Download The Pearl of Death movie

The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. It is loosely based on Conan Doyle's story The Six Napoleons but features some interesting additions such as Rondo Hatton as "The Creeper" and Evelyn Ankers as Naomi, a villainess and the accomplice of Giles Conover, played by Miles Mander.

Master criminal Giles Conover steals the famous "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal Regent Museum under the very nose of Holmes and Watson, but when caught the pearl is not found on him and he is released.

Later, Holmes hears of an apparently motiveless murder. An elderly Colonel is found with his back broken amid a pile of smashed china. Holmes takes an immediate interest in the case as the unusual method of killing is that of "The Hoxton Creeper", known to be Conover's right hand man.

Another murder occurs, of a little old lady, also surrounded by smashed china. Conover makes two attempts to kill Holmes, who surmises that Conover is desperately trying to recover the stolen pearl.

After a third killing Holmes eventually tracks down the link in each case - a bust of Napoleon. Conover, when being pursued by the police, had fled through the workshop where they were being made, and hid the pearl inside one of six identical busts.

Holmes tracks down the vendor of the busts and find out that one is still unaccounted for, as does Conover's accomplice Naomi. Conover and The Creeper arrive at the house of the owner of the final bust, only to find that Holmes has taken his place. Overpowered, Holmes convinces The Creeper that Conover will double-cross him, and the Creeper turns on Conover and kills him before the police finally arrive. Holmes smashes the final bust and recovers the pearl "with the blood of five more victims on it".[1]

Cast

• Basil Rathbone – Sherlock Holmes
• Nigel Bruce – Dr. John H. Watson
• Dennis Hoey – Inspector Lestrade
• Evelyn Ankers – Naomi Drake
• Miles Mander – Giles Conover
• Ian Wolfe – Amos Hodder
• Charles Francis – Digby
• Holmes Herbert – James Goodram
• Richard Nugent – Bates
• Mary Gordon – Mrs. Hudson
• Rondo Hatton – The Creeper

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The Pearl of Death

This time a sought after Borgia Pearl is the object of desire, worth
snapping the lumbar vertebrae of many unfortunate victims' backs at the
hands of the sinister Creeper(Rondo Hatton), working for a lecherous
thief, the devilish, elusive Giles Conover(Miles Mander). Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Watson are out to discover why innocent people are found
dead, their china dishes broken all over the crime scenes. A Borgia
Pearl was stolen by Conover in a daring heist actually caused when
Holmes himself proved to the museum curator that his security system
was flawed, inadvertently assisting the conniving con artist who almost
got away with it. Conover had to get rid of the pearl temporarily and
Holmes & Watson soon discover that it was hidden in one of six plaster
busts of Napoleon..it's essential that Holmes get to the bust
containing the pearl before Conover and The Creeper do, or else another
victim might be targeted. Of course, Holmes must contend with Scotland
Yard's Inspector Lastrade(Dennis Hoey), who is assigned to the rash of
serial killings, having to tolerate his temperament and obtrusive
attitude. Along the way, Holmes' life is in danger because he poses a
threat to Conover's plans. Universal Studio's regular Evelyn Ankers has
a substantial supporting role as Conover's lovely partner-in-crime,
Naomi Drake, who uses aliases and disguises to secure information for
her protégé. Hatton's The Creeper is quite an effectively spooky
villain, barely seen but quite established thanks to director Roy
William Neill's superb methods of building his presence until his
reveal late into the film. Rathbone is more intense in this film,
because of his treatment by authoritative figures and the press who
blame him personally for the loss of the pearl, and Bruce's lovable
Watson almost gets his best friend killed when Conover attempts to kill
the Baker Street sleuth with a book containing a springing dagger.
Mander, as Conover, has a very wily villain which contends with
Moriarty as one of Holmes' more despicable and challenging foes. The
Universal Studios production values add immensely to the beautiful look
of the film and this cast couldn't be much better. Macabre plot, to
boot.

