The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939): A Review

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1939)

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Basil Rathbone.

There have been countless interpretations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes. While there will always be debate as to whom is the best Sherlock Holmes, all but the fiercest partisans would deny a place of honor to Basil Rathbone. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the second in the Rathbone series and first one that I have seen. I now see why Basil Rathbone is almost always listed among the greatest Sherlock Holmes interpreters. 

Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) cannot stop his archnemesis, Professor James Moriarty (George Zucco) from being acquitted. His guilt is undeniable, but the law cannot prove it. Moriarty now has decided to kill two birds with one stone. He will give Holmes an irresistible case as a distraction from Moriarty's real caper.

That wild goose chase involves the Brandon family. Ann Brandon (Ida Lupino) comes to Holmes fearing for her brother's life. He has received a very cryptic drawing just like the one their father received ten years ago, right before Mr. Brandon was murdered in South America. There is a date marked on the drawing, the anniversary of Mr. Brandon's murder, and the date for Ann's brother's killing. Despite Holmes' best efforts, Lloyd Brandon (Peter Willes) is murdered. 

Now, Holmes is determined to find out whodunit. He is aided by his loyal but muddled-brained friend, Dr. John Watson (Nigel Bruce). What role, if any, does Ann's solicitor/fiancée Jerrod Hunter (Alan Marshall) have in the murder? Is Ann the next intended victim? It takes Holmes literally doing a little song and dance to save Miss Brandon and bring the killer to justice.

This case leaves Holmes little to no time to bother with his friend, Sir Ronald Ramsgate (Henry Stephenson). Sir Ronald is the Keeper of the Crown Jewels and has asked Holmes to help him. The Star of Delhi, the largest emerald in the world, has been gifted to the Royal Family. Sir Ronald feels safer with Holmes being part of the secretive receiving party. The Star of Delhi might be a tempting prize for Moriarty, but is he really after it? Could the evil mad genius be after bigger treasure? Could the Brandon case have all been a rouse? The Crown Jewels themselves are in danger, but will Sherlock Holmes and his compatriots save them?

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the last of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films to be set in the proper Victorian/Edwardian era setting. I understand that part of the reason Holmes was brought to modern times was as a cost-saving measure. However, I also think that part of it may be too much fog. It is curious that sometimes the London fog in the film is shockingly thick to where one cannot really make out much. Yet, I digress.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is an absolute showcase for Basil Rathbone as the title character. He is commanding in the role. Rathbone is serious without being stern. His rapid delivery shows a highly intelligent man. Rathbone's Holmes is bright, methodical, logical. 

He is also not above a little soft shoe. At the garden party Ann attends at Holmes' urging, we get a musical hall entertainer singing I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside. I was initially puzzled as to why this novelty song, while catchy, was being performed at all. I thought it was filler for a surprisingly short film at 82 minutes. It is only when the music hall singer reveals himself to Ann that I did a double take. That happy-go-lucky fellow singing that cheerful song was Sherlock Holmes himself!

I literally had to replay that part to see if I could see if it was THE Basil Rathbone cutting a little rug. I figure that it must have been. It would be within Canon for Holmes to don a disguise so elaborate as to fool people. However, I was not expecting to be so deceived. Part of me still does not think that it was Basil Rathbone. It is a major credit to Rathbone that he pulled off this incredible feat.

The rest of his performance is exceptional. He plays Holmes as curious, brave, with a firm sense of right and wrong. He is blunt, especially to the blubber-headed Watson. Watson had rushed to tell Holmes about how he'd seen Hunter and Moriarty together. Holmes would have rather that he stayed with Lloyd Brandon. "Watson", Holmes says as he, his BFF and Miss Brandon are racing to the Brandon house. "Yes?", the bubble brain says. "I'm afraid you're an incorrigible bungler". Watson, unsurprisingly, is hurt. A few beats later, Holmes smiles and pats Watson's knee. 

The rest of the cast did tremendous work as well. That credit goes to them and director Alfred L. Werker. George Zucco was menacing without being camp or absurd as Moriarty. One senses that Zucco's Moriarty was aware of his own genius. He too late in the film dons a disguise that, while not as convincing as Holmes' song-and-dance man, is still effective.

Ida Lupino, perhaps, was a little exaggerated as the frightened Ann. However, she had wonderful moments with Rathbone and Alan Marshall's Hunter. She was able to stand up for herself when it was needed.

I now confess that my long-term reluctance to delve into the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series is because of Nigel Bruce. I had seen clips of their films together. I have always, always hated Bruce's interpretation of Dr. Watson. Bruce made Watson into the ultimate boob. He played him as a perpetual bumbler, someone with the IQ of -187. Bruce made Watson someone so dumb that he literally could not find his way out of a room if all the doors and windows were open. Forever tut-tutting, forever befuddled, forever fat and fat headed, I think Bruce did immense harm to how people see the Watson character. It has taken decades for Dr. Watson to be seen as functional, let alone rational. I put that down more to the Granada television adaptations, as well as the Jude Law and Lucy Liu versions of Watson.

Martin Freeman's version in Sherlock veer closer to the Bruce version in my opinion. Again, I digress.

Nigel Bruce, at least here, was still an empty-headed buffoon. Add to that how dismissive he was whenever something seemingly trivial came up. When the "police escort" happened to fool Dr. Watson, I was not surprised. Now having seen Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, at least here he is not as moronic as I pictured him. He is still dim to where The Golden Girls' Rose Nylund looks like Carl Sagan by comparison. At least he did not grate on me as much as I thought that he would.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes has a wonderful visual style, full of shadows and fog. It also has a very strong score. Both are blended well when we hear what Holmes has deduced is "an Incan funeral dirge" that Ann hears outside her window. We hear that same tune being played by a mysterious shadow in Moriarty's greenhouse. These two elements blend to create that spooky, slightly sinister feel.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is also known for introducing the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson" into the vernacular. This line never appears in any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works. Spoken about fourteen minutes into the film, the line is well-delivered by Basil Rathbone. It shows a blend of confidence and almost amiability. It is a bit nice to hear that in the end, Dr. Watson himself tells Holmes, "Elementary, my dear Holmes". Edwin Blum and William Drake's adaptation of the William Gillette play Sherlock Holmes may have strayed far from the original. In the end, however, they crafted a thrilling and logical story. 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes will thrill and delight both Sherlockians/Holmesians and the general public. Basil Rathbone's place in the Canon of Great Sherlock Holmeses is assured. 

DECISION: A-