Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes: Pearl of Death [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's great fun to watch the Queen of Screams--Universal's Evelyn Ankers--finally able to do some acting. In Pearl, she portrays one of her rare villianess' (you should see her strut her stuff as Illona in the camp classic "Weird woman". As Naomi, she portrays a cockney dishwasher, a bookish clerk of antiques, while all the time terrified by The Creeper--played by real-life acrogomaliac, Rondo Hatton. No one can display terror as la Ankers: her blue eyes widen, she uses her palm to press against her temple, her breathing quickens and usually there's a blood-curdling scream. There's plenty of Universal fog-machines at work here with Rathbone deftly solving the murders (along with Dr. Watson-Nigel Bruce). Ankers wrote in her memoirs that the set of Pearl was unusually British and droll. She and Nigel addressed Basil Rathbone--as Rasil Bathbone. The spry but elderly Nigel flirted with Ankers who took it with good humor but terrified her admirer when she brought her new husband on the set, B-movie king, Richard Denning, who had just joined the Navy since this was during World War II. Sharp little gem of a thriller. Wish Universal would put all the Sherlock Holmes movies on tape, or in a boxed series. Especially "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror' which showcases Ankers talents and beauty more than any other flick she made--with the exception of "The Mad Ghoul."

Movie: ***** _____ DVD Quality: ***** _____ DVD Extras: N/A

Delightful entry in the classic Sherlock Holmes series with typically outstanding performances by Basil Rathbone as the urbane master of deductive reasoning and Nigel Bruce as his partner and foil, Dr. Watson. In this outing, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", the pair are searching for the Borgia Pearl, a priceless jewel which has been stolen and hidden away; time is of the essence because a gang of thieves is also conducting a frantic hunt for the pearl, murdering innocent people who happen to cross their paths. The mystery takes up a mere 69 minutes and is pure unadulterated fun, made all the more enjoyable by a first-rate supporting cast, including Evelyn Ankers as a shady lady who's a master of disguise; Miles Mander as the calculating master thief; Rondo Hatton as a brutishly strong assassin; and series stalwart Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade.

The MPI video release features a superb video and audio transfer from a 35mm print restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this! The picture is sharp and clear with perfect contrast, and the soundtrack is remarkably crisp and clean. Very enthusiastically recommended, MPI's release of "The Pearl of Death" is a worthy candidate for addition to your home video library.

In some quarters, "The Pearl of Death" is considered the best of Universal's 12 Sherlock Holmes films if only because, unlike most of the others, it is generally faithful to one of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, in this case "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons." But the fact is that it's not as effective as "The Scarlet Claw" which directly preceded it, nor is it as entertaining as several other entries in the series ("Spider Woman," "House of Fear"). Nonetheless, it remains a highlight in the legendary sleuth's film career.

Director Roy William Neill once again turns out the lights and heightens the gloom with his customary dark shadows giving the film beautiful atmosphere, and Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are as reliable as ever. Cranking out an average of three Holmes films a year, you could expect them to have grown weary of their roles but neither ever showed the slightest hint of fatigue.

As for the villains, Rondo Hatton steals the show as The Creeper, but he almost inspires more sympathy than dread. Voted the most handsome boy in his high-school class and immensely popular due to his good looks and athletic abilities, Hatton was exposed to poison gas in World War I and left horribly deformed, a condition that Hollywood's ever so sensitive "dream factory" was happy to exploit. After small roles in "The Ox Bow Incident" and "In Old Chicago," he became a star through his encounter with Sherlock Holmes and was publicized by Universal as the "Monster Without Makeup." Whoever came up with that tag may have been more deserving of being called "The Creeper" than Hatton, but...oh well, enjoy the movie. It's a good one.

"One of two things has happened. Either the woman he bumped into was an accomplice, in which case she has the pearl, or he managed somehow to conceal it in his flight."

The pearl, of course, is the cursed Borgia Pearl, an object of rich men's lust. The "he" is Giles Conover (Miles Mander), a master criminal as cruel as he is clever, as contemptuous of men as he is unmoved by women.

The Borgia Pearl has been the object of criminal stratagems since it arrived in London for display in the British Museum. The director of the museum is immensely proud of how he has harnessed electricity to warn of any untoward action involving the museum's objects. But what happens when Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) apparently makes a mistake. And what happens when the electricity doesn't work.

It will be Sherlock Holmes, aided by his game but confused partner, Watson (Nigel Bruce), against Giles Conover. Holmes makes his disdain for Conover clear. "I don't like the smell of you -- an underground smell, the sick sweetness of decay. You haven't robbed and killed merely for the game like any ordinary halfway decent thug. No, you're in love with cruelty for it's own sake."

Little does Holmes realize that Conover has a creature of his own...a brute whose face is the result of a disorder of the pituitary gland. Watson might call it acromegaly. Most laymen would say it's the Easter Island Statue Syndrome. It's not long before Holmes must deal not only with Conover, but also with this creature...the Hoxton Creeper (Rondo Hatton). "A monster, Watson," Holmes says, "with the chest of a buffalo and the arms of a gorilla. His particular method of murder is back breaking. And it's always the same...the third lumbar vertebrae." "How horrible," says Watson.

