Garra Escarlate

This sixth entry in the Universal Sherlock Holmes series was the third which defied the initial conception of the franchise. Universal had envisioned Sherlock Holmes as a sort of archetypal hero who, transported into the modern era of WWII, could be put on the government payroll, as it were, to work as a contract agent to hunt down Nazi spies on behalf of the Allies. Perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, this idea met with a great deal of consternation, not only from serious Sherlockians, but also from film critics whose knowledge of Doyle's work was marginal at best.

Granted, most of the Holmes films made up to that point had been updated to their respective eras (in fact, only Fox's two Holmes features with Rathbone and Bruce had taken place in their appropriate time period), but in those cases, the modernization was all on the surface. Automobiles, telephones, and the fashions of the day were all on display...but that was, for all intents and purposes, scenery. The stories, though changed (sometimes drastically) from their original forms, had a timeless quality about them. The first three Universal films, however, were very timely, with plots focused explicitly on the events of the Second World War. This took Holmes out of his element...not only in the literal sense of removing him from Victorian/Edwardian London (as previous films had done), but in transforming the character of Holmes from a consulting detective into a spy-hunter. Indeed, at times, there is more James Bond than Sherlock Holmes in this character. This trend peaked (or bottomed out) with Sherlock Holmes in Washington...the final straw for critics and audiences alike. The film was a critical and box office flop and Universal saw fit to alter the series' direction from that point on.

Though still taking place in the 1940s, the subsequent films did their best to place Holmes back in his proper role, solving intricate mysteries with deductive reasoning...rather than the pure chance and intuition that often guided him in his forays into international espionage. This may (or may not) be accredited to the director Roy William Neill (who directed all but the first entry in the series), who, with the fourth film, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, became the associate producer...a title he would retain throughout the series' run. From that point on, the films became more Gothic in tone, in many ways more closely resembling the Universal horror films of the era than the first three Universal Holmes pictures. This decision yielded immediate positive results. Sherlock Holmes Faces Death was easily the best of the first four entries, and subsequent films topped one another until peaking with The Scarlet Claw.

Oddly enough, the film is set in a French province of Canada...for no discernible reason. The setting is completely superfluous to the plot, which could easily have played out anywhere (ideally Great Britain). This is made all the more puzzling by the fact that the predominant accent present in the film is British, rather than French Canadian...even American actors threw on Brit accents, despite the fact that American accents would have been more sensible in Canada. But no matter. This slight idiosyncrasy aside, The Scarlet Claw is the ultimate Rathbone/Bruce Universal outing. Not adapted from any of the original Doyle tales, (though borrowing heavily from The Hound of the Baskervilles), The Scarlet Claw is dripping with atmosphere. Fog-wreathed marshes are the setting as Holmes tracks a ghostly apparition that has graduated from sheep mutilation to murdering humans. The local villagers believe the culprit to be supernatural, but level-headed Holmes rejects the idea out of hand, and sets himself to the task of finding the murderer.

Rathbone, as Holmes, is at the top of his form here...cold and detached, clinical in his reasoning. And Bruce's Watson, even in this dumbed down incarnation, is a pleasure to watch. Crisp direction, beautiful cinematography (particularly for a B-film), plenty of twists and turns along the way, and no small amount of deductive reasoning from Holmes, make this the strongest entry in the Universal series. The later films were often good, but none ever matched the achievement of The Scarlet Claw...which is simultaneously Gothic, suspenseful, and very, very Holmesian. It is not without its logical flaws, but the flaws are justified by the picture's enormous entertainment value. And of all the films in the series, this one is, by far, the most entertaining.

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.

Breathing a similar style to the earlier The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Scarlet Claw sees the great Sherlock Holmes in the middle of another supernatural themed adventure. While this yarn isn't quite up to the standards of The Hound of the Baskervilles, it still represents another success in turning the detective novels into films. This time round, we follow a remote village that is at the mercy of a mysterious ghost who appears to be killing them off. Not being a believer in ghosts, our logical protagonist, Sherlock Holmes, decides to take the case on and travels to the remote village to find, as usual, that there's more going on than meets the eye. Once again, this story is riddled with inventive twists and a plot that is constantly full of suspense and, as usual, it makes for great viewing. While the plot doesn't have any depth or substance, it doesn't matter at all because this film is made for pure entertainment value, and on that front it certainly delivers!

Once again, Basil Rathbone takes the lead role as the super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes and, as usual, does excellently with it. He does so well at playing this character that you when you think Sherlock Holmes, it's Rathbone's image that instantly pops into your mind. While this may have hindered the rest of his career a little, it's definitely a good thing while you're watching a Sherlock Holmes movie. Also reprising his role from previous Holmes movies is Nigel Bruce in the role of Dr Watson. He too makes great use of the role, and again it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Dr Watson. The supernatural elements of the story are nice, and seeing the numerous atmosphere scenes is always a treat. The black and white cinematography helps to create a foreboding atmosphere, which compliments the story nicely. The ensemble of characters surrounding the mystery are well done and the film throws in a number of red herrings in order to keep the conclusion from the audience until it is finally time to give it away. All in all; great stuff!

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.

"The Scarlet Claw" is probably the best of these Rathbone/Bruce films. The plot is very cool. I found the movie to be more frightening than "The Hound of the Baskervilles". And of course, Rathbone is always wonderful as Holmes. I would recommend this movie to any Sherlock Holmes fan or to anyone who just likes mystery movies.