82e4d620bc15189f" data-form-type="" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5450502/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/000000/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <h3> <b>Notes</b></h3> </div> 3:00 What do you get for someone who's 125?<br /> 7:15 Sponsor: Wessex Press<br /> 9:00 The definitive Holmes and Watson for generations<br /> 10:56 The Collaboration begins<br /> 17:56 The Adventures<br /> 26:30 Off to radio-land<br /> 31:35 Universal steps in after negotiating with the Conan Doyle Estate<br /> 35:44 The Voice of Terror<br /> 42:44 The Secret Weapon<br /> 50:12 Sherlock Holmes in Washington<br /> 55:17 Sherlock Holmes Faces Death<br /> 59:06 Sponsor: Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues<br /> 1:03:13 The Spider Woman<br /> 1:06:03 The Scarlet Claw and the BSI Trilogy Dinner<br /> 1:08:35 The Pearl of Death<br /> 1:11:52 The House of Fear<br /> 1:13:37 The Woman in Green<br /> 1:18:24 Pursuit to Algiers<br /> 1:20:50 Terror by Night<br /> 1:23:31 Dressed to Kill<br /> 1:33:18 An important message from the BSJ<br /> 1:34:44 Your support means a great deal to us<br /> <br /></div> <div> <br /> <h3> Links</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://amzn.to/40ZKQPW">The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes on Blu-Ray</a> (Amazon)</li> <li><a href="http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Sherlock_Holmes.php">The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a> on radio</li> <li>Our <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose36" target="_blank">interview with Michael Hoey</a>, son of Dennis Hoey.</li> <li>Rathbone's autobiography <i><a href="https://amzn.to/40ZKQPW">In and Out of Character</a></i></li> <li><a href="http://basilrathbone.net/">BasilRathbone.net</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/biography/wsvisit.htm">Rathbone's visit to the Wayne Campus</a></li> <li><a href="https://get.google.com/albumarchive/118245811686959745462/album/AF1QipNzwkad4u21tYW4pvgYgde4bHvch7OC5gVv3E30/AF1QipNrsYeokTobXvnkTrHhwNeLXpYWTn_p1V6WLMnM">An interview with Pauline Page</a>, daughter of Nigel Bruce, by Nicholas Utechin for the <i><a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/category/journal/">Sherlock Holmes Journal</a></i>, concerning Bruce's unpublished autobiography <i>Games, Gossip and Greasepaint</i>.<br /> </li> </ul> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at  <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (with over 4,200 members), as well as through our accounts on  <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div> </div> <br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi" target="_blank">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Transcript</b></h3> <br /> <div style="display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/351371614/I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywhere-Episode-122-Basil-Rathbone-and-Nigel-Bruce#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 122: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce on Scribd">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 122: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/404496/Scott-Monty#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Scott Monty's profile on Scribd">Scott Monty</a> on Scribd</div> <iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7080062794348508" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_19069" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/351371614/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Q1VIZn3PxIwhpdyfpPC2&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div> </div>

Episode 122: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

"actors in this drama" [SECO]  Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Their names are forever linked, just as Sherlock Holmes and ...

