The Pearl of Death
7.6 /10 1 Votes7.6
Prequel The Scarlet Claw Country United States | 7.5/10 IMDb Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date September 22, 1944 (1944-09-22) Cast (Sherlock Holmes), (Dr. John Watson), (Naomi Drake), (Inspector Lestrade), (Giles Conover), (Amos Hodder) Similar movies Mindhunters , Friday the 13th: A New Beginning , Highwaymen , Jennifer 8 , Mr. Holmes , Found Tagline The master minds tackle the master crimes! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sherlock holmes the pearl of death trailer 1944
A jewel is missing from a museum, and Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) tries to find the thief as bodies pile up across the city. Holmes is sure that the crime is the work of Giles Conover (Miles Mander), and the recent string of murders suggests that the criminal, having stashed the pearl alongside the belongings of an unsuspecting Londonite, has ordered a henchman to find it. With Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) at his side, Holmes finds himself in mortal danger as he closes in on his man.
Contents
The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the ninth of fourteen such films the pair made. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyles short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" but features some additions, such as Evelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain, played by Miles Mander, and Rondo Hatton as a brutal killer.
The famous Pearl of Death, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, finally reaches its proper place at a museum in London. But before long the jewel is ingeniously stolen. Shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, with the murderer leaving his victims surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
Plot
Master criminal Giles Conover (Miles Mander) steals the famous "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal Regent Museum under the very nose of Holmes and Watson, but when caught the pearl is not found on him and he is released.
Later, Holmes hears of an apparently motiveless murder. An elderly Colonel is found with his back broken amid a pile of smashed china. Holmes takes an immediate interest in the case as the unusual method of killing is that of "The Hoxton Creeper" (Rondo Hatton), known to be Conovers right-hand man.
Another murder occurs, of a little old lady, also surrounded by smashed china. Conover makes two attempts to kill Holmes, who surmises that Conover is desperately trying to recover the stolen pearl.
After a third killing Holmes finds the common feature of each: a bust of Napoleon. Conover, when being pursued by the police, had fled through the workshop where they were being made, and hid the pearl inside one of six identical busts.
Holmes tracks down the vendor of the busts and find out that one is still unaccounted for, as does Conovers accomplice Naomi. Conover and The Creeper arrive at the house of the owner of the final bust, only to find that Holmes has taken his place. Overpowered, Holmes convinces The Creeper that Conover will double-cross him, and the Creeper turns on Conover and kills him, after which Holmes kills the Creeper, before the police finally arrive. Holmes smashes the final bust and recovers the pearl "with the blood of five more victims on it".
Holmes is shown as unusually (for him) impatient with Lestrades inclination to come to the wrong conclusions in this entry, even shouting at him because of his inability to grasp the situation on a couple of occasions. For his part, Lestrade is shown taunting Holmes and obviously enjoying it.
References
The Pearl of Death WikipediaThe Pearl of Death IMDbThe Pearl of Death themoviedb.org