Anyone else have a HUGE problem with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

Well, it's worth remembering that Conan Doyle was writing them until 1927 (although I believe "His Last Bow" from 1917 was the last, chronologically, and takes place in 1914, one of two stories to take place after his retirement in 1903). The further forward you get, the more a stretch setting them in the then-present time becomes.

 

[stuartfanning]

I have just come across this old thread and if the contributors to it are still around I thought the following would be of interest. Nigel Bruce penned an autobiography which has never been published. However extracts from it were published in the Sherlock Holmes Journal in which Bruce writes about his time doing the Sherlock Holmes movies and the radio series. It is preceded by an interview with his daughter Pauline:


https://plus.google.com/118245811686959745462/posts/TLCBwN94wq9?pid=5274805304284054418&oid=118245811686959745462

 

[Reed Grele]

My vote for the best Watson (excepting the Granada TV series): James Mason in MURDER BY DECREE.

"You squashed my pea!"


This great film is long overdue for BD release.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I love the onscreen chemistry with Rathbone and Bruce in their films - I'm not expecting a faithful depiction of Doyle's novels and stories when I watch those movies, I'm just expecting a good fun time with a decent mystery, and I think they deliver on that.

 

[JoHud]

One of the things you have to accept is that the whodunnit formula of the 30s to 40s at the time almost always required a pure comic relief sidekick. There were exceptions, of course, but one of the unfortunate aspects is that they tended to be bumbling boobs. Which by itself isn't a bad thing, and I generally enjoy the comedy, though its most noticeable when handling well known and established literary characters and


Regarding Nigel Bruce, I don't think this was a problem in The Hound of the Baskervilles due to its fairly strict adherence to the source material but his brain drain is most evident after the fact, especially in the Universal series. Me and my local viewers found quite a bit of unintentional comedy in the perception that decades in the future as set in the Universal films, Watson wasn't any closer to being more competent.


Also, one thing to consider is that Nigel Bruce had already been type-cast as that sort of stuffy, sheepish, lovable fool at Fox Studios even before they started making the Holmes films. So audiences at the time were likely more aware of what to expect from Nigel Bruce's portrayal of Watson.

 

[Edwin-S]

The Rathbone/Bruce films were never very accurate portrayals of either character, so I never had any issue with Bruce's portrayal of Watson.

In that particular iteration of the Holmes myth, Watson was meant to be more comic relief than serious sidekick.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Nigel Bruce was the best Watson ever! As written, the character was a bit short on personality so Bruce combined his own with it and made the Rathbone/Bruce films the legend they are.

 

[Alf S]

I have zero issues with Nigel Bruce playing Watson. I love watching their series of movies.