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by Scott Monty

Happy 125th Birthday, Basil Rathbone

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Basil ... was working somewhere under one of the numerous disguises" [BLAC] </h4> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3-JifXpXL_Z5bA8YjLJusATq5Ouw5fdXxtTg5U-Pkrj-qYZJc8YdIcgTzek9yXOGZ70ZaMgL3x2SoibzuALFNKXCM8BBdkfOIy_XGWsGCCqYoo7nmV9syAzdr7WVFMRIQQG3REtC3WR0/s1600/Basil+Rathbone+-+desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="952" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3-JifXpXL_Z5bA8YjLJusATq5Ouw5fdXxtTg5U-Pkrj-qYZJc8YdIcgTzek9yXOGZ70ZaMgL3x2SoibzuALFNKXCM8BBdkfOIy_XGWsGCCqYoo7nmV9syAzdr7WVFMRIQQG3REtC3WR0/s640/Basil+Rathbone+-+desk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> On June 13, 1892, Philip St. John Basil Rathbone was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He entered the world at a time when Sherlock Holmes was making a name for himself in the <i>Strand Magazine</i>, specifically in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches." Little did he or his parents realize that he would go on to become one of the most famous portrayers of Sherlock Holmes on the screen.<br /> <br /> He attended <a href="http://www.repton.org.uk/" target="_blank">Repton</a> from 1906 to 1910, and by the time he left school, he was convinced he wanted to make a life for himself in the theatre. After spending some time in local theatrical productions, he entered war service in 1916, where he continued to hone his acting skills, albeit as more of a stationary object. According to <a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/biography/" target="_blank">BasilRathbone.net</a>, Rathbone told Edward R. Murrow in a 1957 interview:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: white;"> "I went to my commanding officer and I said that I thought we'd get a great deal more information from the enemy if we didn't fool around in the dark so much . . . and I asked him whether I could go out in daylight. I think he thought we were a little crazy. . . .  I said we'd go out camouflaged -- made up as trees -- with branches sticking out of our heads and arms . . . . We brought back an awful lot of information, and a few prisoners, too."</span></blockquote> <br /> Rathbone eventually moved from England to the United States, settling in New York in 1923 and then moving on to Hollywood in 1935. His <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t4" target="_blank">Hollywood years</a> brought him fame in <i>Captain Blood</i> and <i>The Adventures of Robin Hood</i>, where he became known as an able swordsman and a fine villain. And it was in 1938 when he joined forces with Nigel Bruce for a collaboration that lasted from 1939 to 1946 as the most <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Basil%20Rathbone#.WT8SS2grLb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">enduring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson</a> to grace the screen.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZYqInrKUU_dqvzJ0vFegGraLheoSiBi5M9LAAB2Gx7GmRDF4lpBrKb-ftO4uhyphenhyphen9zO18uqgYOIaG81LNIQJArB3YykJ2Wekt4XipxMjgm2sjn1UaXyISP68KCIRjjeopwg-4as10pZUKQ/s1600/gamesafoot+Rathbone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZYqInrKUU_dqvzJ0vFegGraLheoSiBi5M9LAAB2Gx7GmRDF4lpBrKb-ftO4uhyphenhyphen9zO18uqgYOIaG81LNIQJArB3YykJ2Wekt4XipxMjgm2sjn1UaXyISP68KCIRjjeopwg-4as10pZUKQ/s1600/gamesafoot+Rathbone.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basil Rathbone by <a href="http://tomrichmond.com/" target="_blank">Tom Richmond</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> It is that collaboration that we'll be covering in <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose122" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 122 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>. You can <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/promo-episode-122" target="_blank">listen to the promo for the episode here</a>:</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/327768289&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> <div> <br /> We hope you'll <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/subscribe_9.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">subscribe</a> so you'll be updated when the show airs.<br /> <br /> Rathbone left the role of Sherlock Holmes in 1946, fearful of typecasting (he was correct, of course, but too late). His wife Ouida wrote a stage play, "Sherlock Holmes," in 1953, but it closed after poor reviews and only three performances. He made a handful of middle-rate movies in the 1960s, toured in the one-man play "An Evening with Basil Rathbone," and wrote his biography <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Out-Character-Basil-Rathbone/dp/0879101199" target="_blank">In and Out of Character</a></i>, which was published in 1962.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Rathbone" target="_blank">Basil Rathbone</a> died on July 21, 1967 at the age of 75. He is interred in <a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/potpourri/ferncliff.htm" target="_blank">Ferncliff Cemetary</a> in Hartsdale, NY.<br /> <br /> While Holmes purists may find something to quibble about in the later 12 films of the 14-film series that Rathbone and Bruce made, it's clear that they continue to be accessible and popular. Every generation has its own Sherlock Holmes. But since the 1940s, it seems that every generation has been exposed to Rathbone's Holmes.<br /> <br /> We're pleased to reflect on that fact today, 125 years after Rathbone was born.<br /> <br /> --</div>

Happy 125th Birthday, Basil Rathbone

"Basil ... was working somewhere under one of the numerous disguises" [BLAC]  On June 13, 1892, Philip St. John Basil Rat...

