Many of the films in this set were reviewed on TCM's website when they were first released by MPI. Those reviews, still available in the site's archive, may be referred to for more details. But briefly...Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce starred as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in fourteen films over eight years. The first two, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, were produced by 20th Century Fox in 1939 and were set in the Victorian London period of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In 1942 Universal acquired the rights, borrowed the actors, and launched its own 12-film series which placed Holmes and Watson in present-day London. In these movies Holmes and Watson sometimes aid the war effort, but usually they solve mysteries which are composed of bits and pieces of actual Conan Doyle stories. These are B pictures which look like A's, thanks to excellent production values. Their entertainment quotient is high and they have always played well to audiences of all ages.
UCLA did an amazing job restoring the Universal titles. In some cases, original film elements were gone and the only things to work with were dupes. In others, elements were decomposing into vinegar and were rescued in the nick of time. In an extra retained from the 2004 release, UCLA preservation officer Robert Gitt offers a brief overview of the restoration process. It's fascinating to hear what went into saving and restoring even the simplest things, like the "The End" card of some titles, and we can thank our lucky stars that Gitt and UCLA are around to care about such things. Other retained extras include superb photo galleries done as montages to classical music, remarkable newsreel footage of Doyle discussing his creation, and commentaries on a few titles by film historian David Stuart Davies, who makes sure to touch on all the films in the series.
The one new extra is a commentary on Dressed to Kill (1946) featuring 91-year-old Patricia Morison, the film's leading lady, who recalls the picture to film historian Richard Valley and moderator David Gregory. Dressed to Kill (1946) was the last of the Basil Rathbone titles, and it is a strong and satisfying entry. Morison is the villainess who does indeed walk around in glamorous outfits, "dressed to kill." A talented actress, Morison never got the major parts she deserved. In this movie, she lends great charm and radiance to her role, making it much more interesting and attractive than it would have been if played simply "evil."
In her elegant and articulate commentary, she speaks delightfully of everything from Ronald Colman's Beverly Hills Christmas parties to Nigel Bruce: "That was one of the dearest people - Willy Bruce. He was exactly the way he played. It was not an act." Of Rathbone, she says he often wondered aloud on the set, "Why am I doing this?" It's true Rathbone was aching to leave the Holmes character. He did after this picture, and his career started a steady decline. Morison also appeared in Persons in Hiding (1939), Hitler's Madman (1943), Fallen Sparrow (1943), Song of Bernadette (1943), and Song of the Thin Man (1947), among other films, and while she does not discuss all these titles, she does go into a few. She says that she soon left Hollywood to go back to Broadway because the studios wouldn't give her any singing roles. A trained singer, she was quickly hired by Cole Porter to play Kate in the original Broadway production of Kiss Me Kate. Overall, Sherlock Holmes fans will enjoy this commentary - it's great to hear from anyone who worked with Rathbone and Bruce on these films.
There are a few faults with this new box set. The liner notes by Richard Valley that accompanied the original DVD releases are nowhere to be found, which is a real shame because they were superbly written and enlightening. Also, the nice cover artwork of the earlier releases has been eliminated, and the case design has been replaced by a box-like container from which one can pull out several plastic racks holding the DVDs. The racks are held together by a single piece of Scotch tape which easily comes apart. The entire package is surprisingly flimsy and threadbare.
At least these are minor quibbles. One thing's for certain: you will not find better DVD prints of these movies anywhere else. Because the titles are in the public domain, many cheapie DVD distributors legally sell their own versions at lower prices. MPI's price is higher, though the price per title is now a lot better than it was in 2004. But you get what you pay for, and if an unappealing case is the worst part of the deal, you're still in pretty good shape. For anyone who did not acquire these movies from MPI the first time around, the new box set is highly recommended.
For more information about The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection, visit MPI Home Video. To order The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection, go to TCM Shopping.
by Jeremy Arnold
