L'artiglio scarlatto

Universal once again brings Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce back as Holmes and Watson. This time the duo is listening to an expert talk about cults and so forth, and within moments they are thrust into a mystery of a woman's death supposedly by the hands of a ghost. They must travel to the town Le Mort Rouge(The Red Death) in Canada where the conference was being held. Rathbone is in fine form as Holmes. He seems to be so comfortable with this role by this point that his mannerisms just flow. As good as Rathbone is, it is the comic performance of Nigel Bruce as his bumbling sidekick Dr. Watson who really does a whale of a job stumbling and mumbling through his role. Bruce plays off Rathbone wonderfully, and he has a larger than life presence(steals many a scene too I might add). The rest of the cast is definitely all quality. The direction by Roy William Neill is first-rate. He directs very smoothly by enhancing the two central characters but also creating a very effective moody atmosphere. The story is imaginative and not derived from a Doyle story. I like the way that the scripter managed to put mystery writer G. K. Chesterton's name into the film. The last little monologue by Holmes at the conclusion of the film is a wartime thanks to Canada and how it acts as a link for mankind. Interesting tribute.

Although to some people this might be blasphemous, I am not at all a fan of the way Bruce interprets the Watson character. This is simply because I believe this is not the way ACD intended to portray the character and it's simply ridiculous. Movies being another art form though, one must certainly make allowances for alternative interpretations. Rathbone, as usual, excels himself here and in my personal Holmes actor ranking he's first just before Jeremy Brett.

At the outset, I had the slight impression that the story is a bit of a rip-off of the HOUND but very soon one realises that the storyline goes into quite another direction. But since The Hound Of The Baskervilles is my very favourite Holmes story that didn't undo the story for me.

What made me wonder a bit was that although set in francophone Canada the only French allusions are the use of the address 'monsieur' and the name of the village... Everything else sounds quite English.

Still, the movie is greatly entertaining and the eerie marshland atmosphere with a hint at the supernatural is cleverly caught.

I don't know how I missed this one over the years, but watching it today on TCM, I don't remember ever seeing it before.

THE SCARLET CLAW was written especially for the screen and not from any novel penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Turns out it's one of the very best entries in the series, up there with THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES as essential Holmes films.

It has all the atmosphere one would want in a Sherlock Holmes story and a mystery that deepens as the plot goes forward but resolved in a very satisfying way by Holmes. The cast includes an excellent performance from PAUL CAVANAGH as Mr. Penrose, whose wife dies a vicious death at the hands of a killer and leads to Holmes' investigation. GERALD HAMER as a nervous postman and VICTORIA HORNE as a frightened housekeeper are also fine, as is MILES MANDER as a judge whose life is in danger from a serial killer.

Although this one takes place in Canada, it might just as well have taken place on the Dartmouth moors in Devonshire--that's the kind of atmosphere it has with plenty of mist and fog to add to the Gothic ambiance of the tale.

Well worth watching for Sherlock fans. Especially good is NIGEL BRUCE as the bumbling Dr. Watson who inadvertently helps BASIL RATHBONE from time to time. His blustery interpretation of the comic sidekick is especially well done in this caper. Rathbone, of course, is beyond reproach.

Roy William Neil continued to direct this series, and this is one of the best. Story is not adapted by a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale, but instead tells an original one. Holmes & Watson are in Quebec Canada to attend a conference when they are called upon to investigate a murder of Lady Penrose, who had in fact already contacted Holmes, but was too late to save her. Locals believe it to be a supernatural creature at work, but Sherlock knows better. Atmospheric and exciting entry seems inspired by earlier "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", but is better handled here. The series was at its peak now, and in the next two entries as well.

I like all of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, but this is one of my favorites. Imagine you are in The Quiet Man's village of Inisfree full of quirky colorful characters and suddenly the fog rolls in and a glowing monster wandering around the marshes first starts ripping out the throats of sheep, then graduates to people.

The same thing happens here, except it is in a village in wartime Canada. Luck will have it that Holmes and Watson are in Canada at a convention on the occult when the first human victim is killed, the wife of one of the attendees of the conference. She was once a famous actress. This is quite a mystery, since two of the people Holmes comes to suspect end up victims of "the monster" themselves, and yet none of the three victims has anything in common, none know each other now nor ever did. Well, they actually did have one thing in common - each had an odd premonition that they were about to be killed before it happened. The first victim actually sent a message to Holmes at the convention in Canada asking for his help, unfortunately, not in time though.

You know you are in present day because of the technology being used, but the characterization of Holmes, Watson, and the villagers makes the film timeless. How odd that Universal could hit it out of the park in the 40s with the Sherlock Holmes series in the realm of suspense and even horror, but really never managed to hit the mark post Laemmle with any of the actual Universal horror franchises.

This is a wartime film that rarely enough has nothing to do with WWII, yet at the end Holmes manages to find a way to quote Churchill.

I'd highly recommend this one.