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by Scott Monty

Benedict Cumberbatch: Gen Y's Sherlock Holmes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> "the fêted hero" [VALL] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmnmLcN1ElG1a0VgeI0Rzz_QtsWvtLQk8WjFdTubxR7x5d3byb2gn1SlnM52JAnhyphenhyphenPrTz-4i-vXudI0wKsNIvzOFT2v0QMsv6Ine2Z895smlVwhPHdrfYhNOMvcTc1fjst7hme0qldfQ7/s1600/Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock_cropped2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmnmLcN1ElG1a0VgeI0Rzz_QtsWvtLQk8WjFdTubxR7x5d3byb2gn1SlnM52JAnhyphenhyphenPrTz-4i-vXudI0wKsNIvzOFT2v0QMsv6Ine2Z895smlVwhPHdrfYhNOMvcTc1fjst7hme0qldfQ7/s1600/Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock_cropped2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /> <br /> Now that the Oscar® dust has settled, we know that Benedict Cumberbatch has gone home empty-handed. Yet of all the Best Actor nominees, Mr. Cumberbatch seems to be the one that garnered the most press attention.  An edition of <i>The Radio Times</i> included three different Cumberbatch covers, plus a contest to send in your best illustration of the star. A separate article in<i> The Radio Times</i> by Cumberbatch biographer Lynne Porter focused on the Oscar race and Cumberbatch's onscreen longevity. While the Oscar race has been the main focus on Cumberbatch for the last few weeks, it is important to note that the role this award winning thespian will always be remembered for is that of Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> Let's face it, despite the cries from Holmes purists, Benedict Cumberbatch is the current generation's Sherlock Holmes. While Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes is popular in film and Jonny Lee Miller's alternate Americanized modern Holmes garners respectable ratings, neither actor will be remembered for those roles.<br /> <br /> Sorry guys, when people think Holmes, they think Cumberbatch. This is despite the fact that Cumberbatch's Holmes is quite far removed from the original canon. Although it should be stated that all current Holmes incarnations are far removed from the original canon with the Downey Jr. films being the closest (at least in time period), and those overblown action-fests surely are a long way off from Doyle's intentions.<br /> <br /> What does this mean for Cumberbatch? It means that he now joins the ranks of only a handful of actors who have come to define the world's first consulting detective.  William Gillette is the first actor to truly become Sherlock Holmes. Gillette used the curved pipe, now a Holmes staple, so that he could say his lines with the pipe in his mouth, and he was the first to state the line, "Elementary, my dear Watson." After Gillette came the great Basil Rathbone who <a href="http://amzn.to/1B1yroN" target="_blank">defined Holmes during the war years of the 1940s</a>. While his early Holmes films took place in the traditional Victorian time period, most of Rathbone;'s films, like that of the current <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1C4PUUr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock</a></i> series, were set in modern times.  This allowed Sherlock Holmes to battle Nazis and stand with the allied powers, helping with the war effort. <br /> <br /> While a great many other actors played Holmes in the years after Rathbone, it wasn't until Jeremy Brett took on the role that another actor came to define the character.<a href="http://amzn.to/1NFMb2w" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> The Granada Sherlock Holmes series</a> was made up of accurate retellings of the original Doyle stories. Brett added a higher pitched voice to Holmes, and the actor's portrayal of the detective is often cited by Holmes traditionalists as the greatest filmed version of the detective.<br /> <br /> After Brett undoubtedly comes Cumberbatch who in some ways combines the takes on Holmes by Rathbone and Brett. Like Rathbone, Cumberbatch's Holmes works in the modern day.  Often the episodes are influenced by the original stories, but the plots veer far away and deal with such issues as terrorism, celebrity, and even family squabbles.  Like Brett, Cumberbatch's Holmes is a unique take. The actor plays the character as a detached, cold man seemingly without feelings.  This has led to speculation that his Holmes lands on the autism spectrum. <br /> <br /> While Mr. Cumberbatch's career continues surging, and he takes on more roles that are Oscar-worthy (<i>Flying Horse</i>) or blockbuster (<i>Dr. Strange</i>), he still continues to act as Holmes.  The end of 2015 will see his take on "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," and 2016 may see a fourth season of <i>Sherlock</i>.  Even if these episodes wrap up Cumberbatch's role as the world's greatest detective, he will live on like Gillette, Rathbone, and Brett before him, as this generation's Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image source: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock_cropped2.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></i><br /> --<br /> <br /></div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00J6FNNIQ&asins=B00J6FNNIQ&linkId=XOTUKLC2XURJCDNM&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"> </iframe>   <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000EXZFRQ&asins=B000EXZFRQ&linkId=GUI7LDA2ISX46IK5&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"> </iframe>    <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000RPCJB6&asins=B000RPCJB6&linkId=QDVMEHSKLX3ZZLTB&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"> </iframe>

Benedict Cumberbatch: Gen Y's Sherlock Holmes

"the fêted hero" [VALL]  Now that the Oscar® dust has settled, we know that Benedict Cumberbatch has gone home empty-ha...

