The Scarlet Claw (1944)

When a gentlewoman is found dead with her throat torn out, the villagers blame a supernatural monster, but Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Edmund L. Hartmann (screenplay), Roy William Neill (screenplay),

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gerald Hamer

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Gerald Hamer	...	Potts / Tanner / Ramson
Paul Cavanagh	...	Lord Penrose
Arthur Hohl	...	Emile Journet
Miles Mander	...	Judge Brisson
Kay Harding	...	Marie Journet
David Clyde	...	Police Sergeant Thompson
Ian Wolfe	...	Drake
Victoria Horne	...	Nora

Storyline

While attending a conference in Quebec City, Sherlock Holmes and his good friend Dr. Watson are drawn into a murder investigation in the nearby village of La Mort Rouge. Holmes had received a letter from Lady Penrose asking for his assistance as she feared for her life. It was too late however as she had already been killed by the time he received it. Her throat was torn out and the local villagers are spreading rumors about monsters and evil spirits as being the cause. Holmes doesn't believe any of that and sets out to find the killer. He believes that Lady Penrose's past as an actress may have something to with her death. As others in the village are attacked, Holmes believes the killer is among them, impersonating a local villager as he goes about his business.

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Plot Keywords:

sherlock holmes | death | killer | murderer | dead woman | 

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Taglines:

Holmes Haunts a House!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The eighth of fourteen films based on Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

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Goofs

After Holmes tells Watson that the quotation he recited was from Churchill, he utters another word or two, but all we hear is the music signaling the film's end.

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: Consider the tragic irony: we've accepted a commission from a victim to find her murderer. For the first time we've been retained by a corpse.

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Connections

Followed by The Pearl of Death (1944)

User Reviews

Holmes Pays Tribute To Canada

The setting in this Sherlock Holmes adventure is Canada, and features a nice tribute to my neighbors in the north at the end of the film with a quote from Winston Churchill.

I was glad to see a movie debunk all this occult nonsense that the film world usually embraces, or at least is fascinated by. The characters are interesting and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) is his normal mumbling and bumbling entertaining self. There are a couple of good suspense scenes, too.

This is one of the better SH thrillers and looks super on the restored DVD. It's hard not to enjoy all the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies. They are real treasures.