Basil Rathbone

The British stage and movie actor, Basil Rathbone, photographed here when he was quite young. Basil Rathbone (13th June, 1892 - 21st July, 1967) rose to prominence in Great Britain as a Shakespearean stage actor and then he went on to make movies in both Great Britain and Hollywood from 1921 until his death at age 75 in 1967. He is best known for playing the character of “Sherlock Holmes” in fourteen Hollywood movies made between 1939 and 1946. He is also well known for his role as the antagonist "Guy of Gisbourne" in the swashbuckler movie, Michael Curtiz's 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938), also starring in the lead roles, Australian actor Errol Flynn as "Robin Hood" and British actress Olivia de Havilland as "Maid Marian", and also with British actor Claude Rains as "Prince John", and then Basil Rathbone played the antagonist "Levasseur" in their other swashbuckler together, Michael Curtiz's "Captain Blood" (1935), this time with, as the leads, Errol Flynn as "Peter Blood" and Olivia de Havilland as "Arabella Bishop". Basil Rathbone was also well known for costume dramas, such as his role as "Mr. Murdstone" in George Cukor's adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1850 novel 'David Copperfield' (1935), also starring W. C. Fields, Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Elizabeth Allan, Maureen O' Sullivan, Edna May Oliver, Roland Young, and Lewis Stone, Clarence Brown's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1978 novel 'Anna Karenina' (1936), also starring, in the leads, Swedish Actress Greta Garbo in the titular role and Fredric March as "Count Vronsky", and then also starring Irish actress Maureen O'Sullivan, Australian actress May Robson, British actor Reginald Denny, and British actress Ethel Griffies, and also as "The Marquis St. Evremonde" in Jack Conway's adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1859 novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' (1935), also starring British actor Ronald Colman, British actress Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, and British actor Reginald Owen. My favourite Basil Rathbone movie is where he plays "Lord Arthur Dilling" in Sidney Franklin's Pre-Code dramedy 'The Last of Mrs. Cheyney' (1929), co-starring Canadian actress Norma Shearer in the titular role.