The Pearl of Death Contents Plot Cast The Creeper References External links Navigation...
The Price MarkVive la France!Dangerous BusinessYes or No?Something DifferentThe Woman GivesThe Idol of the NorthThe Conquest of CanaanThe Iron TrailWhat's Wrong with the Women?The Man from M.A.R.SVanity's PriceBroken LawsPercyMarriage in TransitThe Kiss BarrierGreater Than a CrownThe Cowboy and the CountessThe Fighting BuckarooThe CityBlack ParadiseA Man Four-SquareMarriageThe Arizona WildcatThe VikingSan Francisco NightsLady RafflesThe Olympic HeroWall StreetThe Melody ManThe MenaceThat's My BoyThe Circus Queen MurderFury of the JungleI'll Fix ItBlack MoonJealousyThe Black RoomDoctor SynGypsyThe ViperThank EvansSimply TerrificMany Tanks Mr. AtkinsEverything Happens to MeA Gentleman's GentlemanMurder Will OutHoots Mon!The Good Old DaysMadame SpyEyes of the UnderworldSherlock Holmes and the Secret WeaponFrankenstein Meets the Wolf ManRhythm of the IslandsSherlock Holmes in WashingtonSherlock Holmes Faces DeathThe Spider WomanThe Scarlet ClawThe Pearl of DeathGypsy WildcatSherlock Holmes and the House of FearThe Woman in GreenPursuit to AlgiersTerror by NightDressed to KillBlack Angel
1944 filmsEnglish-language films1940s mystery filmsAmerican mystery filmsAmerican filmsDetective filmsFilms based on short fictionSherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan DoyleAmerican black-and-white filmsUniversal Pictures filmsFilms directed by Roy William Neill
Sherlock HolmesBasil RathboneNigel Brucefourteen such filmsConan DoyleThe Adventure of the Six NapoleonsEvelyn AnkersMiles ManderRondo HattonMiles ManderBorgiachinaHoxtonRondo HattonNapoleonUniversal StudiosRondo Hatton
| The Pearl of Death | |
|---|---|
 1944 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Roy William Neill |
| Produced by | Howard Benedict |
| Screenplay by | Bertram Millhauser |
| Based on | The Adventure of the Six Napoleons 1904 story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Starring | Basil Rathbone Nigel Bruce Evelyn Ankers |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Virgil Miller |
| Edited by | Ray Snyder |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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.[1] The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"[2] 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.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 The Creeper
4 References
5 External links
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 Conover's 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 Conover's 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".[3]
Cast
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H. Watson
Evelyn Ankers as Naomi Drake
Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade
Miles Mander as Giles Conover
Ian Wolfe as Amos Hodder
Charles Francis as Digby
Holmes Herbert as James Goodram
Richard Nugent as Bates
Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson
Rondo Hatton as The Creeper
Wilson Benge as Second Ship's Steward
Billy Bevan as Constable
Harry Cording as George Gelder
Al Ferguson as Security Guard
Colin Kenny as Security Guard
Connie Leon as Ellen Carey
John Merkyl as Doctor Julien Boncourt
Leyland Hodgson as Customs Officer
Lillian Bronson as Harker's Housekeeper
Harold De Becker as Boss
Leslie Denison as Police Sergeant Murdock
J.W. Austin as Police Sergeant Bleeker- Arthur Mulliner as Thomas Sandeford
Arthur Stenning as First Ship's Steward
Eric Wilton as Conover's Chauffeur
Charles Knight as Bearded Man
Audrey Manners as Body of Teacher
The Creeper
Universal Studios attempted to capitalise on Rondo Hatton's effective portrayal of the Hoxton Creeper, casting him in two more (unrelated) films as "the Creeper": House of Horrors (filmed in 1945, but not released until 1946, after Hatton's death) and The Brute Man (1946, also released posthumously).[2]
References
^ Basinelrathbone.net, The Pearl of Death (1944)
^ ab Bunson, Matthew (1997). Encyclopedia Sherlockiana. Simon & Schuster. p. 190. ISBN 0-02-861679-0..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Davies, David Stuart (1976). Holmes of the Movies. New English Library. ISBN 9780450030659.
External links
The Pearl of Death on IMDb
The Pearl of Death at AllMovie
The Pearl of Death at the TCM Movie Database
The Pearl of Death at the American Film Institute Catalog
Review of film at Variety
