The Scarlet Claw

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Audience Member The action and dialog will keep you interested though the plot is somewhat thin and Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson is portrayed as even more clueless than usual. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/20/24 Full Review acsdoug D In my opinion Basil Rathbone is a very underrated actor. Although he garners considerable plaudits for his work as Sherlock Holmes he was excellent in his other roles as well. Anyway, this is one of his better Holmes movies. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/08/24 Full Review Frances H With the misty bog and the threat of a supernatural foe, sherlock is eager to prove that fantasies and monster exist, even if only in human for! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/05/22 Full Review matthew d A standard murder mystery with dark atmosphere. Roy William Neill's horror mystery The Scarlet Claw (1944) is a fairly entertaining, if rather ordinary Sherlock Holmes feature. Neill's normal film noir direction with foggy atmosphere is still present, but with less clues and thrills overall. I found it too long and dragging, for a 74 minute picture, that's a red flag. I think it could have been edited quicker with snappier cuts and padded the time with more interesting villains establishing. The main problem is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing style is not adhered to with building clues, revealing a mystery as Neill writes plenty of random clues, that lead to a solution out of nowhere. You could never guess this mystery and that's just no fun really. It's dark and dreary as Canada has never quite been portrayed before other than Murder by Decree (1979) by Bob Clark. Roy William Neill does an honorable job directing The Scarlet Claw, but it's not his most inspired Sherlock Holmes film. Basil Rathbone is always fantastic as Sherlock Holmes. He gets to figure out numerous clues with intrigue and observations, but I feel like Basil should have had more lines. Nigel Bruce is quite fun as the rambling Dr. Watson, but The Scarlet Claw's dry manner might have benefitted from more of the delightfully dim Dr. Watson in all his bumbling delirium. I did not care for Gerald Hamer as Potts the mail man or his other figures in The Scarlet Claw. He's not charismatic or intimidating at all. Paul Cavanagh is mostly forgettable, which is odd because he's the husband to a murdered wife and an occultist. Everyone else is pretty much a miss. George Robinson's cinematography is pretty engaging with haunting nighttime wide shots, endless spooky fog, moody lighting, and clear close-ups that stand out in the hallowed light. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Jessica C I absolutely LOVE Sherlock Holmes. This is another fantastic movie! Very suspenseful and interesting. Basil Rathbone is one of my fave Sherlocks. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/10/20 Full Review Audience Member Probably my second favorite outing of Rathbone and Bruce complete with spooky lighting, strange people who act guilty and unusual clues leading to a satisfying solution. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Scarlet Claw

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