by Daniel Mallock, BookFolk

Jeremy Brett vs. Basil Rathbone:

The Best Sherlock Holmes on Film

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The Truth is Always a Simple Matter Once Explained!

Most fans of Sherlock Holmes will attest that Jeremy Brett is the very embodiment of Sherlock Holmes on any television or movie screen anywhere, ever, period. However, there are those who retain some affection for Basil Rathbone the Sherlock Holmes of previous generations. Both actors are superb, and model the height of acting skill for their generations. But Brett is clearly the superior actor, and the superior Holmes. The game is afoot!

Different Generations, Different Film Technology Demand a Different Holmes

Basil Rathbone’s Holmes fits perfectly into the 1940s era in which his films were made. In the midst of WW2 England and the U.S. needed heroes on the screen. Sherlock Holmes through Rathbone helped the Allies find and destroy Nazi goons within their midsts. A patriotic Brit and hater of fascism Rathbone’s Holmes is the perfect addition to Air Force, Marines, and Navy power. The intellect used as a weapon of war is rarely shown so effectively as in Rathbone’s portrayal of Holmes! One of the major problems with the Rathbone Holmes stories is that 95% of them are originals, that is, they are not adaptations of Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories. Granada Television did every episode as a spectacular and deeply faithful adaptation of the Doyle originals with Jeremy Brett. Most every episode included one or more scenes taken directly from the original drawings by Sydney Paget from the Strand Magazine – that is faithful adaption if ever there was!

• An episode list of Brett’s Holmes can be viewed here.
• You can see some of Paget’s Holmes illustrations for the Strand Magazine, here.

For the purest the Rathbone lack of faithfulness to Doyle is an almost unforgiveable problem. In fact, it’s something of an insoluble conundrum. In addition to the problematic stories themselves whose pacing and supporting actors are often of questionable quality and expertise the characterization of Watson by Sir Nigel Bruce is distracting, aggravating, and overly comedic.

The Problem of the Three Watsons

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The relationship between Holmes and Watson in the Rathbone series is supportive, considerate, gentlemanly, but with Holmes so far eclipsing Watson in intellectual acumen that one has to wonder why the two stay together. In addition, Rathbone’s Holmes is so markedly without those neuroses of character shown by Brett’s portrayal that the viewer must wonder why Rathbone’s Holmes is not married or at least involved with some stunning academic, classical pianist, opera starlet, or some brilliant Irene Adler-type lovely lady. But there is no explanation and no context in which Holmes should be alone, accompanied everywhere by Sir Nigel. Holmes as played by Rathbone should have girlfriends, a wife, some kind of vibrant emotional connection to some favored female(s)!

Brett covers Holmes in self-doubt, utterly driven by intellect. So much so, that he has sacrificed the better parts of his nature, those tender parts that would appeal to a woman and that would allow him to relax and trust enough to be loved by a woman and to love her in return. He has essentially “shut off” those parts of his soul that he believes might distract him from his work – or something has happened. Something dark and painful long ago that Brett occasionally hints at, but never reveals. The depth of Brett’s Holmes is astounding. Brett plays Holmes as a grand knight of deduction who has sacrificed the pleasures of love. As a lover Holmes would be a second-rate detective, and that would simply not do. But there is more to this than all that. Brett is haunted by his sacrifices and his lack of tenderness. This is seen most clearly perhaps in the Adventure of the Abbey Grange. (Pay special attention to the part when the lady attempts to thank Holmes. He does not handle the moment well.)

• You can get a nice plot summary of Abbey Grange right here.

Rathbone’s Watson (Sir Nigel Bruce) plays Watson as a bumbling oafish but utterly dedicated partner and friend exactly the companion that Holmes needs. Brett’s Watson(s) are much more formidable.

Menace, Mania, and Moroseness – Choosing Brett

While Rathbone is not to be faulted for acting in the 40s style, flat and somewhat affected – Brett’s Holmes is the very picture of a highly complex, brilliant, intellectual artiste – the great detective brought to life.

Granada television and PBS is to be complimented for airing such a beautifully written and lovingly adapted series such as the Brett Holmes set. Rarely in recent television history has such a finely made program been aired. The Hollywood writer’s strike of the current hour is little lamented here as nothing of this quality has been seen in so long on the small screen. The complexity and depth of Brett’s Holmes will long be held as the standard for this character. Brett’s early death was a serious loss to every Holmesian. Brett is the Johann Sebastian Bach of the Sherlock Holmes world.

Others have attempted Sherlock Holmes from Ian Richardson’s overly whimsical take to Rupert Everett’s quite passable go, but Brett is the master interpreter. Without a case to work he is difficult, petty, argumentative, morose, bored. His seven percent solution would see him through too many dry spells, but when the game was afoot Holmes’ intellect, brilliance and bravery the finer components of his character always quickly came to the fore.

Basil Rathbone a Fine Holmes – But No Match for Jeremy Brett

From the LoveBoat to Immortality

Having once appeared on the LoveBoat (see this incredible clip on YouTube) Brett rose to the very heights of the acting profession. Still mourned today by those who knew him and appreciated his brilliance as Sherlock Holmes, the same reverence cannot be claimed by Rathbone. Now known to but a few, and those mostly Holmes fans, Rathbone long ago set the stage for the appearance of someone like Brett – to finally bring a permanent record to a living Holmes on screen. Depth of characterization, complex line deliveries, hints of past events and unspoken secrets and pain – Jeremy Brett is an actor’s actor.

Jeremy Brett is the greatest Sherlock Holmes on screen, ever. Long may he solve cases! And never require the needle!