*** Old Movies And TV Shows Of The Past......

[Drummond]

@Drummond. My favorite Sherlock Holmes movie. Arthur Wontner was WAY better than Basil Rathbone.

Got a few Bulldog Drummond ones too.

Jeremy Brett managed to make his portrayal of Holmes a bit, well .. 'pansyfied' .... my favourite version was Douglas Wilmer's.

Bulldog Drummond .. they must be going back quite a way ....

[Gunny]

Jeremy Brett managed to make his portrayal of Holmes a bit, well .. 'pansyfied' .... my favourite version was Douglas Wilmer's.

Bulldog Drummond .. they must be going back quite a way ....

Early 30s. No musical soundtrack. The white in the b&W almost glows in the dark.

I appreciate the art. Those actors had to actually act. Special effects was a bat on a wire. Comedy was interwoven with tragedy to make the latter appear more sinister. I'd rather watch one of those movies than this crap they have out nowadays.

[indago]

@Drummond. My favorite Sherlock Holmes movie. Arthur Wontner was WAY better than Basil Rathbone.

Got a few Bulldog Drummond ones too.

My personal opinion is that Basil Rathbone was far superior as Sherlock Holmes: unrelenting; unforgiving...

[Gunny]

My personal opinion is that Basil Rathbone was far superior as Sherlock Holmes: unrelenting; unforgiving...

I don't like Rathbone as an actor. He sucked in Son of Frankenstein. I didn't care for his Sherlock Holmes movies. Arthur Wontner was funny. Not to mention Watson was not an over the top bumbling fool in the Wontner movies as Nigel Bruce portrayed. Inspector Lestrade was portrayed as an idiot as well.

Universal was big on interjecting comedy, and IMO, a lot of it was misplaced. They did it across the board, not just in Sherlock Holmes's movies. It was a sign of the times, so I just accept it. Paul Leni was the first to use the interjection of humor in horror, and James Whale followed him.

There's a thread here about what if Trump were assassinated. So what if Paul Leni and Lon Chaney hadn't died in 1929? Bela Lugosi was not wanted as Dracula, and was the the last choice only because they got him at cut rate pay. Lugosi made Dracula, and I doubt Chaney could have done better. Would have been a totally different movie.

Add to that, Lugosi turned down the role as the Frankenstein monster and Karloff made a fortune from it.

It's about the right actor in the right place. IMO, Wontner was way superior to Rathbone, and I like the Brit movies better anyway. It's all a matter of preference.

[indago]

I don't like Rathbone as an actor. He sucked in Son of Frankenstein. I didn't care for his Sherlock Holmes movies.

I'm not a Basil Rathbone fan either, but I was concentrating on just the Sherlock Holmes portrayal, not the movies in general, and I didn't care much for the Nigel Bruce portrayal of Dr. Watson either. In my mind, Sherlock Holmes was sharp and decisive, as was portrayed by Rathbone.

[Gunny]

I'm not a Basil Rathbone fan either, but I was concentrating on just the Sherlock Holmes portrayal, not the movies in general, and I didn't care much for the Nigel Bruce portrayal of Dr. Watson either. In my mind, Sherlock Holmes was sharp and decisive, as was portrayed by Rathbone.

I have no frame of reference. Isn't Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Never read any of his work. Think I've read everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever put in print though. I find the character as portrayed by Rathbone annoying and like nails on a chalkboard. IMO, he overacted quite a bit and seemed almost shrill. Not to mention he had nose bigger than my grandfather's.

[namvet]

my favorite. when he was young

[indago]

I'm not a Basil Rathbone fan either, but I was concentrating on just the Sherlock Holmes portrayal, not the movies in general, and I didn't care much for the Nigel Bruce portrayal of Dr. Watson either. In my mind, Sherlock Holmes was sharp and decisive, as was portrayed by Rathbone.

Sherlock Holmes is described as "dispassionate and cold", with "clear, hard eyes", his face a "cold mask". Basil Rathbone lives up to this description quite adequately.



Holmes Illustration



Basil Rathbone

[Gunny]

Sherlock Holmes is described as "dispassionate and cold", with "clear, hard eyes", his face a "cold mask". Basil Rathbone lives up to this description quite adequately.



Holmes Illustration



Basil Rathbone

Before anybody gets exited, let's just call this a matter or opinion. I don't see Rathbone as dispassionate. He was always excited. But that's as it may be. I'm a John Wayne fan too. And I think Nicolas Cage is the worst Johnny Blaze ever,

Rathbone made Universal some money. Can't knock that. Arthur Wontner played Holmes in Brit movies. You have to actually look for them. I have about 40 Hitchcock movies before he ever came to the US. Most of them suc but he's got some gems in there.

