Basil Rathbone
Known for: Acting
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, however, was heroic—that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he received a Tony Award in 1948 as Best Actor in a Play.
Filmography
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Series
Dr. Kildare
Frederick Foray
1961
Series
Studio One
Hazelton Crome
1948
Series
Lights Out
1949
Series
Burke's Law
Milo James
1963
Series
The Jack Benny Program
Basil Rathbone
1950
Series
Suspense
Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
1949
Series
Suspense
Sherlock Holmes
1949
Series
Screen Director's Playhouse
Paul Charters
1955
Lux Video Theatre
Frampton
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Sir Paul Maxim
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Ambrose Wallington
1950
Series
Your Show of Shows
1950
Series
DuPont Show of the Month
Emperor
1957
Film
The Great Mouse Detective
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
1986
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Inquisitor
1951
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Dr. Boekman
1951
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Lord Beaconsfield
1951
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
The Duke of York
1951
Film
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Sir Guy of Gisbourne
1938
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Self - Host / General Lee
1951
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
The Jewel Thief
1951
Film
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
1949
Film
Bathing Beauty
George Adams
1944
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)
1991
Film
We're No Angels
Andre Trochard
1955
Film
A Tale of Two Cities
Marquis St. Evremonde
1935
Film
Confession
Michael Michailow
1937
Summer Fun
1966
Film
Private Number
Thomas Wroxton
1936
Film
The Court Jester
Sir Ravenhurst
1955
Film
Dressed to Kill
Sherlock Holmes
1946
Film
Captain Blood
Levasseur
1935
Film
Son of Frankenstein
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
1939
Film
Crazy House
Sherlock Holmes
1943
Film
The Movie Orgy
Self (archival footage)
1968
Film
Anna Karenina
Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin
1935
Film
The Mark of Zorro
Captain Esteban Pasquale
1940
Film
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
1939
Film
The Woman in Green
Sherlock Holmes
1945
Film
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sherlock Holmes
1939
Film
David Copperfield
Mr. Edward Murdstone
1935
Film
Tovarich
Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko
1937
Film
The Last Days of Pompeii
Pontius Pilate
1935
Film
A Lady Surrenders
Carl Vandry
1930
Film
Love from a Stranger
Gerald Lovell
1937
Film
Above Suspicion
Sig von Aschenhausen
1943
Film
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes
1942
Film
Crossroads
Henri Sarrou
1942
Film
Heartbeat
Professor Aristide
1946
Film
Madhouse
Basil (archive footage)
1974
Film
Rhythm on the River
Oliver Courtney
1940
Film
Romeo and Juliet
Tybalt
1936
Film
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Sherlock Holmes
1943
Film
The Magic Sword
Lodac
1962
Film
The House of Fear
Sherlock Holmes
1945
Film
Terror by Night
Sherlock Holmes
1946
Film
Casanova's Big Night
Lucio / Narrator
1954
Film
Rio
Paul Reynard
1939
Film
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)
2005
Film
The Scarlet Claw
Sherlock Holmes
1944
Film
Pontius Pilate
Caiaphas
1962
Film
Pursuit to Algiers
Sherlock Holmes
1945
Film
If I Were King
Louis XI
1938
Film
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
1979
Film
Paris Calling
Andre Benoit
1941
Film
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7
1965
Film
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
Sherlock Holmes
1942
Film
Sin Takes a Holiday
Reginald 'Reggie' Durant
1930
Film
Fingers at the Window
Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle
1942
Film
Tales of Terror
Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
1962
Film
The Pearl of Death
Sherlock Holmes
1944
Film
The Last Hurrah
Norman Cass Sr.
1958
Film
The Spider Woman
Sherlock Holmes
1943
Film
The Garden of Allah
Count Ferdinand Anteoni
1936
Film
The Dawn Patrol
Maj. Brand
1938
Film
The Wind in the Willows
Narrator (voice)
1949
Film
The Black Cat
Montague Hartley
1941
Film
International Lady
Reggie Oliver
1941
Film
The Black Sleep
Sir Joel Cadman
1956
Film
The Comedy of Terrors
John F. Black
1964
Film
Kind Lady
Henry Abbott
1935
Film
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
Reginald Ripper
1966
Film
Tower of London
Richard - Duke of Gloucester
1939
Film
Dracula in the Movies
1992
Film
A Feather in Her Hat
Captain Randolph Courtney
1935
Film
A Notorious Affair
Paul Gherardi
1930
Film
Queen of Blood
Dr. Farraday
1966
Film
The Horror of It All
Carmichael (archive footage)
1983
Film
A Christmas Carol
Marley's Ghost
1954
Film
Frenchman's Creek
Lord Rockingham
1944
Film
Breakdowns of 1938
Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)
1938
Tales from Dickens
Scrooge
1959
Film
The Lark
Chief Inquisitor
1957
Film
The Sun Never Sets
Clive Randolph
1939
Film
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
Sherlock Holmes
1943
Film
Hillbillys in a Haunted House
Gregor
1967
Film
This Mad World
Paul Parisot
1930
Film
A Woman Commands
Capt. Alex Pastitsch
1932
Film
Aladdin
Emperor
1958
Film
Make a Wish
Johnny Selden
1937
Film
Trouping with Ellen
Tony Winterslip
1924
Film
The Mad Doctor
Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann
1940
Film
A Christmas Carol
Scrooge
1959
Film
The Adventures of Marco Polo
Ahmed
1938
Film
Affair in Sumatra
Paul Charters
1956
Film
The Masked Bride
Antoine
1925
Film
The Bishop Murder Case
Philo Vance
1929
Film
Loyalties
Ferdinand de Levis
1933
Film
The School for Scandal
Joseph Surface
1923
Film
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Himself
1942
Film
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
1985
Film
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates
Dr. Boekman
1958
Film
Autopsy of a Ghost
Canuto Pérez
1968
Film
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
1996
Film
The Stingiest Man in Town
Ebenezer Scrooge
1956
Film
The Lady of Scandal
Edward
1930
The General's Boots
General Lee
1954
Film
After the Ball
Jack Harrowby
1932
Film
Innocent
Amadis de Jocelyn
1921
Film
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Lord Arthur Dilling
1929
Film
The Great Deception
Rizzio
1926
Film
Two Before Zero
1962
Film
Victoria Regina
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)
1961
Film
The Flirting Widow
Col. Smith
1930
Film
Soldier in Love
Duke of York
1967
The Fruitful Vine
Don Cesare Carelli
1921
Film
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots
Undetermined Subordinate Role
1924
Film
One Precious Year
Derek Nagel
1933
The Black Cat
1960
Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus
Narrator
1961