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Sherlock Holmes in Pearl of DeathRating:
Release Date: 25 November, 2003 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $17.98 You SAVE: $2.00! Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Sherlock Holmes in Pearl of Death Reviews
"A miracle of horror."
SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE PEARL OF DEATH combines one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's better stories with a film series that was effortlessly producing a creepy, fun noir-like atmosphere multiple times a year. The result is a very effective mystery/action-adventure -- one of the best that the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce series would produce.
The story is, of course, a derivative of Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", where Holmes must solve a series of bizarre, but seemingly related murders. The original tale has been augmented -- additions in the form of some classic 1940s film elements. The most obvious is The Creeper, the huge, deformed henchman of the villain, who stalks through the film like a horror movie Frankenstein, skulking in the shadows and doing the bad guy's killing.
Watson and Lestrade are back again as the film's comic relief. They function well in this role, although the movie's one poor scene involves Watson not realizing that he has a newspaper clipping glued to his elbow. I understand the filmmaker's desire to give Watson something to do (other adaptations would be less successful at this), but it's this moment that he turns from being slightly comical to downright buffoonish.
Still, Holmes more than makes up for the bungling of his two colleagues. His deductions coming more or less straight from a Doyle story rather than some less-than-brilliant Hollywood writers, he bursts through the story at almost a God Emperor level. Rathbone plays the part with relish and his confrontations with the villains make for great scenes.
I'm an admitted fan of this Holmes series, but this one would probably even be enjoyed by people who haven't seen one of these before. Try to catch this on one of the classic film channels, or, better yet, pick up the DVD. The image quality and sound are fantastic.
A Lively Jewel in the Series
Movie: ***** _____ DVD Quality: ***** _____ DVD Extras: N/A
Delightful entry in the classic Sherlock Holmes series with typically outstanding performances by Basil Rathbone as the urbane master of deductive reasoning and Nigel Bruce as his partner and foil, Dr. Watson. In this outing, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", the pair are searching for the Borgia Pearl, a priceless jewel which has been stolen and hidden away; time is of the essence because a gang of thieves is also conducting a frantic hunt for the pearl, murdering innocent people who happen to cross their paths. The mystery takes up a mere 69 minutes and is pure unadulterated fun, made all the more enjoyable by a first-rate supporting cast, including Evelyn Ankers as a shady lady who's a master of disguise; Miles Mander as the calculating master thief; Rondo Hatton as a brutishly strong assassin; and series stalwart Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade.
The MPI video release features a superb video and audio transfer from a 35mm print restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this! The picture is sharp and clear with perfect contrast, and the soundtrack is remarkably crisp and clean. Very enthusiastically recommended, MPI's release of "The Pearl of Death" is a worthy candidate for addition to your home video library.
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