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by Belanger Books

Basil Rathbone: The Reluctant Sherlock Holmes

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "Good-day, sir; good-day" [SIGN] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-auqHwbcgwPZpy5NP3eSiz0VVdueL0B2Pvb78owVBKFo_VKZN8NxYFvMf2ggQMSfxp-Erz9rf0LtAolaHbMdWFDoJU7pcv2rJAnZ7iG2_0dB7OL0OiMy-Do_ClBVuto7jLDBrIbB3gOTy/s1600/ireallyshouldbedrawing+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-auqHwbcgwPZpy5NP3eSiz0VVdueL0B2Pvb78owVBKFo_VKZN8NxYFvMf2ggQMSfxp-Erz9rf0LtAolaHbMdWFDoJU7pcv2rJAnZ7iG2_0dB7OL0OiMy-Do_ClBVuto7jLDBrIbB3gOTy/s1600/ireallyshouldbedrawing+-+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> After seven years playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's infallible detective, actor Basil Rathbone, a Brit by way of Johannesburg, would reveal a gnawing disdain for Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> "One was jealous of course," he writes in his 1956 autobiography, <a href="http://amzn.to/1o1mVXZ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>In and Out of Characte</i>r</a>.<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Jealous of his mastery in all things, both material and mystical…he was a sort of god in his own way, seated on some Anglo-Saxon Olympus of his own design and making! Yes, there was no question about it, Holmes had given me an acute inferiority complex!"</blockquote> <br /> Indeed, between 14 films and 200 radio broadcasts, Rathbone came to recognize his own limitations in 19th century fiction. But it was a burden that nonetheless became his legacy. He created an icon: Inverness cape, slung around lean shoulders; a hawkish nose; a <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/01/the-basil-rathbone-hat-mystery.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">visored cap</a>; a <a href="http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/tag/sherlock-holmes-did-not-smoke-a-calabash-pipe/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">curved pipe</a>.<br /> <br /> The silhouette that has inspired new generations of backyard and on-screen antiheroes.<br /> <br /> "It's <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/03/marking-75-years-of-this-classic.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">acknowledged</a> that there has been no other actor before and probably since, with the possible exception of (Jeremy) Brett, who achieved such a physical realization of Conan Doyle's protagonist," explained Neve Rendell, editor of <a href="http://thegreatbaz.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Baz: A Basil Rathbone Blog</a>, in an interview with IHOSE. "It's been said he is in some ways the <a href="http://www.arthes.com/holmes/" target="_blank">(Sidney) Paget</a> drawings come to life."<br /> <br /> Classically-trained -- a contemporary of Laurence Olivier -- Rathbone easily slipped into the Canon's conception of Holmes as artful, Victorian sleuth. Twentieth Century Fox's <a href="http://amzn.to/1fd2jJA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i></a> and <a href="http://amzn.com/B0001DCYB4" target="_blank"><i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i></a> (1939) then integrated motifs relic of the <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/attaboyclarence/the-game-is-afoot" target="_blank">Golden Age of Hollywood</a>. A misty, lantern-lit moor (a wink at the era's popular Gothic horror flicks). A fusty, bumbling companion. A villain -- and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJVXHLjVhk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vaudevillian tonic</a>.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ygXbh2f8l5dGhjI6bmd2KGI6AjncMHna62-qQD9tvvZmW2lCEQmBr6vWHJufHEmIzfgDGEP1uJpCv6SIX87rUzPrpdJKhlAPeArDCl2pNhv6VAh5YQBwBzDdgn1gm-gA8wrkfc4HSYQb/s1600/Wikimedia+Commons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ygXbh2f8l5dGhjI6bmd2KGI6AjncMHna62-qQD9tvvZmW2lCEQmBr6vWHJufHEmIzfgDGEP1uJpCv6SIX87rUzPrpdJKhlAPeArDCl2pNhv6VAh5YQBwBzDdgn1gm-gA8wrkfc4HSYQb/s1600/Wikimedia+Commons.png" width="490" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption">Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</td></tr> </tbody></table> When Universal Studios rebooted the series in 1942, in the heart of World War II, Rathbone <a href="http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/AaaView/View2012/ViewSP042912.html" target="_blank">grew into</a> a fedora-wearing action man.<br /> <br /> "Given the massive popularity of Rathbone's Holmes at the time, it was inevitable to induct him into the <a href="http://www.chaplinbooks.co.uk/SecretWeapon.pdf" target="_blank">fight against Nazism</a>, both on- and off-screen -- to promote the sale of war bonds and in support of the British War Relief," said Rendell, who started her website in 2012. "His quintessential 'British-ness' must have helped a great deal at a time when FDR was trying to win American popular opinion in going to war and supporting Europe."<br /> <br /> Despite his and Holmes' trans-Atlantic influence -- what journalist <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/episode-61-private-life-of-vincent.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vincent Starrett</a> immortalized in his poem <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/10/celebrate-national-poetry-day.html#.U405ovldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"221B"</a> -- Rathbone began to resent the light treatment of Conan Doyle's weighty work. He cringed when fans cried "Quick, Watson, the needle" or "Elementary, my dear Watson!" He dreaded typecasting.<br /> <br /> And, he said, he feared "oblivion" for portraying someone who, "for a brief, beautiful period, was more real than reality itself."<br /> <br /> Yet in the hearts and minds of all who followed him, from Brett to Cumberbatch, Rathbone personifies Holmes. Call it typecasting but, really, it is much more. It is iconic. With the swish of his Inverness and the puff of his pipe, Rathbone brought the world's first consulting detective to life. He made us laugh. He made us forget. To that, it's "Good-day, sir; good-day."<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <object height="375" width="500"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Flevineeats%2Fsets%2F72157644349667358%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Flevineeats%2Fsets%2F72157644349667358%2F&set_id=72157644349667358&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="https://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=143270"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=143270" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Flevineeats%2Fsets%2F72157644349667358%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Flevineeats%2Fsets%2F72157644349667358%2F&set_id=72157644349667358&jump_to=" width="500" height="375"></embed></object><br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <i>Image credit: <a href="http://ireallyshouldbedrawing.tumblr.com/post/54607470704" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">ireallyshouldbedrawing (Tumblr)</a></i></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> --</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> </div>

