Birth name: Philip St. John Basil Rathbone Birth:13 June 1892 Died:21 July 1967 Nationality: Hollywood Walk Star: Yes
Career / Biography
Basil Rathbone is best known for his role in 14 Sherlock Holmes films made during the 1940's with Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson, though he had a long career starting in silent films and continuing through to the 1960's. Outside of the Holmes films he was seen in Holywod as the styalised British villan. He started is acting career on the stage in 1911 appearing in England and in America and was a decorated soldier in World War 1. After the war he appeared on the London stage, Broadway and in some silent films. His first sound film was The Bishop Murder Case, but his break out role was in David Copperfield in 1935 and then other adaptaions of classic novels. He starts to play villans but brings a tyle to them and it was his fear of getting typcast. Though in Captain Blood he showed off his school learned fencing skills where he introduced Errol Flynn to swashbuckling. In 1936 he appeared in Romeo And Juliet his only Shakespearian film role and was Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actor.
The Garden Of Allah was his first colour film but he clashed with producer David O Selznick and they never worked together again. The Adventures Of Robin Hood is one of the best adaptaions of the story that pitted Rathbone against Errol Fynn. He was again Oscar Nominated for If I Were King in 1938. However his life changed when he he took the role of Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles and arguably the biggest success of his career. This was the firat of 14 Sherlock Holmes films he appeared in with Nigel Bruce, making their performances the standard for these characters. During World War 2 he played Holmes in an updated setting and in some spy films. His last Holmes film was Dressed to Kill as he would not make on more Holmes films after the death of Nigel Bruce.