The Scarlet Claw (1944)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 May 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Holmes vs. Monster!

Plot:

Holmes and Watson investigate mysterious deaths in the Canadian village of La Mort Rouge, in a tribute to Canada in wartime.

Plot Keywords:

Disguise | Sherlock Holmes | Throat Slashed | Tavern | Impersonation

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	...	Sergeant Thompson
Ian Wolfe	...	Drake
Victoria Horne	...	Nora

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #9988) | UK:PG | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Listed in Journet's inn-register is Tom McKnight of New York. McKnight was an adviser on Universal's Holmes series.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The Canadian policeman who close in on the killer in the foggy bog at the film's climax are uniformed like London bobbies.

Quotes:

Sherlock Holmes: Poor, innocent little child. I should have prevented this!

Movie Connections:

Featured in La morte rouge (2006)

Oh! Canada!

Universal once again brings Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce back as Holmes and Watson. This time the duo is listening to an expert talk about cults and so forth, and within moments they are thrust into a mystery of a woman's death supposedly by the hands of a ghost. They must travel to the town Le Mort Rouge(The Red Death) in Canada where the conference was being held. Rathbone is in fine form as Holmes. He seems to be so comfortable with this role by this point that his mannerisms just flow. As good as Rathbone is, it is the comic performance of Nigel Bruce as his bumbling sidekick Dr. Watson who really does a whale of a job stumbling and mumbling through his role. Bruce plays off Rathbone wonderfully, and he has a larger than life presence(steals many a scene too I might add). The rest of the cast is definitely all quality. The direction by Roy William Neill is first-rate. He directs very smoothly by enhancing the two central characters but also creating a very effective moody atmosphere. The story is imaginative and not derived from a Doyle story. I like the way that the scripter managed to put mystery writer G. K. Chesterton's name into the film. The last little monologue by Holmes at the conclusion of the film is a wartime thanks to Canada and how it acts as a link for mankind. Interesting tribute.