Sherlock Holmes - The Scarlet Claw
1944
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are brought to the tiny village of La Morte Rouge, Canada to investigate a series of ghastly slayings. The villagers believe the murders signal the reappearance of a legendary ghost whose glowing form can be seen floating through the fog-shrouded marshes. At first the famed detective is challenged .. Read more
| Starring | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Miles Mander, Paul Cavanagh |
|---|---|
| Director | Roy William Neill |
| Genres | Thriller |
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Sherlock Holmes - The Scarlet Claw
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are brought to the tiny village of La Morte Rouge, Canada to investigate a series of ghastly slayings. The villagers believe the murders signal the reappearance of a legendary ghost whose glowing form can be seen floating through the fog-shrouded marshes. At first the famed detective is challenged by the phantom's many different disguises, but Holmes regains control of the case after an ingenious ruse leads him to the identity of the ghostly killer.
| Starring | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Miles Mander, Paul Cavanagh, Gerald Hamer, Arthur Hohl |
|---|---|
| Director | Roy William Neill |
| Studio | CORNERSTONE MEDIA |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 25 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 25 Sep 2006 Production year: 1944 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This is possibly the best film in Universal Studios' series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Here, the Baker Street sleuth and his bumbling companion investigate a series of murders that have been plaguing a Canadian village. Under-rated director Roy William Neill produces some memorably uneasy images — a dead woman's hand clutching a bell-rope, a luminous “monster” stalking Holmes across a marsh — and makes good use of the foggy, supernatural atmosphere. There's even time to remind contemporary audiences of the “friendly intimacy” between Britain, Canada and the US, with a flag-waving speech from Rathbone.
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Possibly the best of the modernized Sherlock Holmes series, with a plot hastily borrowed from The Hound of the Baskervilles.
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Most helpful member's review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
The Scarlet Claw
This might be a black and white film, but it pulls you in within the first 10 minuates of viewing... you forget about the black and white picture and just become engrossed in the story... Why?... two words - 'Basil Rothbone'. In one part of this film, there is a scene in a local Inn which is totaly silent, but the atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a knife. This film was made in 1944, but the strong characters portrayed by the actors is the very thing that gives it its flavour... perhaps this is one area that todays film makers need to brush up on... SPECIAL EFFECTS AND COMPUTER ANIMATION ARE POOR SUBSTITUTES FOR CHARACTER AND STORY.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
'Watson, where are you?' 'I'm in the bog!'
To La Morte Rouge, where the wife of a member of the Royal Canadian Occult Society is found with her throat slashed, seemingly by a mythical monster said to haunt the (astonishingly foggy) marshes.
It's a rum old version of Canada we get here, all 'Frere Jacques' on the accordian and no two accents the same, but the film as a whole is certainly adequate. Watson does begin to grate a bit however. -
News and features
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Holmes where the ’art is
- 23 Dec 2009
There are two dominant strands in detective fiction: the English and the American. In the traditional English mystery story, the crime is a jigsaw puzzle that the sleuth pieces together through keen observation, forensic science, and shrewd (often subtle) cross-examination. If Agatha Christie is the queen of this kind of literature, Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation, Sherlock Holmes, remains the archetypal English detective. His American counterpart would be Philip Marlow, or perhaps his... Read more
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Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are brought to the tiny village of La Morte Rouge, Canada to investigate a series of ghastly slayings. The villagers believe the murders signal the reappearance of a ... -