The Pearl of Death (1944)
Overview
The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
Cast
Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce
Dr. John Watson
Dennis Hoey
Inspector Lestrade
Evelyn Ankers
Naomi Drake
Miles Mander
Giles Conover
Ian Wolfe
Amos Hodder
Holmes Herbert
James Goodram, courier
Richard Aherne
Museum Guard Bates
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Having safely snaffled the blood-steeped “Borgia Pearl” from the dastardly clutches of “Giles Conover” (Miles Mander) “Holmes” (Basil Rathbone) is hoist by his own petard when his rather pompous illustration to the museum curator of the flaws of electronic security systems only sees it stolen again! This time, he and “Watson” (Nigel Bruce) have to try to track it down whilst the smug “Lestrade” (Dennis Hoey) has a laugh at their expense. They really haven’t much clue, until a man is murdered in a particularly violent fashion and his body found amidst some smashed china. Then another, then another - all with broken crockery. “Holmes” reckons this might be the clue, but it’s a jigsaw puzzle just to put together one of the fragments of one of the items, there is no chance they can reassemble all of the pieces - except, well maybe there is a pointer to the criminal mastermind concealed amongst all this debris? The denouement is a bit rushed here, but along the way there is plenty of mischief from a Rathbone at his most supercilious and from Bruce who manages to use his keen deductive brain to stop himself gluing his sleeve to his scrapbook. There’s plenty of humour in this one too, a bit of menace and Evelyn Ankers’s “Naomi” proves to be quite adept at disguises and dishwashing - even if you maybe wouldn’t give her a job in a porcelain shop.
