Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

Basil Rathbone Director: Roy William Neill Roy William Neill

Overview

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in the 1943 mystery Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, released on DVD from MPI. The U.C.L.A. Film and Television Archive has digitally restored the original black-and-white 35 mm print. Presented with a standard full-frame transfer and Dolby Digital Stereo sound in English. There are no subtitles or special features, but it does include the war bond tag, studio logo, and credits from its original theatrical release.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2003
UPC:	0030306754994
Original Release:	1943
Rating:	NR
Source:	Mpi Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Time:	1:08:00
Sales rank:	41,103

Special Features

Audio commentary; Photo gallery; Posters; Interactive menus; Scene access

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Basil Rathbone	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	Dr. John H. Watson
Hillary Brooke	Sally Musgrave
Milburn Stone	Capt. Vickery
Arthur Margetson	Dr. Sexton
Halliwell Hobbes	Alfred Brunton
Dennis Hoey	Inspector Lestrade
Gavin Muir	Phillip Musgrave
Frederic Worlock	Geoffrey Musgrave
Olaf Hytten	Capt. MacIntosh
Gerald Hamer	Maj. Langford
Vernon P. Downing	Haverling
Minna Phillips	Mrs. Howells
Mary Gordon	Mrs. Hudson
Evelyn Ankers	Actor
Holmes Herbert	Man
Norma Varden	Grace
Ian Wolfe	Antique Store Clerk
Harold de Becker	Pub proprietor
Peter Lawford	Bit Part
Heather Wilde	Jenny

Technical Credits

Bertram Millhauser

Roy William Neill	Director,Producer
Bernard B. Brown	Sound/Sound Designer
Fred R. Feitshans	Editor
Russell A. Gausman	Set Decoration/Design
John B. Goodman	Art Director
Harold H. MacArthur	Art Director
Bertram Millhauser	Screenwriter
Paul Neal	Sound/Sound Designer
Edward Ray Robinson	Set Decoration/Design
Hans J. Salter	Score Composer,Musical Direction/Supervision
Charles Van Enger	Cinematographer
Vera West	Costumes/Costume Designer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Opening [1:21]
2. Musgrave Manor [4:36]
3. Doctor in the House [4:35]
4. "A Killer Loose!" [8:46]
5. Extraordinary Patients [5:46]
6. "That Appalling Man..." [3:30]
7. The Musgrave Ritual [5:51]
8. The Rat and the Raven [2:32]
9. The Butler Did It? [6:32]
10. The Ritual Solved [9:02]
11. Checkmate [14:55]
12. End Credits [:41]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Scene Selection
   Subtitles: On
   Subtitles: Off

Editorial Reviews

While taking considerable liberties with the Conan Doyle story that is its inspiration (as often happens in those Holmes episodes updated to the 1940s), Sherlock Holmes Faces Death is a very enjoyable, quite entertaining film, one of the best of the Universal series. It has the benefit of a classic mystery basis -- a number of people located in a stately manor have been murdered, and Holmes must put together the clues to stop any further deaths. In the wrong hands, this can become tired and mechanical, but director Roy William Neill and adaptor Bertram Millhauser are in quite good form here and milk the format for all it's worth. Neill especially is operating on all cylinders here, clearly relishing the opportunity that the story provides for some striking, though unobtrusive, visuals. If his pacing is slightly off in the first half, he more than makes up for it with a second half that doesn't flag -- at least until the end, when Holmes is forced to deliver one of the out-of-nowhere inspirational monologues that always jar the viewer. Basil Rathbone pulls it off well, of course, as he does everything else in the film, and the supporting cast is particularly strong this time around. All in all, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death satisfies quite nicely indeed, thank you very much.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler