The BBC Sherlock Holmes Collection (DVD)

Advantages: Beautifully restored versions of the greatest Holmes and Watson of all time
Disadvantages: None a single one

...The Definitive collection of arguably the best Holmes and Watson: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce can only be greeted with joy, which is just how it was treated by me when it arrived in the post. Containing all fourteen films in the series that began in 1939 with The Hound of the Baskervilles and culminating with the rather melodramatically titled Dressed to Kill in 1946. For those not conversant with the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes films, they began as almost A-movies for Twentieth Century Fox first in Hound and then The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. At this point Fox decided not to film any further adventures but Universal, ever desiring to put together B-movie series, which might draw in audiences, negotiated with Conan Doyle's estate to gain the rights. Successfully so, they brought back Rathbone, as an angular, slightly... Read review

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Advantages: Entertaining
Disadvantages: Not a Conan Doyle plot

...view of Watson, who although is not as smart as Holmes, is certainly not as stupid as he is made to be here. As Professor Moriarty, Lionel Attwill did not shine in any way, shape or form; in fact, I barely noticed he was there. The odd time I did, he came over as being slightly annoying. Disappointing. Dennis Hoey plays Inspector Lestrade for the first time in this film. Again, he is portrayed as a total idiot, somewhere along the same lines as Watson. Technical bits My version of the disc has an interesting documentary about all the actors who had played Sherlock Holmes before Basil Rathbone. Many of them performed on the stage and as such, I had not heard of them. The documentary was interesting, but not worth buying the DVD for unless you really like the film. Classification: PG The film is in black and white, although... Read review

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Advantages: It is Sherlock Holmes!
Disadvantages: Dated and a bit theatrical

...In the world of Sherlock Holmes there are two very well known screen portrayals of Conan Doyle?s immortal detective. Jeremy Brett on the TV screen in the 80?s and 90?s and Basil Rathbone on the cinema screen in the 40?s. There have been many other versions of the character in both formats but most of them are lesser versions, unable to match the style and quality of these two. Before even Rathbone played Holmes though there was a British series of Holmes films starring one Arthur Wontner. The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes was made in 1935 and is one of five Holmes films made in the thirties starring Wontner. One of these is lost forever, a second is rarely seen but the other three are all available on DVD very cheaply. My copies came from the much lamented Murder One shop in central London, a shop that sadly vanished very recently from... Read review

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