IMDb >
The Pearl of Death (1944)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsThe Pearl of Death (1944) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
1 August 1944 (USA)
more
Tagline:
THE SECRET OF THE GEM OF DOOM! (original print ad - all caps) more
Plot:
When a valuable pearl with a sinister reputation is stolen, Sherlock Holmes must investigate its link to a series of brutal murders. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Pearl
|
Murder
|
Sherlock Holmes
|
Museum
|
Beautiful Woman
more
User Comments:
The Cursed Black Pearl of the Borgias
more (36 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Basil Rathbone | ... | Sherlock Holmes | |
| Nigel Bruce | ... | Doctor Watson | |
| Dennis Hoey | ... | Lestrade | |
| Evelyn Ankers | ... | Naomi Drake | |
| Miles Mander | ... | Giles Conover | |
| Ian Wolfe | ... | Amos Hodder | |
| Charles Francis | ... | Digby | |
| Holmes Herbert | ... | James Goodram | |
| Richard Nugent | ... | Bates | |
| Mary Gordon | ... | Mrs. Hudson | |
| Rondo Hatton | ... | The Creeper |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
69 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
For some curious reason Holmes' cluttered Baker Street apartment has a photograph of a beardless Abraham Lincoln.
more
Quotes:
Dr. John H. Watson:
[viewing the Borgia Pearl] Can't be real!
Sherlock Holmes: Real as death, old fellow, with the blood of twenty men upon it down through the centuries!
more
Sherlock Holmes: Real as death, old fellow, with the blood of twenty men upon it down through the centuries!
more
Movie Connections:
Followed by The House of Fear (1945)
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (36 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Pearl of Death (1944)Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Dressed to Kill | The Woman in Green | The Spider Woman | Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | Sherlock Holmes Faces Death |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |

In 1903 Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story called "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons". In it Inspector Lestrade tells Holmes and Watson of a strange series of seemingly unrelated crimes in which houses are burglarized and bric-a-brac smashed. Is it the work of a madman or an intelligent criminal? Holmes discovers the running link in the crimes - in each case a cheap bust of Emperor Napoleon I was smashed. Then the crimes become deadlier - a man is murdered at the site of one of the smashups (the home of a newspaperman named Harker - a name retained in the movie by a minor victim). Holmes soon finds out that the busts came from a store where a man who fits the description of the criminal worked. This criminal is captured. The final one of the six busts is found, and broken before Watson and Lestrade by Holmes. And out pops the world's rarest black pearl, the Borgia Pearl.
Of course the story is more fully fleshed out by Conan Doyle. His villain is an ethnic type - so there is a little racism (though nothing like the racism met with in G.K.Chesterton or R.Austin Freeman). However the story is not totally like that in the film. The villain, Beppo, is not a criminal mastermind - not a Moriarty type. He has a clever idea, not one of many clever ideas. And he kills his victim when he is confronted by an enemy (something totally unplanned). There is no "creature of the night" figure of dread but just Beppo.
So the film version is (except for the pearl and the busts of Napoleon) a rewrite. Giles Connover and the Creeper (or, as Lestrade calls him, "the Oxton 'Orror") are movie innovations, and both are quite effective, thanks to Miles Manders acting and (unfortunately) Rondo Hatton's appearance. But they helped make the film better than average.
So does Rathbone. He does a disguise act at the start (as good as his song and dance act in "THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES"). He also has a go at imitating the voice of another actor in the film (and he does it nicely)and a disguise at the end. Nice balance there. Bruce adds some good comedy, especially when he thinks fast and shows he too can hide the pearl. Also note his scene where he tries to reassure a visitor that he is as good at deductions as Holmes was.
Altogether a different story from the Doyle original, but it is a good film on it's own merits.