holmes vs. the spider woman

Keith's decision to present a month of Sherlock Holmes films in our cinema history class has been a good introduction to the character, since I had never seen a Sherlock Holmes film before. Now, with the third week's file, The Spider Woman, I finally saw Holmes portrayed by Basil Rathbone, who is possibly the iconic movie Holmes.

To the older guys in the class, this was what it was all supposed to be. From their childhood memories of Sherlock Holmes movies on TV, Rathbone is the king. I disn't come into this with any kind of  bias about who is the definitive Sherlock Holmes. So, from my perspective, Basil Rathbone was fine. But I didn't see where he is necessarily better or more right for the part than Peter Cushing or John Neville. But I did enjoy the interplay between Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in a way that I hadn't enoyed either of the other Holmes/Watson pairings.

Of course, that interplay was one aspect of this movie that was more intelligent than either of the other offerings. Gale Sondergaard, as the titular villain is great. In many ways, she is the perfect match for Holmes. And she would have beaten him too if not for a few unlucky breaks.

This was a very intelligent movie -- in some ways it made me think of Preston Sturges. It was far and away more intelligent than either of the other two Holmes films Keith showed us so far (Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and A Study in Terror (1965)). But for all that, I think I preferred A Study in Terror. With the vivid colors, and the music, it was just a more interesting experience.

Because this was a relatively short film (63 minutes, IIRC), Keith also showed us a TV episode of some Sherlock Holmes series. This had Christopher Plummer in it, so it should have been good, but I couldn't help myself trying to see a trace of Gorkon in him. We followed up with (courtesy of Joe) a viewing of "Deduce, You Say," a Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as Holmes and Watson trying to track down the Shropshire Slasher. God, I forgot how much I love Looney Tunes.

A few random notes (spoiler alert):

• In the climax, I noted that the trap laid out for Holmes seemed like something out of Batman. Joe confirmed that Batman did, in fact, lift that trap. However, while the Caped Crusader excaped through cunning and good preparation, Holmes' escape was largely due to a combination of luck and Watson's incompetence. But seriously, why would Batman have shoes with bulletproof soles but not a bulletproof costume?
• I generally prefer Bugs Bunny over Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. But Bugs would not have worked in either role in "Deduce, You Say."
• "Name?"
  "Shropshire Slasher"
  "Occupation?"
  "Shropshire Slasher"
  Gets me every time
• Misdirection was one of the strengths of this movie. There are several times that the viewer is led to be certain of one thing, only have it be wrong.
• I'm not sure how I feel about Sherlock Holmes being placed in a World War II timeframe. Then again, since I'm not a big Holmes person, what do I care?