Leofwine_draca Many people consider this to be the very best of the Universal Sherlock Holmes series, although personally I prefer others. However, there's no denying how particularly well-made and atmospheric it is, even if the studio's recreation of a Canadian village is a little far-fetched and just looks like a British location instead. This is a film where the actors and the director are at the peak of their game. By now, Rathbone and Bruce had settled comfortably into their roles and weren't displaying any of the boredom that turned up in the latter adventures. The regular supporting cast go through the paces with ease and the crisp black and white photography makes things interesting to watch.Although propaganda does pop up in it, thankfully this isn't one of the films concerning Nazi plots or the like. Instead, it's a traditional murder mystery yarn which has plenty of horror elements in it. At first a supernatural villain is blamed for the murders, even a werewolf perhaps, so Universal were obviously cashing in on the craze for THE WOLF MAN at the time. The good old dry-ice machine is utilised for a number of creepy moments set on some spooky moorland, and the film reaches its high point when a strange, glowing figure (not unlike the one in AIP's DIE, MONSTER, DIE!) appears to frighten Holmes. This is a simple special effect, yet it works due to its unexpected nature.Rathbone is fine as Holmes, athletic and quick-thinking to boot, and he brings an authority to the role here so that nobody ever questions his resources or methods. Bruce is also very good as Watson, helping the plot when necessary and also providing his exceptional comic relief when its needed (I loved the scenes where he falls into the bogs). There are all manner of eccentric characters in the village to be entertained by, from the chirpy postman to the paranoid, hermit-like judge who lives in a barred house with his gun at the ready. The locations are varied and the murders are sufficiently gruesome. There are various scenes of action, including a cool moment when a villain jumps through a window to escape and is shot falling into the river. In all, this makes THE SCARLET CLAW one of the most enjoyable of the series and a must for Holmes fans.

dglink Tolling church bells, fog shrouded moors, a torn photograph, "The Scarlet Claw" presents a genuine mystery for Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson that will keep viewers guessing who-dunnit to the end. Producer-director Roy William Neill returns to helm the sixth entry in Universal's Holmes series and, for the first time, to collaborate on an original screenplay based on the Conan Doyle characters; the results are stellar. Holmes and Watson are in Canada to attend a conference on the occult, when the conference chair, Lord Penrose, is called away, because his wife has been murdered. That same day, Holmes receives a letter from the deceased Lady Penrose, in which she enlists his help, because she feels her life is threatened; thus, Holmes is engaged by the already dead victim and leaves for La Mort Rouge, a village with an aptly macabre name.Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are excellent as expected; at this point, their performances are beyond criticism. However, unlike others in the series, the film lacks a central diabolical villain; the murderer remains unknown until revealed in the final reel. While clues abound, few will unravel the mystery before Holmes. The large supporting cast, which includes Miles Mander, Paul Cavanagh, and Ian Wolfe, is solid, but none upstages the other, which keeps the killer hidden anonymously among them. Cinematographer George Robinson lensed the Spanish-language "Dracula," "Son of Frankenstein," and other second-tier Universal horror classics; for this film, he drew on those previous efforts and provided clouds of mist that rise from eerie marshes, sinister interiors with deep abstract shadows, and silhouetted figures that disguise identities. Robinson makes a decaying abandoned hotel and the foggy moors into suspicious characters of their own.Although references to World War II have been banished from the series, and even the War Bonds advertising is missing after the end titles, Holmes cannot resist quoting Winston Churchill to bring the film to a satisfying fade out. Among the best of the Holmes series, "The Scarlet Claw" has everything a Sherlock Holmes fan could want; a fiendish killer, a challenging mystery, an atmospheric setting, and Rathbone and Bruce at their best.

Hitchcoc This is probably my favorite Rathbone/Holmes offering. As a child I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the Canadian town of Le Morte Rouge where people seem content to enjoy the supernatural. Something is killing sheep and people, ripping them to pieces with a claw. Of course, the possibility it is a kind of garden trowel is dismissed. It has to be some kind of animal/demon that is driving this. Part of it also that there is professor living there that is immersed in this and it is his wife who is the first to die. While Holmes tries to get to the bottom of this, his trusty, bumbling sidekick is given a series of tasks which he, of course, goofs up. One is a period of time he spends in a bar trying to observe and be inconspicuous. He spends his time speaking loudly and asking all kinds of questions, becoming somewhat of a celebrity in the process. Another is when Holmes want the locals to thing he has given up and will be leaving. Watson announces loudly to everyone that he and Holmes are on their way out of town. He prances around, making it obvious to anyone who will listen. No subtly whatsoever. The murders continue and Holmes takes it personally when a pretty young woman who works at the inn is ripped to death by the claw. The villain is interesting and there are enough plot twist to make this a pretty good package. I know that this is wartime and each episode ends with a plea for war bonds, but Holmes takes about two minutes speaking about the great country of Canada, the British monarchy, the great United States, etc. He becomes an insufferable boor in these things, but, then, I'm viewing them in a different time and place.

kenjha Holmes investigates the mysterious death of a woman who appears to have her throat mutilated by the claw of an animal. The eighth in the popular series featuring Rathbone and Bruce as the venerable sleuths, this has the same basic premise as the first in the series, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," that of what appears to be animal attacks in remote, fog-covered marshes. It is is just as atmospheric as the earlier classic, but the story here is not quite as compelling. Like many in the series, this one is not based on an actual Conan Doyle story. Interestingly, this one is set in Canada in modern times. Of course Holmes rounds up the suspects and nabs the killer.