Basil Rathbone
Tall and lean, with an interesting, angular face and a remarkable authoritative voice that lent considerably gravity to the most poetic of sentiments and the vilest of evil, Basil Rathbone's ability to excel at heroism and villainy kept him in demand for much of his career. The South African native had his start on the stage and thanks to acclaim from Broadway work like "The Swan" (1923-24), he soon graduated to motion pictures. He was an excellent choice to play period villains in films like "David Copperfield" (1935), "Captain Blood" (1935), and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), and Rathbone proved so effective, typecasting seemed inevitable. However, he staved off such a career fate with his indelible portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master of deduction, Sherlock Holmes. From "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1939) through "Dressed to Kill" (1946) and seven seasons on radio, Rathbone did a superb job of communicating Holmes' unmatchable intelligence and sleuthing mastery. Rathbone eventually tired of the role and returned to the stage, which offered him a richer venue for his talents than acting as foils for comedians like Bob Hope and Danny Kaye and the rote villainy of low-budget horrors like "The Black Sleep" (1956). At the height of his craft, Rathbone performed with a degree of vividness and sincerity that was a hallmark of the finest classically-trained actors and his interpretation of Holmes was considered the definitive take on the literary icon.
Photos
Basil Rathbone
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Autopsy of a Ghost | Unknown (Character) | - | 1968 |
No Score Yet |
|
Hillbillys in a Haunted House | Gregor (Character) | - | 1967 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Soldier in Love | The Duke of York (Character) | - | 1967 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini | Reginald Ripper (Character) | - | 1966 |
17% |
|
Queen of Blood | Dr. Farraday (Character) | - | 1966 |
No Score Yet |
|
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet | Prof. Hartman (Character) | - | 1965 |
89% |
|
The Comedy of Terrors | Mr. John F. Black (Character) | - | 1964 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Three Plus Two | Frankenstein (Character) | - | 1963 |
29% |
|
The Magic Sword | Lodac (Character) | - | 1962 |
73% |
|
Tales of Terror | Carmichael (Character) | - | 1962 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Pontius Pilate | Caiaphas (Character) | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Victoria Regina | Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Character) | - | 1961 |
83% |
|
The Last Hurrah | Norman Cass, Sr., Banker (Character) | - | 1958 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Black Sleep | Sir Joel Cadman (Character) | - | 1956 |
97% |
|
The Court Jester | Sir Ravenhurst (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet |
|
We're No Angels | Andre Trochard (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet |
|
Casanova's Big Night |
Lucio/ |
- | 1954 |
88% |
|
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Narrator | - | 1949 |
83% |
|
Dressed to Kill | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1946 |
75% |
|
Terror by Night | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
Heartbeat | Professor Aristide (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
Pursuit to Algiers | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1945 |
100% |
|
The Woman in Green | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet |
|
Frenchman's Creek | Lord Rockingham (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Pearl of Death | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Scarlet Claw | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
Bathing Beauty | George Adams (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes in Washington | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet |
|
Above Suspicion | Sig von Aschenhausen (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet |
|
Fingers at the Window | Cesar Ferrari, alias Dr. H. Santelle (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet |
|
Crossroads | Henri Sarrou (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Black Cat | Montague Hartley (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Paris Calling | Andre Benoit (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Mad Doctor |
Dr. George Sebastian/ |
- | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | International Lady | Reggie Oliver (Character) | - | 1941 |
92% |
|
The Mark of Zorro | Captain Esteban Pasquale (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet |
|
Rhythm on the River | Oliver Courtney (Character) | - | 1940 |
89% |
|
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1939 |
83% |
|
Tower of London | Richard (Character) | - | 1939 |
95% |
|
Son of Frankenstein | Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Character) | - | 1939 |
91% |
|
The Hound of the Baskervilles | Sherlock Holmes (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Sun Never Sets | Clive Randolph (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rio | Paul Reynard (Character) | - | 1939 |
60% |
|
The Adventures of Marco Polo | Ahmed (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet |
|
If I Were King | King Louis XI (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Dawn Patrol | Major Brand (Character) | - | 1938 |
100% |
|
The Adventures of Robin Hood | Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Make a Wish | Johnny Selden (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet |
|
Love From a Stranger | Gerald Lovell (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet |
|
Tovarich | Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Confession | Michael Michailow (Character) | - | 1937 |
75% |
|
Romeo and Juliet | Tybalt (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet |
|
Private Number | Wroxton (Character) | - | 1936 |
36% |
|
The Garden of Allah | Count Ferdinand Anteoni (Character) | - | 1936 |
100% |
|
David Copperfield | Mr. Murdstone (Character) | - | 1935 |
93% |
|
A Tale of Two Cities | Marquis St. Evremonde (Character) | - | 1935 |
86% |
|
Anna Karenina | Karenin (Character) | - | 1935 |
100% |
|
Captain Blood | Levasseur (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Last Days of Pompeii | Pontius Pilate (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | House of Menace | Henry Abbott (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Feather in Her Hat | Captain Courtney (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet |
|
Kind Lady | Henry Abbott (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sin Takes a Holiday | Reginald "Reggie" Durant (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Lady of Scandal | Edward (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Bishop Murder Case | Philo Vance (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Notorious Affair | Paul Gherardi (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Flirting Widow | Colonel John "Johnny" Vaughn-Smith (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | Lord Arthur Dilling (Character) | - | 1929 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Masked Bride | Antoine (Character) | - | 1925 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Dr. Kildare | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1965 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Alcoa Hour | Ebenezer Scrooge (Character) | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | I've Got a Secret | Guest | 1952 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Screen Directors Playhouse | Unknown (Character) | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Red Skelton Show | Unknown (Character) | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Shower of Stars | Marley's Ghost (Character) | 1954 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Studio One | Hazelton Crome (Character) | 1954 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Suspense | Unknown (Character) | 1951 1953 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lights Out | Unknown (Character) | 1951 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | What's My Line? | Guest | 1951 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes | Guest | 1951 |