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One of my all time favorites.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Top Tier Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Entry in the Series. Fans Mostly Love this One because of its Mystery and the Fact that, for a change, it is Taken from a Conan Doyle Story. It Contains Horror Elements and has Diabolical Villains who are Brutal and Cruel.Everyone Comments on the Lasting Memory of Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, the Deformed Bone Crusher that is Truly Creepy. His Physical Presence is Scary. Perhaps Another Reason the Character is so Infamously Remembered is that Pretty Evelyn Ankers is Reminded that the Creeper (Beast) is Infatuated with Her (Beauty) and Lurks just Outside Her Bedroom Stroking one of Her Personal Items, a Vanity Compact. This kind of Verbal Abuse Happens more than Once and She is Justifiably Terrified.This is Archetypal and the Two Never Meet On Screen but the Sexual Dominance is there Nonetheless. Strong Stuff. Ankers gives a Good Performance Donning Three Disguises, Master Villain Giles Conover also goes Incognito, as does Holmes (typically).Sherlock Makes a Big Mistake in this One, to the Delight of Lestrade and Watson is Along as Expected Comedic Relief and Adding a bit of Sleuthing. Holmes Verbally Berates the Old Boy Again..."Watson go to the door and do what I tell you."...Watson: "Huh!"...Holmes: "No, not huh, just do it.".

THE PEARL OF DEATH (Universal, 1944), produced and directed by Roy William Neil, the seventh installment to the studio's own "Sherlock Holmes" mystery series, minus "Sherlock Holmes" in the title, resumes its winning combination of Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Doctor Watson) in another exciting entry. Based on the story, "The Adventures of Six Napoleons" by its creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it resumes the frequent use of series regulars of Miles Mander and Ian Wolfe assuming different character roles. While Universal's own Evelyn Ankers, last seen in and killed off in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR (1942), offers some fine assistance assuming different characters in numerous disguises, it's Rondo Hatton, billed as "The Creeper," who, minus disguises or hideous make-up, who's the one getting most of the attention even with his very limited on-screen appearance to leave some lasting impression.The story opens on a ship bound for Dover where one of its passengers, Naomi Drake (Evelyn Ankers) arranges for a steward to have James Goodram (Holmes Herbert), secretly carrying an Borgia pearl, leave his stateroom long enough for her to enter and steal the priceless gem worth $50,000 to be displayed at the Royal Regent Museum. The scheme works as Goodram goes to the wireless room and Naomi finding the hidden pearl to conceal it inside her camera. With the boat to dock in Dover within 15 minutes, Naomi, having already befriended an elderly clergyman, entrusts him with the camera so not to have her film exposed by the customs inspector. As Goodram discovers his pearl gone, Naomi, having retrieved her camera, leaves the boat, enters the car of her leader, the master criminal Giles Conover (Miles Mander), only to find the pearl gone and note enclosed signed by S.H. To Conover, this means they've been duped by the one and only Sherlock Holmes. With Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and assistant, Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce) returning the pearl to the museum, it is stolen soon after Holmes disconnects wires to the security system proving its flaw when electricity is turned off. Blamed for his blunder, Holmes, along with Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), in an attempt to locate the pearl's whereabouts, are soon baffled by a series of violent killings from buyers of plaster busts of Napoleons that are taking place. With victims found with broken backs surrounded by smashed dishes of china, Holmes, believing the pearl concealed in one of the six sold Napoleon busts, does his best to be one step ahead of the ringleader and his murderous accomplice, The Creeper (Rondo Hatton), before any more murders involving the cursed pearl is to take place.As with the previous installment of THE SCARLET CLAW (1944), THE PEARL OF DEATH wonderfully blends mystery with horror. Thanks to a tightly-knitted script credited to Bertram Millhauser, this is no doubt a top-notch 70 minute programmer. Aside from Rathbone's master of disguise or two, he's finds stiff competition with Conover (Mander) and Naomi (Ankers) as they attempt to conceal themselves through masterful disguises of their own. Ankers comes off best in several occasions, one talking Cockney, demonstrating her fine talent as an actress while assuming different characters for her one role. Miles Mander comes a close second in a Professor Moriarty-type villain best described by Holmes as one capable of: "Crime without motive, robber without a clue, murder without a trace." And last but not least, Rondo Hatton, whose character is well concealed through much of the story until that very moment, the creepy creeper, described as one with the strength and arms of a gorilla. Others featured in the cast are Charles Francis (Francis Digby); Ian Wolfe (Amos Hodder); Richard Nugent (Bates); Harry Cording (George Gelder); Billy Bevan (The Constable); and, of course, Mary Gordon in her recurring role of Mrs. Hudson for two very brief scenes.THE PEARL OF DEATH should rank among the favorites of Holmes series devotees and certainly one worth recommending to anyone new to these films featuring those reliables of Rathbone and Bruce, who, by this time, have become so type-cast in their roles. Though each would get to appear in other movies during their "Sherlock Holmes" period (1942-1946), Rathbone and Bruce did get to work in the same motion picture, the Technicolor swashbuckler, FRENCHMAN'S CREEK (Paramount, 1944) starring Joan Fontaine and Arturo DeCordova. While FRENCHMAN'S CREEK is close to being forgotten today, the Universal "Sherlock Holmes" series remains better known, thanks to frequent television revivals dating back to the 1950s, availability on home video and DVD, and broadcasts on numerous cable channels, notably Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 26, 2009). Next installment: THE HOUSE OF FEAR (1945) (***)