[Abbey Marie]

@Russ

You ​have to weigh in on this

[indago]

Before anybody gets exited, let's just call this a matter or opinion. I don't see Rathbone as dispassionate. He was always excited. But that's as it may be. I'm a John Wayne fan too. And I think Nicolas Cage is the worst Johnny Blaze ever,

Rathbone made Universal some money. Can't knock that. Arthur Wontner played Holmes in Brit movies. You have to actually look for them. I have about 40 Hitchcock movies before he ever came to the US. Most of them suc but he's got some gems in there.

Yes, Rathbone was a somewhat softer version of what Holmes is described as, but to me he presents the better portrayal from others I've seen. I would rather have seen those movies portrayed in the time in which Holmes was originally drafted: Late 1800's.



.

[Gunny]

Yes, Rathbone was a somewhat softer version of what Holmes is described as, but to me he presents the better portrayal from others I've seen. I would rather have seen those movies portrayed in the time in which Holmes was originally drafted: Late 1800's.



.

i actually find this kind of interesting. Better than arguing about which idiot is running for President. Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books, and I'm totally an early Sean Connery fan. What I see is Americans "Americanize" movies. They pretty much re-wrote Dracula. The English are verbose. Dracula and Frankenstein are exercises in words. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde could put a baby to sleep.

I just wish kids would read books now instead of facebook. They might learn something. Like English.

And while I realize it's a sign of the times, but wasn't Sherlock a coke-head?

[indago]

i actually find this kind of interesting. Better than arguing about which idiot is running for President. Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books, and I'm totally an early Sean Connery fan. What I see is Americans "Americanize" movies. They pretty much re-wrote Dracula. The English are verbose. Dracula and Frankenstein are exercises in words. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde could put a baby to sleep.

I just wish kids would read books now instead of facebook. They might learn something. Like English.

And while I realize it's a sign of the times, but wasn't Sherlock a coke-head?

The first time I saw Sean Connery was in an old Tarzan movie with Gordon Scott.

[Russ]

@Russ

You ​have to weigh in on this

Wow. I'm a big Sherlock fan, having read all the Arthur Conan Doyle stories and seen many of the modern movies and TV shows, but I had never heard of Wontner.

Here's my opinion, from someone who's read a lot of Sherlock:
- I think Basil Rathbone epitomized Holmes, up until the last 10 years. Nigel Bruce was an entertaining Watson, but turned Watson into a bumbler, which was not supposed to be the case in the stories, but I didn't know that when I saw the Rathbone movies.
- The Jeremy Brett tv show did a great job of staying true to the stories, but his Holmes was kind of flat.
- Even though Benedict Cumberbatch transported Holmes to the current day, he's a great Holmes.
- Young Sherlock Holmes was a fun Spielberg-ian movie, but it only half counts as Holmes. They changed a lot.
- Elementary tv show also moves Holmes to current day. Johnny Lee Miller is an excellent Holmes, but Lucy Lui is a bad Watson.
- The Robert Downey movies were a lot of fun, and stayed fairly true to Holmes, except adding a lot of martial arts (which I don't mind).

Here's a link to an underratedly good version of the Hound of the Baskervilles with Ian Richardson:


Some Sherlock Holmes trivia:
What well-known actor has played both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty?

[Gunny]

Wow. I'm a big Sherlock fan, having read all the Arthur Conan Doyle stories and seen many of the modern movies and TV shows, but I had never heard of Wontner.

Here's my opinion, from someone who's read a lot of Sherlock:
- I think Basil Rathbone epitomized Holmes, up until the last 10 years. Nigel Bruce was an entertaining Watson, but turned Watson into a bumbler, which was not supposed to be the case in the stories, but I didn't know that when I saw the Rathbone movies.
- The Jeremy Brett tv show did a great job of staying true to the stories, but his Holmes was kind of flat.
- Even though Benedict Cumberbatch transported Holmes to the current day, he's a great Holmes.
- Young Sherlock Holmes was a fun Spielberg-ian movie, but it only half counts as Holmes. They changed a lot.
- Elementary tv show also moves Holmes to current day. Johnny Lee Miller is an excellent Holmes, but Lucy Lui is a bad Watson.
- The Robert Downey movies were a lot of fun, and stayed fairly true to Holmes, except adding a lot of martial arts (which I don't mind).

Here's a link to an underratedly good version of the Hound of the Baskervilles with Ian Richardson:


Some Sherlock Holmes trivia:
What well-known actor has played both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty?

I could cheat but that ain't my game. You can just tell me.