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By
SCOTT D. O'REILLY
Time is a thief that even a
great detective like Sherlock Holmes could not
hope to apprehend. Yet the UCLA Film and
Television Archive has managed to arrest the
passage of time by preserving and restoring
Universal Studio's 12 classic Sherlock Holmes
films from the 1940's. Now, thanks to technicians
and film historians Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
have been saved from celluloid dissolution so that
once more they can roam the bog surrounding the
village of La Morte Rouge, prowl the grounds of
Drearcliff Manor, and match wits against evil
nemesis like professor Moriarty and the Spider
Woman.
This collection from MPI home video features
several of the least seen but highly regarded of
the Universal series, particularly "The Scarlet
Claw" which is certainly the most atmospheric
Holmes whodunit since Fox Studios original entry,
"The Hound of the Baskervilles." The restoration,
culled mostly from the surviving 35mm negatives,
is breathtaking, capturing the gothic mood and the
supernatural atmosphere created by director Roy
William Neill. Ominous shadows creep across the
screen, dense mists hover in graveyard and swamps,
and ruined estates and churches brave the elements
near seaside cliffs.
Preserving this set of films was no easy task, as
film historian Robert Gitt relates in a
restoration demonstration included in the DVD
bonus material. The entire process took ten years,
and in some cases the engineers barely managed to
copy a reel before that portion of the film
decomposed beyond use. As for the films themselves
the period represented by this collections
captures the peak of the Universal series.
Sherlock Holmes is no longer battling Nazi spies
and references to WWII have largely been expunged.
Instead, Holmes and Watson have entered a more or
less timeless realm where good and evil,
rationality and the supernatural, are constantly
vying for supremacy. Pygmies, a luminescent swamp
apparition, and a giant creature called the
Creeper all figure in the action, as does academy
award winning actress Gale Sondergaard as the
charming but deadly Spider Woman, undoubtedly the
most treacherous villainess in the Holmes canon.
Author David Stuart Davies contributes a first
rate audio commentary to the best film in the
bunch, "The Scarlet Claw." Other bonus features
include a short poster/still gallery featurette
and a 16 page booklet featuring production notes.
The Sherlock Holmes films with Rathbone and Bruce
were Universal's most successful B film series the
studio ever produced and this collection captures
their timelessness once and for all. |
