Producer: Roy William Neill. Copyright 5 May 1944 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. New York opening at the Rialto: 18 May 1944. U.S. release: 26 May 1944. Australian release: 8 June 1944. 6,785 feet. 75 minutes. Alternative title: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SCARLET CLAW.
SYNOPSIS: About forty miles from Quebec lies a small village in Canada, morbidly named La Mort Rouge {The Red Death}. Despite opposition from Lord Penrose, the local landowner, Holmes and Watson investigate a series of ghastly murders, supposedly committed by a legendary phantom.
NOTES: Number 8 in the Rathbone-Bruce series, and number six of the twelve Universal entries.
COMMENT: Although not based directly on anything Doyle himself wrote, this is one of the best of the Universal series. Its terrific atmosphere is achieved in large measure through George Robinson's attractively low-key lighting. Marvellous sets and inventive direction also help bolster the script's intriguing plot, deft dialogue and fascinating character studies.
The players, led by a stand-out performance from Gerald Hamer (etching the most memorable portrait of his life right here), are uniformly excellent. Some contemporary critics presumed to downgrade Rathbone's portrayal, but he is as suavely skilful as ever. No, The Scarlet Claw has only one strike against it; - a ludicrously patriotic plug for Canada which is tacked on to the end. This could easily be eliminated (and in fact it was from many television prints).
For some reason, whether to shorten the running time to allow for more commercials or simply to eliminate a rather frightening sequence or perhaps simply to make the plot easier to follow by removing one of the characters, the TV print also clumsily excised one of the most thrillingly staged and atmospheric of the action scenes. The fine professionals at UCLA have now restored the film to its original length in their current DVD offering.
SYNOPSIS: About forty miles from Quebec lies a small village in Canada, morbidly named La Mort Rouge {The Red Death}. Despite opposition from Lord Penrose, the local landowner, Holmes and Watson investigate a series of ghastly murders, supposedly committed by a legendary phantom.
NOTES: Number 8 in the Rathbone-Bruce series, and number six of the twelve Universal entries.
COMMENT: Although not based directly on anything Doyle himself wrote, this is one of the best of the Universal series. Its terrific atmosphere is achieved in large measure through George Robinson's attractively low-key lighting. Marvellous sets and inventive direction also help bolster the script's intriguing plot, deft dialogue and fascinating character studies.
The players, led by a stand-out performance from Gerald Hamer (etching the most memorable portrait of his life right here), are uniformly excellent. Some contemporary critics presumed to downgrade Rathbone's portrayal, but he is as suavely skilful as ever. No, The Scarlet Claw has only one strike against it; - a ludicrously patriotic plug for Canada which is tacked on to the end. This could easily be eliminated (and in fact it was from many television prints).
For some reason, whether to shorten the running time to allow for more commercials or simply to eliminate a rather frightening sequence or perhaps simply to make the plot easier to follow by removing one of the characters, the TV print also clumsily excised one of the most thrillingly staged and atmospheric of the action scenes. The fine professionals at UCLA have now restored the film to its original length in their current DVD offering.