To the average moviegoer, the name of Basil Rathbone conjures up an image of fiction's most famous detective - Sherlock Holmes. Certainly, of all the actors who have played the Baker Street sleuth, his interpretation was the most definitive.
Yet, for the true aficionado of the cinema, the actor was much more than the personification of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character. He was also Mr. Murdstone in David Copperfield, Richard III in Tower of London, Louis XI in If I Were King, Tybalt of Romeo and Juliet, Captain Estaban Pasquale in The Mark of Zorro, Sir Guy of Gisbourne from The Adventures of Robin Hood and, of course, the Son of Frankenstein.
For most of his years in motion pictures, Rathbone was the victim of type-casting. During the 1930s, he was known as the screen's ultimate villain - constantly in demand by producers to carry out dastardly deeds against such heroes as Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper and Leslie Howard, as well as leading ladies like Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Loretta Young, Olivia deHavilland and Joan Crawford. Then, he assumed the guise of Sherlock Holmes and his past accomplishments were virtually forgotten. Although the role brought him more fame than he had ever before been accorded, it at the same time irrevocably damaged his acting career.
Out-of-print for over thirty-five years, Michael B. Druxman's Basil Rathbone: His Life and His Films is a carefully researched work that thoroughly examines the life and professional career of one of Hollywood's most respected character actors, and the quintessential Sherlock Holmes.
This new reprint edition mirrors the original 1975 biography/filmography, including its more than 250 rare photographs, and also contains a new Introduction by the author.
The complete story of Basil Rathbone and his amazing film career.
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