Watching 1939: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film: 
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Release date: 
Sept. 1, 1939

Cast: 
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ida Lupino, Alan Marshal, Terry Kilburn, George Zucco, Henry Stephenson, E. E. Clive, Arthur Hohl, Mary Gordon, May Beatty, Peter Willes, Mary Forbes

Studio: 
20th Century Fox

Director: 
Alfred L. Werker

Plot:
Set in 1894, criminal Professor Moriarty (Zucco) is acquited of murder. Just as the trial ends, Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) has evidence, but it’s too late. Holmes compliments his criminal mind and Moriarty vows to himself that he’s going to give Holmes a puzzle. On the same day, Ann Brandon (Lupino) with a strange drawing she received. Since her father received the same drawing before he died, she’s worried that she and her brother are in danger. It’s all part of the web Moriarty weaved for Holmes.

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Watching 1939: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film:  The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

Release date:  March 24, 1939

Cast:  Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie, Lionel Atwill, John Carradine, Barlowe Borland, Barlowe Borland, Morton Lowry, Ralph Forbes, E. E. Clive, Mary Gordon, Eily Malyon

Studio:  20th Century Fox

Director:  Sidney Lanfield

Plot:
Legend has it that most heirs of the Baskerville estate die as a result of a demon hound. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the moor potentially due to a hound, his friend Dr. Mortimer (Atwill) seeks out the help of Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) to get to the bottom of Sir Charles’s death. Holmes also is protecting Sir Charles’s nephew, Sir Henry Baskerville (Greene), who is arriving from Canada to claim the estate and may be in danger.

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