Basil Rathbone: The Reluctant Sherlock Holmes

"Good-day, sir; good-day" [SIGN]  After seven years playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's infallible detective, actor Basil Ra...

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by Jessica Levine

Marking 75 Years of This Classic Sherlock Holmes Film

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "A finer first appearance had never been made" [VALL]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpZAw1W__8DNecGBgOgt1PqWF-aRuncMHe2ldKhD8dEUVNcopoFrlxm6FWwK_UjfEzqTt9C9x6S7D2rR2JurGj3AEQyFiMpCy1ZNV6o9iOrt0vg0B7byA-TNKJfJidCPnnfPLqSWHl5eh/s1600/Hound-Of-The-Baskervilles-1939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sceenshot and still from The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpZAw1W__8DNecGBgOgt1PqWF-aRuncMHe2ldKhD8dEUVNcopoFrlxm6FWwK_UjfEzqTt9C9x6S7D2rR2JurGj3AEQyFiMpCy1ZNV6o9iOrt0vg0B7byA-TNKJfJidCPnnfPLqSWHl5eh/s1600/Hound-Of-The-Baskervilles-1939.jpg" title="Sceenshot and still from The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)" /></a></div> <br /> In some ways, the 1939 version of <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1fd2jJA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i> has seemed to have always been with us. In other ways, it's not all that long ago that it was released.<br /> <br /> There is no question that Basil Rathbone was the definitive Sherlock Holmes of a generation; it could easily be supposed that he is one incarnation of Holmes that stands the test of time. His first turn as Holmes on the silver screen was in 20th Century Fox's <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, which made its premiere on March 24, 1939 in New York City - exactly 75 years ago today.<br /> <br /> This was the first time that the audience had the pleasure of seeing him team up with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, and the trusted comrades made their way from London to Dartmoor (via a Hollywood soundstage) to take on the wily Stapleton, the mysterious Barrymans (renamed so as not to be confused with the Barrymores, who at the time were Hollwood royalty), a medium, and an irascible Mr. Frankland, among others.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYc90wmEYUX1QLplVcAU3MsElf2PAFmxogmplnylTrfDqTjJL7HgfvQpawhSiwsc28Pq0ZEU3VShEH2ZEBpVWFjkDodE0iUhfsUEZ49Vvn4mzKWKAsreHhVgIHzsm39wqSE8_VwL1FBDI/s1600/Hound+1939+-+Watson+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce), examining Dr. Mortimer's stick left behind in The Hound of the Baskervilles, as overseen by Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone)" border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYc90wmEYUX1QLplVcAU3MsElf2PAFmxogmplnylTrfDqTjJL7HgfvQpawhSiwsc28Pq0ZEU3VShEH2ZEBpVWFjkDodE0iUhfsUEZ49Vvn4mzKWKAsreHhVgIHzsm39wqSE8_VwL1FBDI/s1600/Hound+1939+-+Watson+Holmes.jpg" title="Bruce as Watson and Rathbone as Holmes" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The two would return to the roles for some 13 additional films (all but one under Universal Pictures) and were immediately signed to a radio program based on the success of the film. It was to be a rich era for Sherlock Holmes fans, with a dozen films being released between 1942 and 1945.<br /> <br /> <h4> Did you know?</h4> One interesting bit of trivia: <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> was the first Sherlock Holmes film until that time that portrayed Sherlock Holmes in his original Victorian England. All of the other films placed Holmes in modern times.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&Operation=GetAdHtml&ID=OneJS&OneJS=1&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0001DCYBE&asins=B0001DCYBE&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true&MarketPlace=US" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"> </iframe>

Marking 75 Years of This Classic Sherlock Holmes Film

"A finer first appearance had never been made" [VALL] In some ways, the 1939 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles has se...

