Contentar
Best movie of this year hands down!
filippaberry84
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Haven Kaycee
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
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.
LeonLouisRicci
This Entry in the Popular Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes Series is a Fine Example of how Holmes could be Updated to the Present and Still Retain Most of what Made the Name Sherlock a Synonym for Detective and Captivated Literary and Screen Fans.There is the Moor, Covered in Fog, the Bog (watch out Watson), Creepy Surroundings, and a Brutal Murderer that even Slashes to Death a Child. Pretty Gruesome and the Mystery is Well Staged with Many Characters Around to Support the Slimy, Hard to Catch Villain.Many Fans of the Series Rate this Very High on the List with Almost No Dissent. One can Argue Fruitlessly about which one is the Best, but this is Certainly Among the Contenders. Rathbone is Once Again full of Pep and Like Always Argumentative with Everyone and Condescending to Watson. But the Good Doctor, Holmes' Old Boy, Soldiers On. The Most Subtle, but Glaring Put Down in this One...After a Vicious Dog Stops Barking, Watson says "The dog stopped barking". Holmes Turns to the Dr. and says with Contempt and a Disgusted Look, "Yes Watson".
AaronCapenBanner
Roy William Neil continued to direct this series, and this is one of the best. Story is not adapted by a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale, but instead tells an original one. Holmes & Watson are in Quebec Canada to attend a conference when they are called upon to investigate a murder of Lady Penrose, who had in fact already contacted Holmes, but was too late to save her. Locals believe it to be a supernatural creature at work, but Sherlock knows better. Atmospheric and exciting entry seems inspired by earlier "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", but is better handled here. The series was at its peak now, and in the next two entries as well.
Neil Doyle
I don't know how I missed this one over the years, but watching it today on TCM, I don't remember ever seeing it before.THE SCARLET CLAW was written especially for the screen and not from any novel penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Turns out it's one of the very best entries in the series, up there with THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES as essential Holmes films.It has all the atmosphere one would want in a Sherlock Holmes story and a mystery that deepens as the plot goes forward but resolved in a very satisfying way by Holmes. The cast includes an excellent performance from PAUL CAVANAGH as Mr. Penrose, whose wife dies a vicious death at the hands of a killer and leads to Holmes' investigation. GERALD HAMER as a nervous postman and VICTORIA HORNE as a frightened housekeeper are also fine, as is MILES MANDER as a judge whose life is in danger from a serial killer.Although this one takes place in Canada, it might just as well have taken place on the Dartmouth moors in Devonshire--that's the kind of atmosphere it has with plenty of mist and fog to add to the Gothic ambiance of the tale.Well worth watching for Sherlock fans. Especially good is NIGEL BRUCE as the bumbling Dr. Watson who inadvertently helps BASIL RATHBONE from time to time. His blustery interpretation of the comic sidekick is especially well done in this caper. Rathbone, of course, is beyond reproach.
