Favorite Sherlock Holmes Mystery ??? (1 Viewer)

[David Von Pein]

What is your favorite Sherlock Holmes mystery? And why do you regard it as the cream of the Sherlock crop?
This can include S.H. books or movies.
Inasmuch as I'm a big fan of the 14 Basil/Nigel films (circa 1939-1946) ... my vote goes to one of these Classic black-and-white flicks: THE SCARLET CLAW. We are treated here to Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce in a very atmospheric murder mystery. I never tire of watching it.
The remainder of my Top 5 would include .....
2.) Hound Of The Baskervilles (1939 film version). Although the 1959 adaption, with Cushing/Lee, is very good too.
3.) The House Of Fear.
4.) Sherlock Holmes Faces Death.
5.) The Woman In Green.
The only thing better would be to have all 14 Basil S.H. films on DVD! Maybe some day.

 

[Steve Christou]

My favorite Sherlock Holmes movie is the 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1959), with Cushing/Lee. I'm a huge fan of Hammer Horror and this was one of their very best, great color, atmosphere, the performances were spot on, a fantastic movie.

I also enjoyed....

Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) (Rathbone was the definitive Holmes)

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

The Scarlet Claw (1944)

The Spider Woman (1944)

A Study in Terror (1965)

Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

Young Sherlock Holmes (Very fond of this 80's movie, where's the dvd?)

Favorite Sherlock Holmes novel is 'Hound of the Baskervilles'.

 

[Justin Doring]

Great topic! I'm also a big Sherlock Holmes Fan!

Among the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce films, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are the cream of the series. Some of the others are pretty good too, but when they strayed from the Doyle stories and went out of period with WWII, automobiles, and modern inventions, the movies went downhill, in my opinion. Some are downright silly!

I also love the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series. They're all top notch. I love Edward Hardwicke in everything he's in, and I think he is the best screen Watson, because he is very faithful to the Doyle stories. Hardwicke brings intelligence and humanity to the role, something the bumbling, if well-meaning Nigel Bruce character lacked.

I'd personally have a difficult time choosing between the Rathbone and Brett series. Both the actors who play Holmes are both superb, even though they approach the character differently, and although I like Hardwicke's Watson better, Bruce complements Rathbone perfectly.

I'm ashamed to say that I haven't seen many Sherlock Holmes movies, as none are available on DVD! I'm glad A&E is doing the Brett series, but I keep wishing a legitimate company would get a hold of the Rathbone series and some of the other Holmes movies and release them properly.

Did anybody see the 1991 made for TV film Crucifer of Blood with Charlton Heston? That's always been a favorite of mine and deserves a nice release along with his Treasure Island from the same period.

Also, for you Holmes fans, I'd highly recommend Zero Effect, as Bill Pullman plays a contemporary Holmes with Ben Stiller as his Watson. It's a quirky, yet surprisingly good film with a lot of replay value.

As far as the stories go, I've read them all, along with the novels, but not for a few years, so I honestly forget some of them. Perhaps this summer over break I'll rediscover them.

 

[David Von Pein]

Steve C. .....
You must be in 7th Holmes Heaven then....what with the release just this week of your fave, '59s "Hound" with a superb performance by Mr. Cushing??!!
Better get it! At this incredibly cheap price, they shouldn't last long!! I'm ordering it now! .......
http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=MGD003429

 

[David Von Pein]

Hi Justin! Thanks for your thoughts. You wrote ....

I'm ashamed to say that I haven't seen many Sherlock Holmes movies, as none are available on DVD!

I have one DVD release with 3 Basil SH films on it. Not A-1 quality, but watchable. The VHS tapes are better, sorry to say. Hopefully, the full RESTORED set of the Rathbone films will make its Digital debut in the not-too-distant future!
Check below link for the 1 DVD I know of .........
http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=BFD030173
(Ee-gads! For 4 bucks, how can you lose?! )

 

[Steve Christou]

David, thanks for that info, great cover, and the price, only about £6!
It's a must buy for me.
More Hammers on dvd please!
"Watson, the needle!"

 

[MartinTeller]

I read all the ACD Sherlock Holmes stories, and I LOVED them! However, I only read them once, and I kind of plowed through them, so now they all blur together in my memory. I definitely want to read them again and gain a deeper appreciation for the individual stories.

I've never seen any of the films.

 

[Brook K]

Same here Martin. My 8th grade teacher had two giant volumes with all the stories and let me borrow them, but I've never gone back and read any since.

 

[David Von Pein]

SOME SHERLOCK IMAGES ......

 

[Justin Doring]

Nice pics!

Thanks for 1959 The Hound of the Baskervilles DVD recommendation! I just ordered it!

 

[David Von Pein]

"It's beyond imagination I suppose that someone else could have used the rake ... and then wiped off BOTH sets of fingerprints??!!" -- Mr. Holmes
Anybody know what S.H. film this is from?