Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

Rating:
Summary: Not a Nazi in sight in splendid Holmes mystery
Review: After three films in which Sherlock Holmes battled the Nazis, even Universal must have grown tired of their gimmicky attempt to "modernize" the Great Detective. With "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death," Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are back on more familiar turf and solve a mystery having absolutely no connection to World War II.

For the first time in the series, a film doesn't merely credit a story by Arthur Conan Doyle, screenwriter Bertram Millhauser actually makes use of one, "The Musgrave Ritual," a traditional murder mystery involving an old family curse. The story gives director Roy William Neill plenty of opportunities to pour on the atmosphere that is the series' best attribute, aside from stars Rathbone and Bruce, of course.

With this entry, the series greatly improved, and greater adventures were still to come for the famous detective from Baker Street.

Brian W. Fairbanks

Rating:
Summary: What's Next...Peace in the MidEast?
Review: As I wrote an extensive build up of these movies, prior to their release. I am now pleased to say that about 98% of my anticipation was not misguided.
Overall, these are the clearest and sharpest versions I have seen in my lifetime.
In comparison to some of the non Key Video versions that were out on VHS these offerings from MPI are stunning.
My only letdown was, as others have mentioned, is that there could have easily been more additional material offered.
A short commentary was offered on the restoration of Orson Welles' "The Third Man" by Criterion and was fascinating.
Something similar to this would have been easy to produce and Holmes fans like myself who have put up with public domain trash copies for decades would have eaten up such a documentary.
I also have wondered for years if there are any out-takes from the films that still exist.
How fascinating that would have been, and would still be....hint....hint.
At the very least, Filmographies of Rathbone and Bruce, or trivia facts about the series or the actors, or the productions, or at least even the trailers should have been included.
Little things, such as pointing out the appearance of a young dark handsome Milburn Stone in "Faces Death" who later became "Doc" on Gunsmoke.
There are several instances where the Captioning is lazy. Such as in "Faces Death" when Holmes says "anno Domini" in a sentence and the caption writer just put "Domino."
Even with occasional lapses in the captioning, it was indeed nice to have them captioned.
Of all the films in this Volume, the one I found most curious was "Faces Death."
Even after reading the liner notes, I still wonder why some of the extreme deterioration marks on individual frames could not have been repaired by computer.
Much worse deterioration existed on the "Third Man" and it was restored flawlessly. And oddly, there are a few sections of the Key Video version of this Film that are clearer than this MPI restored version.....?....
Was this a real case of Wet vs. Dry printing or laziness on the part of those in the restoration process?
All that said, the other three films are near pristine, especially Holmes in "Washington". I think there will never be another version of these prints released that will surpass the quality of this offering.
Lastly, for the snobby Holmesian purest who nearly worship the Brett/Granada versions of the Holmes stories, I think this offering will go a long way in explaining to many why Rathbone is beyond doubt the nearest thing to Holmes incarnate that has or ever will exist.
The Granda versions are draining, dripping with overcharachterization and forced melodrama...did I mention contrived?
Brett often behaves like a neurotic narcissistic snot who sees and loves his own image off a distance in a mirror somewhere.
These films with Rathbone and Bruce are timelessly engaging, underplayed, entertaining, perfectly moody and just downright fun in every aspect. Rathbone and Bruce had a chemistry that so completely complimented each other.
Rathbone especially....you never catch him playing Sherlock Holmes...he just "is" Sherlock Holmes.
Now, if we can just get the first two Rathbone and Bruce films restored and captioned and in our libraries....well what's next...Peace in the MidEast?

Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Review: During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.