Scarecrow-88 from United States - 26 April 2009

Another enjoyable Holmes flick from 1944

"Sherlock Holmes and The Pearl of Death" (1944) rounded off a great
year for Universal releases of Sherlock Holmes films, following
"Sherlock Holmes and The Spider Woman" and "Sherlock Holmes and The
Scarlet Claw".The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", and
concerns the theft, secretion and ultimate battle to re-claim the
Borgia Pearl.The baddies, Miles Mander, Evelyn Ankers and the tragic Rondo Hatton
(as the Hoxton Creeper) are very memorable and the tension is
maintained at very high level throughout.

aljodav from United Kingdom - 30 March 2009

If it isn't I'll retire to Sussex and keep bees.

A pearl with a strange reputation is stolen from a secure museum due in
no small thanks to Sherlock Holmes having a rare lapse in
concentration. As he and his loyal companion Watson get stuck in to the
case, it's evident that the perpetrator has brains to match his
undoubted daring. Backed up by a menacing thug known only as the
Creeper, this criminal may just have enough about him to evade capture
by Holmes and his bag of wily tricks.Very loosely based on the Arthur Conan Doyle short story, The Six
Napoleans, it's probably best to just judge this delightful Holmes
adventure as a standalone picture. All the usual ingredients that made
this franchise so rewarding are here, mystery at every turn, a
perpetual sense of adventure, and of course the quite wonderful
chemistry between Basil Rathbone's Sherlock and Nigel Bruce's Dr
Watson. Here the pair are backed up by Miles Mander, Evelyn Ankers, Ian
Wolfe and the always enjoyable Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade. But i
promise that the most memorable performance you will come away with in
this picture is that from Rondo Hatton as The Creeper, barely seen
outside of a darkened moving shadow, once this hulking creeping menace
is revealed it has quite an impact. Hatton is perfectly cast as he was
always effective as the muscle character, check out In Old Chicago 1937
for another memorable little turn.I always find with the Holmes series that the films are only as good if
their villains are memorably bad, i like the villains here, and come
the {obviously} inevitable finale i feel that you can't possibly feel
let down. 70 minutes of entertainment just fly by, it may not be one
for the Conan Doyle purists, but in the context of the franchise, it
works rather well. 7.5/10

JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom - 15 January 2009

Another excellent Sherlock Holmes picture

At this point the creative team behind the ongoing Sherlock Holmes saga
in Universal could probably churn them out with their eyes closed and
their hands behind their back. Director Roy William Neill and the
acting duo of Rathbone and Bruce return to their positions for another
short but delightfully entertaining murder mystery. Everything that
made the previous entries with Neill in the helm so successful are
reprised but not rehashed. The diabolic criminal mastermind (and master
of disguises good enough to rival Holmes himself), this time one called
Giles Connover, the henchmen taking potshots at Holmes and Watson,
Nigel Bruce playing Dr. Watson as a bumbling fool and providing welcome
comedic touches in doing so, Holmes disguises, the dark, almost noirish
cinematography and on-the-spot deductions - all here once more and no
less entertaining for that matter. It also provides the series with one
of its most creepy goons, aptly named as The Creeper, whom Neill wisely
conceals for most of his screen time in shadows and reveals as a *gasp*
moment in just the right time. PEARL OF DEATH shows that Hollywood once
had and has long now lost the knowledge of how to make worthwhile
sequels on a budget that live up to their predecessor's name.

chaos-rampant from Greece - 13 December 2008

One of the best of the Rathbone/Bruce series

Yet another solid entry in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of
Sherlock Holmes movies.This one will be of interest to fans of classic horror films as it
features appearances of genre stars Evelyn Ankers (The Wolfman/Ghost of
Frankenstein) and Rondo Hatton (House of Horrors/The Brute Man).The story involves the theft of the "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal
Regent Museum and a series of murders that occur soon after the heist.Mysteriously, each murder victim is found with their backs broken and
their bodies surrounded by smashed china and plaster.It's up to Holmes and Watson to piece together (literally) the clues to
find the location of the invaluable "Pearl of Death" before the bad
guys do.Fast paced and entertaining.Loosely based on the Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes story, "The Six
Napoleons".

greg-544 from United States - 29 November 2008

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