Does Sherlock Holmes best the Creeper? Does he recover the Borgia Pearl? Does Conover taste the bitter brew of utter defeat? You'll get no spoilers from me.

Some think macaroni and cheese is the perfect comfort for what ails you. I think it's Rathbone and Bruce. People can argue about which actor has been the best Sherlock Holmes, but there is something about Rathbone's style, earnestness, profile and line delivery that makes me sit back and smile every time I watch him play The Great Detective. All that Victorian gaslight, fog and cobblestones help, too. With some strange alchemy, the Holmes movies with Rathbone have turned into an elixir of kitsch, style, remembrance of things past, satisfaction and noble causes. Mac and cheese doesn't come close.

Be sure to buy the MPI release, which has an excellent restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. There are no extras.

I have to say I was so excited to see that all 14 Rathbone and Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies were remastered and made available!! These are classic must see gems!!! Pearl of Death is one of the better films.

SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE PEARL OF DEATH combines one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's better stories with a film series that was effortlessly producing a creepy, fun noir-like atmosphere multiple times a year. The result is a very effective mystery/action-adventure -- one of the best that the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce series would produce.

The story is, of course, a derivative of Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", where Holmes must solve a series of bizarre, but seemingly related murders. The original tale has been augmented -- additions in the form of some classic 1940s film elements. The most obvious is The Creeper, the huge, deformed henchman of the villain, who stalks through the film like a horror movie Frankenstein, skulking in the shadows and doing the bad guy's killing.

Watson and Lestrade are back again as the film's comic relief. They function well in this role, although the movie's one poor scene involves Watson not realizing that he has a newspaper clipping glued to his elbow. I understand the filmmaker's desire to give Watson something to do (other adaptations would be less successful at this), but it's this moment that he turns from being slightly comical to downright buffoonish.

Still, Holmes more than makes up for the bungling of his two colleagues. His deductions coming more or less straight from a Doyle story rather than some less-than-brilliant Hollywood writers, he bursts through the story at almost a God Emperor level. Rathbone plays the part with relish and his confrontations with the villains make for great scenes.

I'm an admitted fan of this Holmes series, but this one would probably even be enjoyed by people who haven't seen one of these before. Try to catch this on one of the classic film channels, or, better yet, pick up the DVD. The image quality and sound are fantastic.

This fun entry in the Sherlock Holmes series has a good story by Bertram Millhauser and Universal's pretty Evelyn Ankers in a rare bad-girl role. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who will always be Holmes and Watson to us all, have more fun than usual as they try to prevent the theft of a priceless pearl with a long and bloody history.

Standing in their way is lovely Naomi Drake (Evelyn Ankers) and her boss, master criminal Giles Conover (Miles Mander). A deadly figure known as the Creeper will break the back of anyone who gets in their way. It is the showmanship of Holmes himself that allows the pearl to be stolen, however, so he and Watson must, of course, retrieve the priceless gem.

When the Creeper begins killing people right and left and breaking dishes at every murder scene, only Holmes can deduct the reason for the shattered bric-a-brac and stop the killer. Dennis Hoey as Lestrade is, as usual, left far behind, but tries to keep up with the world's greatest detective nonetheless. Bruce has the funniest moment when he employs deductive reasoning to find a lost newspaper clipping.

This is a really fine entry in the series with nice photography from Virgil Miller and lots of atmosphere. It moves fast and there aren't any wasted scenes. You get to see Evelyn Ankers right off the bat, which is always a big plus. The opening scene onboard ship, as she tries to pull a fast one to get the pearl is a gem once all is revealed on dry land.

All these were fun to watch, even the lesser entries, and this one is topflight entertainment for fans of Rathbone and Bruce, a.k.a. Holmes and Watson. You'll enjoy this one.

An okay entry in the Universal series, marred slightly by the fact that the Pearl of Death is only stolen after a jaw-dropping mistake by Holmes himself.

This film and "The Scarlet Claw" are generally considered to be the best of the Universal Holmes series. Rathbone and Bruce are in good form with a clever and resourceful script to back them up and Miles Mander gives a fine performance as Giles Conover,master criminal.

I am somewhat bias, I love the Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes character. So I am rating with four stars based on the
overall series. Thought this movie was one of the best ones, just short of Hounds and House of Fear. For any fan of the
series this movie is a must(although to a fan ALL of them are a must). As always in this series, the script and direction
is of the most importance. This one does have both requirements. The story is set in modern times(cars, electricity etc) which is not the era that Doyle originaly wrote SH to be set. Stolen pearl, how it was hidden, method used by the BAD
characters to find the pearl and of course the deduction power of SH makes this a good movie in the series. I totaly enjoyed
this movie and as with all of them I watched on a regular bases.
NOTE: this movie is one of those that has been restored by the UCLA film archive. quality is excellent