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by Scott Monty

The Basil Rathbone Hat Mystery

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "There are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest..."  [BLUE] </h4> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOA2lTNMvEkubkuawxhu0a0kcQ1IYHiJQKZtYmEcYxziSjaGjKd5BHzhTqfMzMnz7yM6GlxhAv6XhjBo90AqeNTLnSPqNl-uv-5RLPi7mjuZ-sqe7_LkMgRA2Bv1cPiGdreX56ZL2h-NW/s1600/Curious+Case+Rathbone+Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOA2lTNMvEkubkuawxhu0a0kcQ1IYHiJQKZtYmEcYxziSjaGjKd5BHzhTqfMzMnz7yM6GlxhAv6XhjBo90AqeNTLnSPqNl-uv-5RLPi7mjuZ-sqe7_LkMgRA2Bv1cPiGdreX56ZL2h-NW/s640/Curious+Case+Rathbone+Hat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> [<i>Editor's note: the owner of the hat has offered an official response, verifying the authenticity of the hat. See below for the full statement.</i>]<br /> <br /> Some Sherlockians signal their love of Holmes by wearing a deerstalker or donning a scarf worn by Benedict Cumberbatch. But if you fancy something, say, more in the style of <a href="http://amzn.to/1gFq8qV" target="_blank">Basil Rathbone in the 1940's</a>, well, that's a challenge. Coats, watches and clothes from the BBC are just a click away on <a href="http://www.sherlockabilia.com/index.html" target="_blank">Sherlockabilia</a> but good luck trying to find records from the Universal Pictures costume department in 1943.<br /> <br /> Time and mystery are two reasons why Hollywood memorabilia auctions can make front page news.  The recent auction by Bonhams sold a Maltese Falcon statue used in the movie for over $4 million.  There was less excitement over a <a href="http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21427/lot/221/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">jacket</a> worn by Basil Rathbone in the 1939 "Hound" ($13,750) -- and, in an auction by another firm, what appears to be <a href="http://www.icollector.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Basil-Rathbone-Donegal-Hat_i18037220" target="_blank">a hat worn by Basil Rathbone</a> in the Universal film series.  </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The hat reportedly sold for $1,000.  But was it really worn by Rathbone?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> As forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee observes, "when the eye does not see, the mind does not know."  We can learn much by studying photographs of Rathbone's headgear.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> For the first three films the actor wore a thick-brimmed fedora. Universal used the same opening credits for the entire series, so you can see it at the beginning of any of the films, as the camera pans up to show Rathbone, puffing a non-canonical calabash, next to Bruce.  In "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" he wore a rather undistinguished gray fedora. </div> <div> <br /></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8GkvdWN8Lpz4lB6eQCc__blQDvHWYXykJBMka8EHDQjSKwSv3sNbAtXw75YzD8sO5skIDMiC9kP6LCO4aKy_xzOixUQOImAJUTBJ3EYbzEKAuLHgVkFE0bPRLkv3F3MKB80adgCicgPQ/s1600/1942+Voice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8GkvdWN8Lpz4lB6eQCc__blQDvHWYXykJBMka8EHDQjSKwSv3sNbAtXw75YzD8sO5skIDMiC9kP6LCO4aKy_xzOixUQOImAJUTBJ3EYbzEKAuLHgVkFE0bPRLkv3F3MKB80adgCicgPQ/s640/1942+Voice.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rathbone in "The Voice of Terror"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <h4> <u>Rathbone's Universal Films - Release Dates</u> </h4> </div> <div> <ul> <li><i>The Voice of Terror</i> - September 1942</li> <li><i>Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon</i> - February 1943</li> <li><i>Sherlock Holmes in Washington</i> - April 1943</li> <li><i>Sherlock Holmes Faces Death</i> - September 1943</li> <li><i>The Spider Woman</i> - January 1944</li> <li><i>The Scarlet Claw</i> - May 1944</li> <li><i>The Pearl of Death</i> - August 1944</li> <li><i>The House of Fear</i> - March 1945</li> <li><i>Dressed to Kill</i> - June 1945</li> <li><i>The Woman in Green</i> - July 1945</li> <li><i>Pursuit to Algiers</i> - October 1945</li> <li><i>Terror by Night</i> - February 1946</li> </ul> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The tweed hat made its first appearance in <i>The Spider Woman</i>, the fifth film in the Universal series, released in January 1944.  </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Compare Rathbone's hat to the one in the photo below worn by Matthew Boulton playing Inspector Gregson in "The Woman in Green," released in July 1945.  Rathbone's hat is styled along the same lines as Boulton's, with a high crown, thick band and wide brim.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkp7IJJ2BzrZrA9YaMoXmBaYGIUI4vujer0nN-nbv8AC4KnG3haXj3ZUvzpxDkIriIe0t_PUZfs_MAtWyBEEEl8xrxRdjmF0xwTQHnDE-g_nK5uUIJYPwt9KXjPjhbj-OXmsCgEAiSv1Ml/s1600/Gregson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkp7IJJ2BzrZrA9YaMoXmBaYGIUI4vujer0nN-nbv8AC4KnG3haXj3ZUvzpxDkIriIe0t_PUZfs_MAtWyBEEEl8xrxRdjmF0xwTQHnDE-g_nK5uUIJYPwt9KXjPjhbj-OXmsCgEAiSv1Ml/s640/Gregson.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matthew Boulton as Inspector Gregson from "The Woman in Green"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /></div> <div> Careful examination of the Universal films leads to a set of dimensions for Rathbone's hat, starting with a closeup from a high-contrast still from "Pursuit to Algiers."</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8ittfEpE6i2UtUE7bz_1SpOLGs9jBukkJVBJZgQ33hVyTFURZMglifdAjgoI1yLOIfxBoNExQK3mFlOcqjGmlQ61T6lRdHppdIHRbaqhpk5Bzl3YFtE7GX3QXEOKsyZCv_8X8g4UL4nV/s1600/Rathbone+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8ittfEpE6i2UtUE7bz_1SpOLGs9jBukkJVBJZgQ33hVyTFURZMglifdAjgoI1yLOIfxBoNExQK3mFlOcqjGmlQ61T6lRdHppdIHRbaqhpk5Bzl3YFtE7GX3QXEOKsyZCv_8X8g4UL4nV/s640/Rathbone+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Reference points from facial elements suggest these general dimensions for Rathbone's hat:</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQxOoeoO2aZVB6QaNy7rPwCKK1acWHf41Jekc3g8uSoOL3M4gU-CNibuW1rSiFP4fs1fXoklbUeYf8BApZghnkoblV802xYp5u2YTyi4mhZ4KBC7_k-HBsYABh09JbdwoG2n2enF1HLVl/s1600/Rathbone+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQxOoeoO2aZVB6QaNy7rPwCKK1acWHf41Jekc3g8uSoOL3M4gU-CNibuW1rSiFP4fs1fXoklbUeYf8BApZghnkoblV802xYp5u2YTyi4mhZ4KBC7_k-HBsYABh09JbdwoG2n2enF1HLVl/s640/Rathbone+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The hat also <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/118216759969087724610/albums/5968787357291363841?authkey=CIyinq-czKOhFg" target="_blank">appears in color in many of the lobby cards</a> from the film series (see slideshow below). Kodachrome 35mm color still film (introduced in 1936) could have been used for these pictures.  If the stills were not otherwise tinted by Universal's publicity department, it seems that Rathbone wore either brown or gray tweed hats.  Brown was a typical costume tone in black and white movies as it read well on screen.<br /> <br /></div> <center> <object height="525" width="700"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fihearofsherlock%2Fsets%2F72157639769234284%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fihearofsherlock%2Fsets%2F72157639769234284%2F&set_id=72157639769234284&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=138195"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=138195" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fihearofsherlock%2Fsets%2F72157639769234284%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fihearofsherlock%2Fsets%2F72157639769234284%2F&set_id=72157639769234284&jump_to=" width="700" height="525"></embed></object></center> <div> <br /> One crucial fact about Rathbone's hat is that it was lined, possibly in white silk, as suggested by this photograph from "The Woman in Green."  Rathbone's hat hangs on the coat rack with the lining towards the viewer,  reflecting light from the set.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd3j_8mDrflYcuPQYGDhnxs6aEWeVRp8YTubzOGlhPimFbmKG9wg__rKYdjiDyY4i2XHMOoOohaiSpnlfWZ9nYDbjykhI3BQfNKKaFj9HhWX127m5Ynhabclh5k-JQJkfo5GBQZBZMKRI/s1600/1945+Woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd3j_8mDrflYcuPQYGDhnxs6aEWeVRp8YTubzOGlhPimFbmKG9wg__rKYdjiDyY4i2XHMOoOohaiSpnlfWZ9nYDbjykhI3BQfNKKaFj9HhWX127m5Ynhabclh5k-JQJkfo5GBQZBZMKRI/s640/1945+Woman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <h4> Curious and Curiouser</h4> <div> The hat offered at auction appears to differ from Rathbone's hat in several ways.