Basil Rathbone

Born: 1892-06-13 in Johannesburg, South African Republic

Died: 1967-07-21

Known For: Acting

Biography

Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, however, was heroic—that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he received a Tony Award in 1948 as Best Actor in a Play.

Filmography

2005

The Adventures of Errol Flynn as Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)

1996

In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes

1992

Dracula in the Movies as (archive footage)

1991

Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)

1986

The Great Mouse Detective as Sherlock Holmes (voice)

1985

The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes as Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)

1983

The Horror of It All as Carmichael (archive footage)

1979

The Horror Show as (archive footage)

1974

Madhouse as Basil (archive footage)

1968

The Movie Orgy as Self (archival footage)
Autopsy of a Ghost as Canuto Pérez

1963

Burke's Law as Milo James

1962

The Merv Griffin Show as Self
Tales of Terror as Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
The Magic Sword as Lodac
Pontius Pilate as Caiaphas
Two Before Zero

1961

Dr. Kildare as Frederick Foray
Victoria Regina as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)
Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus as Narrator

1960

The Black Cat

1959

Tales from Dickens as Scrooge
A Christmas Carol as Scrooge

1958

The Last Hurrah as Norman Cass Sr.
Aladdin as Emperor
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates as Dr. Boekman

1957

DuPont Show of the Month as Emperor
The Lark as Chief Inquisitor

1956

The Black Sleep as Sir Joel Cadman
The Stingiest Man in Town as Ebenezer Scrooge
Affair in Sumatra as Paul Charters

1955

Screen Director's Playhouse as Paul Charters
The Court Jester as Sir Ravenhurst
We're No Angels as Andre Trochard

1954

Casanova's Big Night as Lucio / Narrator
A Christmas Carol as Marley's Ghost
The General's Boots as General Lee

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame as Inquisitor
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Self - Host / General Lee

1950

What's My Line? as Self
The Jack Benny Program as Basil Rathbone
Your Show of Shows
Lux Video Theatre as Frampton

1949

Lights Out
Suspense as Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad as Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
The Wind in the Willows as Narrator (voice)

1948

Studio One as Hazelton Crome

1946

Terror by Night as Sherlock Holmes
Dressed to Kill as Sherlock Holmes
Heartbeat as Professor Aristide

1945

The Woman in Green as Sherlock Holmes
Pursuit to Algiers as Sherlock Holmes
The House of Fear as Sherlock Holmes

1944

Bathing Beauty as George Adams
The Pearl of Death as Sherlock Holmes
The Scarlet Claw as Sherlock Holmes
Frenchman's Creek as Lord Rockingham

1943

The Spider Woman as Sherlock Holmes
Above Suspicion as Sig von Aschenhausen
Crazy House as Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes in Washington as Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death as Sherlock Holmes

1942

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon as Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror as Sherlock Holmes
Crossroads as Henri Sarrou
Fingers at the Window as Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 as Himself

1941

International Lady as Reggie Oliver
The Black Cat as Montague Hartley
Paris Calling as Andre Benoit

1940

The Mark of Zorro as Captain Esteban Pasquale
Rhythm on the River as Oliver Courtney
The Mad Doctor as Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann

1939

Son of Frankenstein as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
The Hound of the Baskervilles as Sherlock Holmes
Rio as Paul Reynard
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as Sherlock Holmes
Tower of London as Richard - Duke of Gloucester
The Sun Never Sets as Clive Randolph

1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood as Sir Guy of Gisbourne
The Dawn Patrol as Maj. Brand
If I Were King as Louis XI
Breakdowns of 1938 as Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Adventures of Marco Polo as Ahmed

1937

Love from a Stranger as Gerald Lovell
Make a Wish as Johnny Selden
Tovarich as Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko
Confession as Michael Michailow

1936

Romeo and Juliet as Tybalt
The Garden of Allah as Count Ferdinand Anteoni
Private Number as Thomas Wroxton

1935

Captain Blood as Levasseur
A Tale of Two Cities as Marquis St. Evremonde
Anna Karenina as Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin
David Copperfield as Mr. Edward Murdstone
The Last Days of Pompeii as Pontius Pilate
Kind Lady as Henry Abbott
A Feather in Her Hat as Captain Randolph Courtney

1933

One Precious Year as Derek Nagel
Loyalties as Ferdinand de Levis

1932

After the Ball as Jack Harrowby
A Woman Commands as Capt. Alex Pastitsch

1930

A Lady Surrenders as Carl Vandry
Sin Takes a Holiday as Reginald 'Reggie' Durant
The Lady of Scandal as Edward
This Mad World as Paul Parisot
A Notorious Affair as Paul Gherardi
The Flirting Widow as Col. Smith

1929

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney as Lord Arthur Dilling
The Bishop Murder Case as Philo Vance

1926

The Great Deception as Rizzio

1925

The Masked Bride as Antoine

1924

Trouping with Ellen as Tony Winterslip
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots as Undetermined Subordinate Role

1923

The School for Scandal as Joseph Surface

1921

Innocent as Amadis de Jocelyn
The Fruitful Vine as Don Cesare Carelli