Rating:
Summary: Great Expectations
Review: I am writing this pre-review to express my Great Expectations and excitement over the upcoming DVD release of the 14 Sherlock Holmes movies made by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
For those of us who have loved and worn out our VHS versions of these films, I am sure that I speak for many of us in expressing incredible anticipation and near shock that someone has finally recognized the need to release a "restored version" of these timeless classics.
We are told that they have been "Preserved and restored in 35mm by the UCLA Film and Television Archive." This is marvelous and I have already pre-ordered Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 from MPI Home Video.
I so hope that the entire 14 movies, are ultimately released in restored condition. Especially the rarest of them, "The Scarlet Claw" which has rarely been shown on televison and only been available on VHS sporadically.
To me and many others I know, Basil Rathbone is the definative Holmes. Not just because he looks alarmingly similar -as much as is humanly possible- to Sidney Pagets drawings of Holmes from the Strand Magazine illustrations, but mostly we love Rathbone because he portrayed the same Holmes that we as readers get through the buffer of Dr. Watson explaining away not magnifying Holmes' shortcomings.
Jeremy Brett chose to amplify every negative aspect of Holmes' personality that in the written versions Watson explained away. Rathbone's Holmes has been demeaned visciously over the past years and hopefully the respect and dignity that he gave his portrayals will be seen in all their accuracy and glory with these new digitally restored releases. ... these will have to be the best quality versions of these classics ever released...so for all of us who have cursed the incomprehensibly awful releases of these films over the years...our time has almost come. Show your support for this effort by ordering a restored version of American Film Histroy.
Much Thanks to UCLA, MPI, and Whoever was ultimately responsible for the idea of doing this!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't he face death in every movie?
Review: SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH was the movie in which Universal abandoned the idea of making Holmes a WWII spy-catcher and delivered him in a more traditional story of mystery, riddles and puzzles (albeit still set in the then-present day). Although I enjoyed watching the previous three movies, it is nice to see the characters of Holmes and Watson going back to their roots.

Based loosely upon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Musgrave Ritual", the story is concerned with mysteries rather than war. Here, Watson is a genuine doctor with a practice of his own rather than merely a sidekick to the Great Detective. Holmes is the private detective worried about ancient secrets and unsolved mysteries. FACES DEATH itself is, I feel, more concerned with style than substance. The plot is no great piece of literature, but the presentation has good features.

There's a dark, gothic flavor to the film, which adds to its atmosphere, even if it doesn't quite fit together logically. A clock that chimes thirteen times, secret passages, a convenient lightning strike, etc. These things are all creepy, even if not all of them end up with rational explanations.

I watched this movie twice. Once normally, and the second time with commentary track that's available if you buy this as part of the 4-pack collection. I think it works a lot better if you allow yourself to be absorbed by the stylistic moments rather then looking too closely at the plot. Some parts of the story are obscure while others seem obvious. That said, there are a few good scenes of genuine detective work.

There are some funny moments in the film -- some unintentional. A patient asks Watson if he happens to have any cigarettes on him. Watson replies in the affirmative and drops a giant box of the cancer sticks onto the table. Try to find a doctor who will do that nowadays! But the deliberately funny scenes work too. Comic relief is provided by both Watson and Inspector Lestrade (the latter seems a bit dimmer than usual).

All of the films in the Rathbone/Bruce Holmes series have a certain mood to them, and if you like that flavor, then watching almost any of the movies will provide that fix. But SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH (generic title and all) is an above average entry and contains everything that makes this such an enjoyable series.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Transfer; Thank God Holmes Is Back With Us!
Review: There's very little to say; these are the classic Universal "modern" Holmes films from the 1940s, and they are now finally available on DVD in superb transfers, complete and uncut, absolutely pristine in their presentation, and now generally available. If you liked these years ago, you will love them now; taken from superb 35mm materials in three countries, the films look as clean as when first released. Buy them all! This is cinema history.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Transfer; Thank God Holmes Is Back With Us!
Review: There's very little to say; these are the classic Universal "modern" Holmes films from the 1940s, and they are now finally available on DVD in superb transfers, complete and uncut, absolutely pristine in their presentation, and now generally available. If you liked these years ago, you will love them now; taken from superb 35mm materials in three countries, the films look as clean as when first released. Buy them all! This is cinema history.

Rating:
Summary: Ghosts Don't Stab People in the Neck, Do They?
Review: This was the first of the Universal Sherlock Holmes movies that returned the detective to traditional mystery plots, after three wartime anti-Nazi adventures. It's also one of the best... and in fact it was voted the 2nd-best Holmes movie of all time in one poll (after Rathbone's "Adventures" or "Hound," I forget which). The entertaining opening has Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson, who has a bit more on the ball than usual, bringing Holmes into the case-which itself is a clever improvement on Conan Doyle's rather dull short story "The Musgrave Ritual." The cast features almost all of the usual stock company featured in this series (Dennis Hoey, Gerald Hamer, Vernon Dowling, Frederic Worlock, Gavin Muir), playing assorted cretins, rotters, weaklings, and twitching neurotics. Various sets from "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" turn up as well, and the plot abounds with bloodthirsty ravens, bolts of lightning, mysterious passageways, and a clock that strikes thirteen on the nights that evil is afoot. Rathbone strikes a nice balance between his earlier, more wired Sherlock and his later jaded style, but the excellent UCLA restoration also reveals him as a bit older and more ravaged than I recall. Maybe there's something to be said for a "soft" transfer after all.