Totally agree. This one scared me good as a kid because I wasn't expecting the horror elements. I just assumed they were being metaphorical when they called the Creeper a monster. The gloves also left an impression. While I think Rondo is at his most menacing here, I do have to admit I love his flubbed dialogue in HOUSE OF HORRORS: "Whats puppets?" "You don't like the guy, huh?" Hysterical.
I also really like how this time we got to see Evelyn Ankers not playing an ingenue. She could really act. Love the scene where she's posing as a cockney working class girl and is visibly angry at how her boss yells at her. Maybe she turned to crime because that's what her upbringing actually was like. Little details like that are what made the film work.
It hadn't occurred to me before, but Hatton would have benefitted immensely from having his sparse dialogue dubbed. Almost any professional actor could have put more menace and inflection into it. My idea of an unbearable scene would be Rondo Hatton and Acquanetta doing an intense argument about politics.
And I agree about Evelyn Ankers. It's not that she was a weak performer, she was given weak parts. I also have a thing where I wish Universal had used Nan Gray or Anne Nagel more often but I guess they had favorites they tried to promote.
Doc, literary world darling Michael Chabon agrees with you. In his 2004 novel THE FINAL SOLUTION, he has a quite elderly Holmes in 1944 keeping bees and doing his part to defeat the Nazis.
In a 1914 story, Conan Doyle describes Holmes as being sixty, which is where we get the usual 1854 birthdate from. I'd say he and Watson would likely be dead by 1930 or so, but for a good story (even more for a movie), I'll stretch it a bit.
That whole 'royal jelly' business never appealed to me, and stories where Holmes made it into the 1950s or even the 1970s (as when he met Batman) seem about as plausible as the stories where Holmes is a time traveler or alien or a multiple personality disorder maniac.
I missed that, although I did get into Wold Newton when I first went online. This is what led me to uncover the family connection between Christopher and Bruce Lee.
Happened to see your LJ in passing. Since you mention having enjoyed Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the Granada series, I thought you might be interested in this website (if you've not seen it already): http://www.bafta4jb.com
Thank you! I hadn't heard of that before and I'm glad to see Brett receiving his due respect. Those Granada adaptations were wonderful (although they unfortunately declined at the very end because of the star's health and unweildy expanded size). On a cold winter night, when you're wrapped in a blanket and holding hot chocolate, they remain perfect "comfort entertainment."
I hope you enjoy Retro-Scans, please comment freely.
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I also really like how this time we got to see Evelyn Ankers not playing an ingenue. She could really act. Love the scene where she's posing as a cockney working class girl and is visibly angry at how her boss yells at her. Maybe she turned to crime because that's what her upbringing actually was like. Little details like that are what made the film work.
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And I agree about Evelyn Ankers. It's not that she was a weak performer, she was given weak parts. I also have a thing where I wish Universal had used Nan Gray or Anne Nagel more often but I guess they had favorites they tried to promote.
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That whole 'royal jelly' business never appealed to me, and stories where Holmes made it into the 1950s or even the 1970s (as when he met Batman) seem about as plausible as the stories where Holmes is a time traveler or alien or a multiple personality disorder maniac.
Reply
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Happened to see your LJ in passing. Since you mention having enjoyed Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the Granada series, I thought you might be interested in this website (if you've not seen it already): http://www.bafta4jb.com
Reply
I hope you enjoy Retro-Scans, please comment freely.
Reply
Will have a browse through your LJ as time permits and will comment :)
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