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gLQziILDdy17lvp7doc6t6ZzLJalnwdULq83WE4YxfpmFNlj8xKjUzGV0DmBMi5zI58dkW3GFVuYc1kZ3088XVwO-mMGeR1h5qXSWU9Vx3AcwBeN_slRHaKg22Gn5lPzcGx2fRUowBTZ/s1600/Auction+Hat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gLQziILDdy17lvp7doc6t6ZzLJalnwdULq83WE4YxfpmFNlj8xKjUzGV0DmBMi5zI58dkW3GFVuYc1kZ3088XVwO-mMGeR1h5qXSWU9Vx3AcwBeN_slRHaKg22Gn5lPzcGx2fRUowBTZ/s640/Auction+Hat.png" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <b>Fabric pattern -</b>  The photo of the auction hat seems darker than Rathbone's Donegal tweed weave.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgXQ6G8HErGyZ1EiTbN9379kv3RLtx7xMjrkh-kkxihm2hrppTM_VpiQXpdOYySdnrMOMxXLzDjf2IkFJ0g6yCLDhaEz1xYpORRwTKsL7h65o_FFGzjS23_4KOc7PtXxp1LtYwxCvt8F1/s1600/Auction+Hat+Label.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgXQ6G8HErGyZ1EiTbN9379kv3RLtx7xMjrkh-kkxihm2hrppTM_VpiQXpdOYySdnrMOMxXLzDjf2IkFJ0g6yCLDhaEz1xYpORRwTKsL7h65o_FFGzjS23_4KOc7PtXxp1LtYwxCvt8F1/s640/Auction+Hat+Label.png" width="476" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> However, this auction picture above, showing the label, seems to show a weave more akin to the Donegal pattern.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <b>Brim depth </b>-  The auction hat appears to have a shorter brim, less than 2.25 inches.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <b>Band height -</b>  The auction hat appears to have a narrower or shorter band than Rathbone's.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <b>Lining color - </b> Rathbone's hat, at least in "The Woman in Green," appears to be lined in a light-colored fabric.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Rathbone's hat from the Universal series was a success because it evolved the great detective's deerstalker to a more contemporary yet distinctive style.  In so doing, by the way, Universal's costume designers tipped their hats, as it were, to a prior Sherlock, Clive Brook, who wore the headgear for the first sound Sherlock Holmes film in 1929.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO_RmwM5kSOPR0Jm_U640huEbyQT3pKnrpngfXwkG4lN_BRxOiA1-F19a6847AoZTrhgawq7VMVYHl7io9bMix2zfI-R16HconbaHXsMGXNvLZW2EObbMWnaiEPEn2TlFXHOW9iamG4Hb/s1600/1929+The+Return.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO_RmwM5kSOPR0Jm_U640huEbyQT3pKnrpngfXwkG4lN_BRxOiA1-F19a6847AoZTrhgawq7VMVYHl7io9bMix2zfI-R16HconbaHXsMGXNvLZW2EObbMWnaiEPEn2TlFXHOW9iamG4Hb/s640/1929+The+Return.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clive Brook, with H. Reeves Smith, from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /></div> <div> Holmesians, what say you?  Is there cause for doubt?  And are there Sherlockian wardrobe elements, perhaps from films long gone, you would like to have? <br /> <br /> <h4> UPDATE: </h4> We were contacted by the owner of the hat, who gave us this statement:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> The Basil Rathbone hat recently sold at auction has an iron-clad chain of evidence leading right back to the costumer for the Universal Sherlock Holmes films, and indeed couldn't have been sold as represented without it being completely vetted. The fact is that Rathbone had several hats that he wore throughout the series, similarly styled. Speculation based on hand-tinted lobby cards, or a grainy black and white screen captures, or estimates of size, etc., based upon a thumbnail photograph without anything else in the photograph for context or comparison is, to put it as gently as possible, worthless. To be compelled to debate this, or even dignify it with a response, is to give it credence. It's Rathbone's hat (at least it is one of them). This piece has done nothing but cast doubt on something that is not in doubt, and irresponsibly forced a “defense” for something that should not have to be defended. </blockquote> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" height="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000EXZFRQ&nou=1&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="display: none !important; height: 240px; opacity: 0 !important; visibility: hidden !important; width: 120px;" width="0"></iframe> </div>

The Basil Rathbone Hat Mystery

"There are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest..."  [BLUE]  [ Editor's note: the owne...

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by Third Pillar