Solid Holmes entry. The suspense remains on high throughout as Holmes races to find the great pearl before criminal mastermind Giles Conover (Mander) gets it. Director Neill keeps things moving briskly, along with good suspenseful use of the hulking, sadly mis-shapen Rondo Hatton, surely one of filmdom's most tragic and unforgettable figures. It's also one of Rathbone's best performances as the masterful detective. Note his level of intensity at appropriate moments, establishing an air of intellectual authority that's completely convincing. I would think this is one of the performances that made him the definitive Holmes.On the downside: Miles Mander, in my view, is a little too undistinguished to measure up as a Holmes archrival and intellectual competitor. Too bad they couldn't get a Lionel Atwill or a George Zucco for the Conover role. On the other hand, Evelyn Ankers shows some uncommon versatility as Conover's icily beautiful assistant. That opening scene of her, the old man, and the disappearing pearl is one of the most intriguing set-ups of the series. Nigel Bruce's Watson gets a rare extended comedic scene showcasing his superb talents as an absent-minded bumbler. Too bad the series didn't leave the comic relief to him instead of overloading with the fitfully funny Inspector Lestrade (Hoey). Anyway, it's a very well-crafted and suspenseful 69 minutes of series entertainment.

"One of two things has happened. Either the woman he bumped into was an accomplice, in which case she has the pearl, or he managed somehow to conceal it in his flight." The pearl, of course, is the cursed Borgia Pearl, an object of rich men's lust. The "he" is Giles Conover (Miles Mander), a master criminal as cruel as he is clever, as contemptuous of men as he is unmoved by women. The Borgia Pearl has been the object of criminal stratagems since it arrived in London for display in the British Museum. The director of the museum is immensely proud of how he has harnessed electricity to warn of any untoward action involving the museum's objects. But what happens when Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) apparently makes a mistake. And what happens when the electricity doesn't work. It will be Sherlock Holmes, aided by his game but confused partner, Watson (Nigel Bruce), against Giles Conover. Holmes makes his disdain for Conover clear. "I don't like the smell of you -- an underground smell, the sick sweetness of decay. You haven't robbed and killed merely for the game like any ordinary halfway decent thug. No, you're in love with cruelty for it's own sake." Little does Holmes realize that Conover has a creature of his own...a brute whose face is the result of a disorder of the pituitary gland. Watson might call it acromegaly. Most laymen would say it's the Easter Island Statue Syndrome. It's not long before Holmes must deal not only with Conover, but also with this creature...the Hoxton Creeper (Rondo Hatton). "A monster, Watson," Holmes says, "with the chest of a buffalo and the arms of a gorilla. His particular method of murder is back breaking. And it's always the same...the third lumbar vertebrae." "How horrible," says Watson. Does Sherlock Holmes best the Creeper? Does he recover the Borgia Pearl? Does Conover taste the bitter brew of utter defeat? You'll get no spoilers from me. Some think macaroni and cheese is the perfect comfort for what ails you. I think it's Rathbone and Bruce. People can argue about which actor has been the best Sherlock Holmes, but there is something about Rathbone's style, earnestness, profile and line delivery that makes me sit back and smile every time I watch him play The Great Detective. All that Victorian gaslight, fog and cobblestones help, too. With some strange alchemy, the Holmes movies with Rathbone have turned into an elixir of kitsch, style, remembrance of things past, satisfaction and noble causes. Mac and cheese doesn't come close.