Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce

Directed by Roy William Neill

Available to stream on Prime Video

Our next classic film in "Katie's Picks" features Basil Rathbone in his career defining role. Sherlock Holmes investigates mysterious goings-on at Musgrave Manor where Dr. Watson is taking care of invalid soldiers.  One of fourteen pairings of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Homes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.

Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Basil Rathbone

Why we love it: The commanding presence of Basil Rathbone combined with the cheerful bumbling of Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson make everything they did together entertaining.  Basil Rathbone is Sherlock Holmes, no matter how much the stories may deviate from the originals.

Fun Facts:

• Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce made fourteen Sherlock Holmes films in just seven years. The first two (both from 1939) were The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for 20th Century-Fox and were more traditionally based on the books and set in Victorian England. The later ones were made for Universal and were modernized to take place in the 1940's.

• Young Peter Lawford has a small role as a sailor in the pub.

• Watch the trailer for the film below:
  

• Though the Sherlock Holmes films have been criticized for not being true enough to the original stories by Conan Doyle, they are thoroughly enjoyable and fun to watch, mainly because of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. A review for one of the Sherlock films from Silver Screen in 1939 praises "...that grand actor Basil Rathbone who is simply Mr. Holmes to a T." Leonard Maltin says the films are "...always worth seeing for the performances of the two stars: Rathbone - smooth, cunning, seldom caught by surprise; and Bruce - talkative, bumbling, never understanding the situation at hand...the Sherlock Holmes series relied on Rathbone and Bruce for enjoyment, and they never failed."

Review from Photoplay 1943

For more articles and reviews from the time, go to the Fan Magazine Reviews page.

Featured Cocktail:

Negroni Sbagliato

The origin of this drink lies in a bartender's mistake. Sbagliato means "wrong" or "bungled" in Italian. The story is that a customer ordered a negroni, the bartender accidentally reached for sparkling wine instead of gin, and the drink was born. Maybe it’s wrong, but it isn’t bad!

25ml Campari

25 ml red vermouth

75ml sparkling wine

Build over ice; garnish with orange wheel.

Cheers to the Classics!