Comments on: The Greatest Sherlock Holmes – Basil Rathbone vs. Jeremy Brett

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:25:09 +0000

Meg, of course it is legitimate to say someone who claims Rathbone is the better how is wrong. Rathbones interpretation and the movies have nothing to do with the original stories and who Doyle wrote him. Period. And as a Holmesian I certainly do NOT appreciate the pseudo Holmes and clown!Watson the the 40ies movies created. Those movies might have some charm and Rathbone is a fine actor with lots of charisma but per definitionem those movies are trash movies. The Holmes of the original stories is NOT as simple, likable and flat as Rathbones interpretation.

This is not about being a purist. That would apply if the Rathbone movies actually had anything to do with Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. I read the stories and books as a child and teen, I saw Rathbone and only thought “What is this crap? Is this a joke?” (Rathbone is not to blame for the scripts they gave him of course!), then saw Brett’s Holmes and I nearly was in tears because I couldn’t believe how well he brought the character alive and how true the series was to the original. I do not appreciate that the 40ies propagada trash is claimed to be equal to the Granada version and Brett’s Holmes.

By: Serina

Serina — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:21:28 +0000

I agree with Meg

I love both Basil and Jeremy…one is more excentrical, the other more the calmly deducing person.

But I have to add one to the competotion…Vasili Livanov!!! For me he’s just BRILLIANT!!!

All three of them play Holmes differently but just as awesome!!!

By: Meg

Meg — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:50:36 +0000

@Daniel: I don’t think it’s quite fair to just blatantly tell someone they’re wrong simply because their opinions differ from yours. Some people prefer Brett’s purist portrayal of Holmes, and others prefer Rathbone’s more debonair take on the detective. Neither side is wrong; it’s just a matter of taste. That’s the great thing about being Holmesians: we can appreciate both performances for what they are.

By: JLM

JLM — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:14:40 +0000

Different times . . . different expectations . . .

Compare Olivier’s Henry V with Branagh’s.

There IS no comparison. Sir Lawrence’s performance was as wooden as a stump compared to KBs. And why SHOULDN’T it have been??? “Acting” today SHOULD be better than it was yesterday! WHY????? Because the participants have, for the first time in history, seen EXACTLY what their predecessors did . . .
and if they can’t improve upon it, give up.

Jeremy Brett was the best Holmes ever. So far . . . . . .

By: Mike Ord

Mike Ord — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:37:35 +0000

Although Holmes purists would argue that Brett with his 2 Watsons (Burke & Hardwicke)were more like the characters in the original books…to me his Holmes TV series lacks the atmosphere that the Rathbone/Bruce movies clearly have…and to me Basil & Nigel have such chemistry that they win out every time…as meritorious as the late Mr Brett was.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:27:51 +0000

Hello Justin,
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate your thoughts about Basil Rathbone, but unfortunately you are wrong. There is no question in my mind that Jeremy Brett brings far more depth, complexity, truth, and accuracy to Holmes than did Rathbone. No offense to Sir Basil, of course.

By: Justin Thompson

Justin Thompson — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:35:43 +0000

I’m saying first that I’m only 18 but I am a bookish lad. I stumbled upon a volume of the original radio broadcasts of Petri Wine’s New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I have to say that no one makes a better Holmes than Basil Rathbone. Period. Put simply I don’t believe any pair will ever surpass the team of Basil Rathbone as Holmes with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.

By: Michael Dayton

Michael Dayton — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 02:12:12 +0000

Raised in England and now live in Tennessee. Not yet fifty but the only Sherlock Holmes for me is Basil Rathbone. I agree with the last post when i read the Holmes sagas in book form it’s Rathbone and Bruce that I relate to. I will agree that Brett’s was a more true to form and from a purist point of view perhaps what Conan Doyle had envisioned Holmes to be.

Still, Rathbone and Bruce with their chemistry made the roles they played there very own and that was the most special to me.

By: Michael Rider

Michael Rider — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:46:25 +0000

I loved them both! Brett was so captivating as only an in- depth TV series can do with more drawn out dialogue and character studies. This was one of the best series PPS ever did!

Rathbone however had the look(big english nose and all) and the great stage voice. Most of us over 55 probable invision him when we read one of the stories or just simply think of Holmes.

In the hear after, I can’t wait to ask Conan Doyle who his favorite was?